Strategic Thinking & Communication Specialist
With over 15 years' experience at the intersection of creativity, innovation and behavioural insights, I explore what enables - and what inhibits - our positive efforts towards more sustainable ways of working and living: from climate action and healthy lifestyles to responsible entrepreneurship and innovation.I incorporate my findings into programme- and project-based support for forward-thinking policymakers, educators and entrepreneurs working on these developments, developing strategy and communication grounded in insight, evidence and collaborative goals.
Approach
I support policymakers, technical experts, educators and entrepreneurs who are working on new projects, strategies and initiatives that support more sustainable ways of working and living.More specifically, I help them strengthen two interconnected capabilities that have proved critical for avoiding mis-steps and increasing momentum across the board: cross-sector communication and collaboration and innovation, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship.
| Capability-building | via Learning Design & Facilitation | via Strategy Development Support |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-sector communication and collaboration | Learning experiences to navigate diverse needs, values and motivations, uniting interdepartmental and cross-sector teams in shared missions. | Leadership coaching and consulting on live projects to spot connections and apply the skills to build bridges and move forward together. |
| Innovation, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship | Learning experiences focusing on the early stages of the innovation process to build strong foundations and structures for problem-solving ideas. | Leadership coaching and consulting on live projects to develop opportunities, spot risks and course-correct where required. |
These capabilities are critical because today’s challenges are complex, cross-cutting, and often need more human than technical solutions. They require aligned stakeholders, adaptive mindsets, and the ability to turn learning into action - all of which depend on collaboration and responsible innovation practices being built into processes from the outset.
Ask me about
Tobacco Cessation Consortium
World Health Organisation • Geneva
Supporting WHO’s pioneering cross-sector Tobacco Cessation Consortium by developing a Phase 1 strategy and providing analysis from two Technical Working Group meetings, guiding collaboration across public, private, and civil society sectors. This informed strategic growth and strengthened partnerships for effective, sustainable cessation aligned with WHO FCTC goals.Ask me about this work ↓
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Culture-Specific Communication
World Health Organisation • Geneva
Producing a research report applying behavioural and communication frameworks to analyse cultural drivers in tobacco communication, identifying untapped opportunities for culturally-tailored messaging. This work highlighted potential for policy guidance to enhance message relevance and impact, supporting more effective, inclusive implementation of WHO FCTC Articles 11 and 12.Ask me about this work ↓
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The World We Will Create
Design Council • UK
Supporting Essex County Council and Essex Climate Action Commission with its aim to better engage young people in local climate action, by employing futures thinking and participatory research to co-create ten values-based themes informing youth-led climate action and communication across the region. This strengthened regional climate strategy through inclusive, future-focused and values-driven youth participation.Ask me about this work ↓
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Climate-Positive Communities
Design Council • UK
Nurturing the silo-softening development of an interdepartmental Hounslow London Borough Council team to align Net Zero targets with lived experiences in an area of extreme urban deprivation, reframing climate action around care, equity, and the co-benefits of social and environmental action. This enabled more inclusive, context-sensitive and cohesive local climate strategies.Ask me about this work ↓
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Education & Enterprise Innovation
Various clients • UK & International
Equipping academics and enterprise leaders with foundational sustainable futures knowledge and skills tailored to their disciplines and practices - enabling curriculum updates, addressing complex issues, identifying new opportunities and enacting values-driven innovation. This supported alignment with evolving stakeholder expectations and enterprise innovation grounded in social and ecological resilience.Ask me about this work ↓
Publication
10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (WHO GTCR)
World Health Organisation, 2025 (upcoming)
Contributing strategic editorial support to identify and develop engaging, policy-relevant and actionable content - such as scene-setting context, behavioural insights and case studies - for key chapters.
Publication
Crafting Connections with Clothing: Values, Influence and Relationships
Routledge, 2023
Lead author of Ch. 17 in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles, exploring how fashion enterprise innovation can drive social and behavioural change.
Publication
All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice
Centre for Sustainable Design, 2021
Author of an academic paper presented at Sustainable Innovation Conference 2021, examining Social Practice Theory as a strategy to end fast fashion consumption.
Writing samples
Smoke Gets In Their Eyes: A brief history of tobacco industry interference in global public health efforts towards smoking prevention and cessation.
Outside the Box: Building strong foundations for social value and wellbeing into property development projects.
Talking on a Loop: Fairphone tackles e-waste with a smartphone we can fix.
"Carra is a driven, intelligent and curious colleague - when working with us at the Design Council, she helped to deliver a complex project with a range of stakeholders. She pushed participants to think deeper about the work they were aiming to deliver, and ultimately created a more meaningful process. This, in turn, led to longer-lasting outcomes."
Emily Whyman, Senior Programme Manager, Design Council
"I would describe Carra as rigorously creative, in that she combines systems thinking and critical thinking with the spontaneity needed for new ideas. Not many people can do this. She questions everything and because she's also a terrific person, connects with people on many levels. It's an impressive combination of skills for change-making. Working with Carra definitely made me a better designer."
Darren Evans, Design Council Associate & Founder, Engine Room Design
“A special talent for looking at projects delivering solutions that satisfy the requirements from all stakeholder perspectives, are truly relevant and have undeniable integrity.”
William Knight, Director, The Renew Consultancy
“Working with Carra is a fantastic opportunity that all businesses should be lucky to have. You need to know more than you think you know, and I would highly recommend that Carra be the person to bring the passion and creative solution to your business.”
Nicki Oldham, Studio Manager, Holmes Studio
We engaged with Carra when we, as a studio, felt we needed to really understand sustainability properly. Carra set out a schedule of phases, fully costed and explained the route she wished to take. The first workshop was brilliant and I learnt the wonderful and spectacularly accurate term 'greenwashing', in essence waffling on about how green you are while doing nothing in reality. The actual outcome of the workshop was a very simplified approach that has worked well for us ever since and as we have progressed in our development is this area. More education planned for the team this year which will help us focus even more on the details that help to improve design within these parameters. I highly recommend!!"
Simon Clark, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Lumsden Design
Featured Workshop
Declutter the Landscape
A practical starting point for enterprise leaders and teams to uncover their pathway to sustainable futures: cutting through the myths and misunderstandings that can paralyse, and equipping them to step forward with confidence on what inspires.View PDF Overview Online →
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