Torstar director is new NYC consul general
From librarian in Winnipeg to media mogul in Toronto, the next stop for Phyllis Yaffe is New York, where she’ll take on the role of Canada’s consul general.
“I am delighted and honoured by the opportunity to serve Canada and to do it in a fabulous place like New York,” said Yaffe, one of 26 diplomatic appointments announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion on Tuesday.
Born in Winnipeg in 1949, Yaffe earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Manitoba and a bachelor of library science degree from the University of Alberta before coming to Toronto for her master’s degree in library science from the University of Toronto.
She worked as a librarian at Seneca College from 1973 to 1976, when she became the executive director of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. In 1980, she was appointed executive director for the Association of Canadian Publishers and five years later, vice-president of marketing for the children’s magazine Owl.
Yaffe joined Alliance Atlantis Communications in 1993 and ultimately became its CEO. She has also served on the boards of Ryerson University, the Ontario Science Centre, Women Against Multiple Sclerosis and World Wildlife Fund.
“There is a very big distance from a librarian to a consul general but it’s everything that I did in between. That’s how I got here,” Yaffe said of her journey from Winnipeg to Toronto and, now, New York.
“I had really good mentors who helped me as I went through my career. I took some risks and I took some chances in my career. I was able to use one thing to go to the next. And that’s how I got here.”
Yaffe said it is too early for her to define her new job, but believes her rich experience serving in the business, education and non-profit sec- tors will be invaluable to her new adventure.
Yaffe, who will start her appointment in September, was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2015 and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2007.
She has been an independent director of Torstar Corporation, the parent company of the Toronto Star, since May 2009.
“Phyllis is an ideal choice,” said Torstar chair John Honderich, adding that her wealth of experience in business and culture will be an asset.