After working for community radio and a national research foundation - and running in provincial and federal elections - Rob joined Audrey McLaughlin’s leadership campaign as her speechwriter. The campaign was successful, and Parliament Hill became Rob’s home for the next four years, as he wrote speeches for the federal Leader, prepared print materials for MPs and helped to shape the party’s national communications strategy.

Moving to Toronto, Rob served as the communications advisor to Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Floyd Laughren.

1995 saw Rob move to Victoria, where he became the speechwriter to the Premier of British Columbia. He was the NDP Leader’s speechwriter during the 1996 and 2001 provincial elections, and joined federal NDP Leader Alexa McDonough’s national tour as speechwriter in the 1997 and 2000 federal campaigns. He wrote Speeches from the Throne and Budget Speeches, as well as speeches for several cabinet ministers.

In 1997, Rob joined NOW Communications Group, Canada’s leading progressive social marketing firm. Most recently, he has written speeches for Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, federal NDP Leader Jack Layton and, in the the party’s remarkable comeback campaign of 2005, BC NDP Leader Carole James.

On January 1, 2006, Rob began working full-time with Social Signal, the online consulting firm he and Alexandra Samuel have launched to help organizations make the most of the Internet’s capacity for enabling collaboration.