Strategic thinker.
Creative doer.

A mentally ambidextrous, T-shaped strategist and human being driven to ask questions like: why things happen this way, what needs to change (or do they?), and how can we make things better? Always grounded in values, empathy, ideas and imagination.

Experience

Strategic marketing communications

Across creative and media agencies, I have developed effective communications strategies across broad range private and public sector clients, including Guinness, Hop House 13, Smithwick's, Rockshore, Harp, Gordon's, Tanqueray, Don Julio, Strong Roots, Safefood, Eirgrid, Fáilte Ireland, Kerrygold, Nissan, Allianz, José Cuervo, Supervalu, Three Mobile, KBC Ireland, IT Sligo, Citroen.

I have also provided leadership in sustainability in the marketing communications sector. At Omnicom, I led on sustainability, establishing the media sustainability team and collaborating with Skoda to pioneer a new media carbon emissions reduction tool, which resulted in a -17% reduction in their campaign’s carbon emissions, which won gold at the Media Awards for Best Sustainability Initiative.

See my case studies for more information.

Policy advocacy & campaigns

TASC

Led the Local Government Reform Project to develop policy proposals on a more effective system of local democracy and public service delivery in Ireland. The project involved extensive research, obtaining expert input from representatives, officials, academics and civil society, through interviews, organisation of expert roundtables and a major public forum on Local Government reform.

The final report made recommendations to government on the governance, funding and structure of local government from a national governance perspective, and envisioned how one critical service - a universal childcare system - could be more effectively and accountably funded and delivered, as a means to deliver greater social and economic equity, through a reformed national governance system.

Dóchas

As Information officer, I managed internal and external strategic communications for Ireland's network of 61 overseas development NGOs and leading comms on Dóchas campaign during Irish presidency of the EU to influence EU-wide development policy and action.

Policy work included researching and writing a strategic policy resource and communications playbook to support Irish development NGOs to engage in the overseas aid and corruption debate and transform public hearts and minds in support of overseas aid spending.

International development

Department of Foreign Affairs

Based at the Irish embassy in Maseru, in southern Africa, I had the privilege, as an overseas aid expert, to work on Ireland's €75 million 5-year overseas aid programme in Lesotho.

In this time, I designed the first €2m Civil Society Capacity Building Fund to build genuine partnerships with community-based organisations to empower them to hold their own government to account. I led on the programme strategy’s Mid-Term Review, a root-and-branch

evaluation of the programme's effectiveness, assessing the 'Logic Model' to determine progress on key development objectives and tangible human development outcomes.

The role also involved field research, appraisal and collaborative troubleshooting among development partners, liaising with aid donors, ministers and civil servants, acting as head of mission as required, representing Ireland at aid donor, OECD, EU and other multi-stakeholder forums

Proudly Made in Africa

As a means to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, I applied experience in overseas aid to developing new marketing communications & brand strategies in collaboration with community-based African producers of premium value-added products in food and beverage categories as a means to support their success in European markets as a means income generation and poverty reduction.

This role included market research and leading brand development partnerships  between African businesses and Irish design and marketing agencies. Understanding the unique challenges of African community-based businesses, I acted as a critical bridge between them and the European marketplace, shepherding the processes to successful outcomes.

Community-building

I co-founded Purpose Disruptors in Ireland, a grassroots movement to drive system change in the marketing communications industry to ensure we do our bit to urgently stop global heating and ecological collapse. We do this by providing a space for all of us to collaborate and create meaningful change from where we stand.

I co-founded the Dublin chapter of Group Think, the peer-to-peer learning community for strategists & planners of all hues, who are united by our blood, sweat and tears. Our philosophy is we can all get better at what we do through conversation, and out diverse group of over 200 Dublin-based strategists meet monthly in Dublin’s best small groups over a few pints.