Seasoned communications professionals, the core team at Sparks + Noble is made up of a group of highly-skilled people who work together to provide cutting edge strategic analysis and counsel from positions of individual strength and expertise. Proof that our expertise applies to numerous sectors is our diverse experience ranging from politics and public service to resource extraction and manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and news media. We’ve all done agency before. We’ve covered the waterfront.
Robin Sparks, Managing Partner Doug Noble, Senior Partner Daryl Zerr,
Media Associate Kirk Andries, Senior Associate Tracey Thompson, Public Affairs Associate
Robin Sparks (Managing Partner)
Robin has extensive experience spanning 30 years in the government, agency and corporate sectors, specializing in issues/situation analysis, communications planning and reputation management. Robin taps this extensive track record to provide strategic counsel to executives regarding appropriate preparation, response and positioning initiatives for a wide variety of corporate, government and not-for-profit initiatives.
Prior to forming S+N, Robin was Vice President, Alberta for an international communications and government relations agency where she built a significant communications practice focused on upstream exploration and production, processing, pipelines and marketing in the energy sector.
Douglas Noble (Senior Partner)
With nearly 25 years in the public affairs arena, Doug provides clients with strategic, senior counsel on public policy, government and political matters. Prior to S+N, Doug provided communications counsel to Alberta government departments, agencies, boards and commissions and managed the government’s advertising programs. He has provided government relations counsel to a variety of industries, and held senior public affairs positions with the Caritas Health Group, Nortel and TELUS. Doug holds a B.A. in Journalism from Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Ontario.
Kirk Andries (Senior Associate)
Kirk brings to this new role an extensive career in the forest products, environment and energy sectors in both corporate and consulting positions. He has built a solid reputation in the areas of public policy development; environmental protection; integrated resource management and boreal forest management. Kirk also served as Executive Assistant to a former provincial Minister of Forestry Lands and Wildlife and a term in Washington, D.C. as Chief Lobbyist representing the federal and provincial governments on Canadian conservation issues.
Daryl Zerr (Media Associate)
Daryl brings a media insider’s view to S+N clients, providing counsel and coaching on media relations programs, training, audits, crisis and positioning campaigns. Daryl’s extensive journalism background includes 15 years in both private and pubic broadcasting as a radio and television News Reporter, Producer, Director, Announcer and Sportscaster. Since 1998, Daryl has offered Media/Communications training to over 1000 people and helped guide numerous companies through media relations programs that have enhanced their profiles and impacted their bottom lines. In addition, Daryl has extensive experience in videography, training videos, live event coverage, field production, streaming media and live web casting.
Tracey Thompson (Public Affairs Associate)
Tracey provides project management and a range of services including targeted polling and research, media and community relations, communications programming, IPO logistics, marketing support, print production, special events planning and management. Prior to joining S+N, Tracey spent four years with an international public relations agency working with clients from the natural resource, food and beverage, financial, high technology, health care and public sectors. Tracey holds a B.Sc. in Journalism from the University of North Texas.
