Jean Valin, APR, Fellow CPRS and Honorary Fellow CIPR (UK) is a trusted senior advisor in public relations, an author, editor and mentor. He founded Valin Strategic Communications after a 30-year career as a senior communication executive. He has advised senior officials, CEO’s and ministers of the Government of Canada on communication matters throughout his career. Active throughout his career as a volunteer leader in professional bodies, he is considered the father of the Global Alliance and a leading force behind the development and adoption of global standards of practice in public relations.
He worked on several high-profile national issues such as a gun control program, anti-terrorism and organized crime legislation, same sex marriage legislation, the launch of Service Canada (Canada’s one-stop for all government services) as well as transportation policy for air, road, and marine safety and for security issues.
He is a frequent speaker at international conferences on the role of public relations, ethical practice, transparency in a social media connected world, artificial intelligence and automation. He is co-editor of the two-volume book Case studies in public relations from around the world. (Peter Lang publisher, 2014 and 2017).
Valin’s career began in broadcasting with Radio Canada and private radio stations in the Ottawa region.
Valin is active in his professional association, the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). He was awarded his accreditation (APR) in 1987 and was called to the College of Fellows in 2001 becoming the youngest member to achieve the highest level of recognition. He served as national president of CPRS in 1996-97 and has received several national public relations awards throughout his career. He is a co-author of the official definition of public relations adopted by CPRS in 2008.
In 2000, he became a founding member of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, a confederation organization of more than 70 major public relations associations around the world representing more than 170,000 members. He was chairman of the Global Alliance for 2004 and 2005.
In 2008 he received the President’s Medal from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the United Kingdom, and he received the Award of Attainment from the Canadian Public Relations Society in both 2010 and 2013—the latter for his leadership in developing the Melbourne Mandate advocacy platform for public relations. He is the 2013 recipient of the David Ferguson Award presented by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) to a practitioner who has made an especially significant contribution to the advancement of public relations education. In June 2014 he received the Philip Novikoff award from the Canadian Public Relations Society for lifetime achievements. In 2016, he received an honorary Fellowship from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK for his work leading the development of a Global Body of Knowledge (GBOK).
