The Comms Collective – Conversations in Purposeful Communications
Welcome to the Comms Collective podcast, where Vishnee Sauntoo explores the highs, lows and hard-won lessons of comms in the mission-led world. Each episode features candid conversations with charity and public sector comms leaders — on everything from budget squeezes to breakthrough campaigns, comms in crisis to finding your voice as a leader.
Episodes
In this episode of The Comms Collective, host Vishnee Sauntoo is joined by Zhen Yang, Communications Manager in the Education, Work and Skills team at Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Zhen moved to the UK from China over 20 years ago and has built her entire comms career in her second language. In this conversation, she and Vishnee talk about what it really takes to communicate clearly, where confidence comes from, and why pl...
Christopher Horn has spent 17+ years building communications strategy for some of the world's most recognisable nonprofit and advocacy organisations — from C40 Cities' network of climate-leading mayors to the Council of State Governments Justice Center, and now as Director of Communications at the States United Democracy Center. In this episode, he joins Vishnee to talk about his unlikely route into the sector, the campaign h...
If you work in charity or not-for-profit communications, this episode is for you. Host Vishnee Sauntoo sits down with Advita Patel — internal comms expert, founder of CommsRebel, and author of Decoding Confidence: The Seven Habits of Confident Leaders — for an honest conversation about the burnout crisis facing our profession.
Advita shares her unconventional route from IT graduate to internal comms leader, why she laun...
From Newsrooms to Strategic Leadership with Hasan Patel
What happens when you stop pitching stories and start thinking like a News Editor? In this episode of The Comms Collective, we’re joined by Hasan Patel, a veteran communicator whose career spans the BBC, Al Jazeera, and high-level Higher Education leadership.
Hasan pulls back the curtain on how he transitioned from a digital journalist to a strategic leader, sharing why ...
What happens when a corporate law path feels "soulless"? For Sascha Gill-Chugh, it led to a career pivot that is now reshaping how we talk about international development. In this episode, Vishnee sits down with Sascha, Communications Manager at CAMFED, to discuss the urgent need to decolonise the aid sector, the strategy behind reaching 20 million people with a single campaign, and why your "introvert" qualities might actually be ...
Is public apathy an insurmountable barrier, or a self-fulfilling prophecy? In this episode, Antonia May Cross, Director of Communications and Campaigns at Revolving Doors, challenges the "Cinderella Cause" mindset that plagues the charity sector.
From her unconventional start - entering the sector after being expelled from school - to winning a national Times Christmas Appeal, Antonia shares how data, optimism, and strategic humili...
Episode 9 features Helen Crumley, exploring her 20-year career, NHS insights, and impactful mental health advocacy with Kids Inspire. Discover how she balances high-stakes strategy with heart-led advocacy at Kids Inspire, supporting youth mental health. A must-listen for anyone looking to communicate with clarity, purpose, and real-world impact.
Trailer for the start of season 2. If you've enjoyed the episodes so far, please follow, like and comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you haven't listened to the podcast yet, then what are you waiting for? Go on, have a listen.
Episode 8 features Purvy Patel, who originally started her career in the corporate world and moved to the charity sector, leveraging her transferable skills. She discusses the challenges of sector transitions, including budget constraints and the need for more creative communications.
Purvy tells us about working for Age UK and Age UK Hillingdon, Harrow and Brent, highlighting the differences in managing comms for a local charity v...
Episode 7 of the Comms Collective features another international colleague, Mary Ann Llanza, with 30 years of experience. Mary Ann talks about the satisfaction of seeing direct community impact and how successful campaigns require authentic, community-led communication.
Mary Ann’s journey began as a writer and journalist, then led to impactful campaigns on violence against women and disaster risk reduction in disaster-prone c...
Episode 6 of the Comms Collective Podcast delves into the humanitarian world with Ka Man Parkinson, Communications and Marketing Lead for the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, with host Vishnee Sauntoo.
Ka Man explains how she works hard to understand her audience, the humanitarian field teams who are time-poor, lack good Wi-Fi, and work in very stressful conditions. The HLA brings learning to the sector through their digital...
Episode 5 - Claire Quigley, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and Fundraising, joins Vishnee for a conversation about charity growth, rebrands and how to manage a hybrid team.
Claire discusses the importance of progress over perfection and how developing relationships is crucial when working with external individuals, emphasising the value of tackling the harder tasks instead of the easier ones. And how to ensure her team ...
Björn Ólafsson, Research-Writer working for many organisations, including the Better Food Foundation, joins Vishnee from Barcelona, Spain— so we are going international today!
Björn talks about his background in animal welfare and advocacy, why good communication needs strong research, and how strong research needs good communication to explain it. He tells us about the challenges of talking about sensitive topics like food a...
Guy Abraham, Strategic Comms Lead for Haringey Council and Founder of BrandGuy consultancy, talks to Vishnee about how work in local government can lead to real impact on communities.
He shares his experience working on charity brands and why we should focus on the strengths of the team rather than their weaknesses.
Our host, Vishnee Sauntoo, sits down with Jenny Legg, Head of Comms of Scottish not-for-profit organisation Flexibility Works.
Jenny discusses what truly flexible working means, the limited part-time opportunities, especially at senior levels, and her journey from being a journalist to moving into comms. She provides insight into successful remote working and what it is like to drive change with limited resources.
In the first full episode of The Comms Collective Podcast, Vishnee Sauntoo sits down with Adeela Warley, CEO of CharityComms - a membership organisation for charity communications professionals.
Adeela discusses the future of communications and her role at CharityComms, as well as what leadership means to her. She talks about the evolution of leadership and the impact of AI on the sector.
Welcome to the Comms Collective podcast, where Vishnee Sauntoo explores the highs, lows and hard-won lessons of comms in the mission-led world.
Each episode features candid conversations with charity and public sector comms leaders — on everything from budget squeezes to breakthrough campaigns, comms in crisis to finding your voice as a leader.
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