Jill Schnarr

About Jill

As the Chief Brand and Communications Officer at TELUS, Jill Schnarr describes herself as TELUS’s chief storyteller. With more than 30 years of telecommunications experience and communications expertise, she leads corporate communications, public relations, government relations, brand marketing, sponsorship, philanthropy and community investment at TELUS. In 2023, her tireless work landed her on WXN’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada list, as well as Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50. Under her leadership, TELUS was acknowledged as the Most Philanthropic Corporation in the World by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and was awarded the Prime Minister’s Inaugural Corporate Volunteer Award. Jill continues to break down barriers for women, founding Connections, the TELUS Women’s Network, which empowers over 6,000 women and allies with mentoring and networking opportunities. Jill also launched the CHLOE Awards, celebrating the achievements of women leaders at TELUS. She serves on several boards and associations and is a founding board member of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, which contributes millions of dollars each year to charities across Canada and funds bursaries to more than 400 post-secondary students in financial need who are committed to making a difference in their communities. Her impact also includes establishing the launch of TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, TELUS’s Connecting for Good Programs and global volunteerism initiative TELUS Days of Giving.

Lifelong learner

“I decided to do my MBA a little bit later in my career. I was in my 40s, and I had a lot of people say, ‘Why would you go back and do an MBA now?’ [UVic] reinforced the need for lifetime learning… I also liked the way it shaped my kids because I did my MBA at UVic when they were in their teens. We would sometimes do our homework around the table together, and it demonstrated to them how important it is to continue to learn and grow no matter where you're at in life.”

In the trenches

“I want people to enjoy working with me because I get in there, I get in the trenches. I'm not just directing it, I’m playing on the team, I'm on the field.”

Getting it done

“I love when people jump in and start getting the job done. It doesn't have to be perfect. But there's so much to do. Sometimes, we can’t sit around and debate what the perfect solution might be before taking action. It's never going to be perfect. I love the people that just get in there and get it done.”

Problem solver

“Early in my career, when we were launching a new internet portal, I remember going to my boss and saying we have another delay with the platform and all of these things were happening, and he said, ‘Jill, stop bringing me problems and start bringing me solutions.’ And I think of that advice on a daily basis. I think about how am I going to solve the problem before I might bring that problem to my boss. Or how can I get in front of it? Or how can we work with the team to resolve it?”

Spread the joy

“At heart I am a people pleaser. I was the youngest of eight kids. Growing up, what made me happy was for other people to be happy. I want to spread that joy.”