Clare MacKay (she/her), Principal and Senior Consultant

Clare is an award-winning community builder and creative disruptor with over 30 years of senior leadership experience in placemaking, strategy, communications, and engagement.

For nearly two decades, Clare helped shape the evolution of The Forks North Portage Partnership, including Winnipeg’s most visited destination, The Forks. Through a series of progressive roles, including Chief Communities Officer, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, and Executive Director of The Forks Foundation, she was instrumental in building the city’s meeting place. Her career path has also included roles with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, IQON Financial, Western Economic Diversification (now PrairiesCan), and Clark Communications.

Today, through Hello Duffy, Clare partners with organizations that serve their communities and create meaningful impact. Her work spans fractional executive and interim leadership roles in the non-profit and social impact sectors, organizational strategy, , government relations and advocacy, destination marketing for international travel trade, crisis communications, and media relations.

Whether stepping into a leadership transition or co-creating a bold strategy, Clare brings calm, clarity, and courage (along with a healthy dose of optimism and humour) to even the most complex or uncertain moments.

She has a talent for bringing the right people together, at the right time, working with a network of diverse and emerging talent and senior leaders that drives tangible results for organizations.

Since 2024, her list of clients has included Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, WeMB (formerly Women’s Enterprise Centre), Clear Lake Country, Arctic Gateway Group,   Legal Aid Manitoba and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), Manitoba Children’s Museum, Harvest Manitoba, St. Mary’s Academy, and KANI. She also works with several Canadian marketing and communications agencies as part of their teams on occasion.  

Clare was named Communicator of the Year by the Canadian Public Relations Society, helped conceive and promote a Guinness World Record–winning skating trail, and has earned multiple awards for her work in marketing, public engagement, and destination development.

She holds a BA from the University of Manitoba and a Public Relations diploma from Red River College. She’s completed executive leadership programs through ICD and Rotman and is currently finishing a certificate in Leadership in Community Engagement from Toronto Metropolitan University. A lifelong volunteer, Clare has lent her skills to dozens of boards, campaigns, and community initiatives.

She is a settler in Canada, with dual British citizenship, who has made Winnipeg home.

Say hello? clare@helloduffy.com