Strategic Communications

Let me get very real about something here. In my experience, a whole lot of folks look at communications people with a bit of suspicion. For one thing, they don’t often understand what we do. They may think that everyone communicates, so whatever about this as a so-called area of expertise.

But I’m not here to tell you to respect communications for the sake of my own ego (at least not completely). The simple fact is a sharp and savvy approach to communications is necessary, but it’s not necessarily evil. It can be used for evil, however, which is why those who are trying to do good in the world shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand about its mechanisms. A transformative approach to communications—one that centers listening, audience engagement, compassionate storytelling, learning to speak to shared values, meeting people where they are at, and long-term narratives — can be an overwhelmingly positive catalyst for change.

I have 20+ years of nuts-and-bolts strategic communications experience, which includes:

• Facilitation & effective meetings
• Strategic planning
• Change management
• Assessing needs & solutions 
• Ideation & process design
• Identifying risks & vulnerabilities 
• Campaign strategies
• Spokesperson development
• Advocacy & coalitions
• Creating & leading teams