An active community organizer and volunteer, Teresa has chaired her children’s elementary and intermediate school councils and served as a member of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s Alternative Schools Advisory Committee. She is an avid cyclist, paddler and skater, and is devoted to her two Bergamasco Sheepdogs.
About Open Hands
Principals
Teresa LeGrand, Vice President
Teresa LeGrand combines an academic background in cultural and communications studies with her affinity for technology and design to offer Open Hands clients unique insights and strategic advice. Anticipating and quickly adapting to transformations in the technology and business environments, Teresa’s diverse skill set has continuously expanded to meet the emerging needs of Open Hands’ clients.
Leading the majority of Open Hands’ strategic and creative projects, Teresa has strong business and communications fundamentals—always grounding her work in the goals clients are seeking to achieve. She maintains a steady focus on providing excellent service and value, and produces outstanding results.
Teresa’s areas of expertise include research and analysis, strategic and communications planning, and development of communications materials for a broad variety of media and audiences. Building on her experience and aligning with her personal commitments, Teresa specializes in communications projects related to environmental issues.
Passionate about Canadian and global environmental issues, Teresa is an early adopter of environmentally friendly behaviours and an advocate for better environmental performance and sustainability. Professionally, she has had the opportunity to contribute to Canadians’ knowledge of the ozone layer, environmental certification programs, climate change, sustainable development, and environmental hazards.
A talented writer, Teresa’s plans and reports are characterized by their thoroughness and clarity of thought. Her ability to organize and present information—essential for effective plans and publications—also transfers well to Web development projects. She has planned and developed several comprehensive sites for government and private-sector clients, usually providing all of the new writing associated with the project and occasionally creating graphic design prototypes.
Teresa received her B.A. (Hons) from Trent University and went on to receive a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council scholarship to study at the McGill Graduate Program in Communications. Prior to founding The Open Hands Group, she worked at an Ottawa communications firm for seven years, developing competencies which assisted in the launch and success of Open Hands.