Paula is a Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) with 20 years of experience in strategic corporate communication and public relations, gained through her work with major global corporations and nonprofit organizations. Specializing in Corporate Responsibility since 2014, she has been responsible for developing and managing the corporate responsibility strategy for a company in Canada. Her role includes raising internal and external awareness of the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility while creating, implementing, and managing an award-winning Regional Charity Program. She was awarded the “Best Paper – Practitioner” prize at the CCI Milan 2020 Conference on Corporate Communication on September 17, 2020, for her study “Engaging Employees through Corporate Social Responsibility Programs”, conducted in July 2020.

Paula is also a lecturer at McGill University’s Public Relations program, where she teaches Internal Communication, Crisis Communication and Management, and Public Relations Case Studies. Additionally, she serves as an instructor at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute, focusing on Crisis Communication Management.

In 2021, Paula joined the Board of Directors of Desjardins Insurance. Since 2009, she has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Caisse Desjardins Portugaise credit union in Montreal, where she was appointed President in 2022. Previously, she chaired the Ethics, Cooperation, and Governance Committee and served as Secretary and Vice President of the Board of Directors.

Paula Bernardino has been a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council since December 2024.