Meet our Staff

John Danakas, Director, (204) 474-8551

John Danakas has been with the University of Manitoba since 1996, serving as Director of Public Affairs since 1999. He holds a BA (Honours) and MA (English) from the University of Manitoba. As a journalist, his articles have appeared in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Variety, the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Sun. He has published five novels for children. In 2003 he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation in Recognition of Outstanding Dedication to the Students of the University of Manitoba by the University of Manitoba Students' Union.

Lori Yarchuk, Marketing Manager, (204) 474-9518

Lori Yarchuk is responsible for a variety of marketing initiatives designed to increase and enhance public awareness of the university, both within the province as well as nationally.  She oversees development of marketing strategies involving publication development, advertising and promotional activities, and works with marketing and communications colleagues across all units to achieve a consistent and coordinated approach to promoting the university.

Leah Janzen, Communications Manager, (204) 474-8034

Leah Janzen joins the University of Manitoba public affairs department after a 10 year career as a journalist at the Winnipeg Free Press where she covered everything from the crime beat to the Manitoba legislature. As communications manager within the public affairs department, Ms. Janzen is responsible for promoting and building the reputation of the university at the local, regional, national and international level through media relations. Ms. Janzen also provides media relations training to various departments and faculties throughout the university.

Chris Rutkowski, Media Relations Coordinator, (204) 474-9514

Chris Rutkowski liaises with reporters and news directors, prepares news releases, coordinates news conferences and works with administrative and academic staff to highlight expertise and achievements at the University of Manitoba. Chris teaches courses on dealing with media, on writing and journalism, and he has written several books and numerous articles on popular culture and phenomena.

Dale Barbour, Editor, The Bulletin, (204) 474-8111

Dale Barbour is responsible for overseeing the production of the Bulletin, the University of Manitoba's official newspaper. Dale has a background in journalism and was the city editor with the Portage la Prairie Daily Graphic prior to joining the University of Manitoba. Dale is also a University of Manitoba graduate, earning a BA (Hons) in History.

Pat Goss, Publications Specialist, Graphic Designer, (204) 474-8388

Pat Goss oversees the University of Manitoba’s visual identity program, providing design and printing consultation services and technical and production support for print and related projects. She is the designer and layout artist for the university’s key promotional materials including the undergraduate calendar, graduate calendar, campus maps and convocation materials. Prior to joining the university in 2000, Pat was a design and layout artist in several organizations including printing firms and advertising agencies. 

Tamara Bodi

Michael Marshall

Michael's primary focus in Public Affairs is social media. As the former homepage coordinator for the university, Michael helped implement Web 2.0 initiatives such as student blogs, RSS feeds, audio downloads, and a Facebook page and application. He brings several years of experience in journalism and web editing, including seven years as a reporter for the community section of the Winnipeg Free Press and three years as a web editor for winnipegfreepress.com.

Chris Reid, Home Page Coordinator, (204) 474-8744

Chris is responsible for writing, editing and publishing stories for umanitoba.ca and the site's major sections, the weekly EMEMO, and maintaining the Public Affairs and Vice-President (External) home pages. He comes to this position after experience in radio broadcasting, most recently for CJOB 68 as a news anchor, reporter, and producer. At times, he guest-hosts The Weekend Wakeup Show on the same station. Chris is involved with community theatre, landing acting roles in productions with Fantasy Theatre for Children.