Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce that Hélène Asselbergs will join the college as chief of staff in the Office of the President.

She brings to her new position extensive experience in government relations, community engagement and revenue building in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as director of Development and Community Engagement, at JAZZ.FM91 in Toronto, which is Canada’s premier jazz and arts charity. Her responsibilities included revenue-generating strategies, partnership negotiation and relationship building, expanding jazz education programming across communities and ultimately helping to raise the organization’s visibility in Canada’s most-competitive media market.

Asselbergs has an extensive background in public policy with the Ontario government, holding progressively senior roles involving innovation, investment and education strategies at several different ministries, while mentoring public policy professionals to establish the foundation for their careers.

She is also the co-founder of two successful start-up companies and has taught at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School and Seneca College. She holds a Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Hall Law School, a graduate certificate in Corporate Communications from Seneca College and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.

Asselbergs begins her new role at DC on Monday, August 22.