I’m a Copywriter who’s also an avid reader. I’ve been writing for brands for more than 4 years to help them amplify their voice and to grow organically. When I’m not writing, I can be found sitting in a corner with a book stuck to my face.

In today’s volatile and unpredictable epoch, you’d be forgiven for thinking that graduates’ bright futures are simply the light reflecting off lava. Y’know, because the world is burning and all. Step forward these scrappy young students, who have travelled *thousands of miles to study PR and Communications in Leeds. 

 Join our effervescent host Teela Clayton as she probes them about their academic journey, issues in the industry and whether Elon Musk is 100% a d*ck. 

 *Carla’s travelled about 5 miles from Cas.

Mercy Okusun is a postgraduate student (M.A. in Public Relations and Strategic Communication) at Leeds Beckett University. Her diverse cultural background, being half Nigerian and half Ghanaian, has instilled in her a deep appreciation for the power of communication to bridge differences and bring people together.

Her passion for generating creative ideas, combined with her curious nature, has allowed her to bring fresh perspectives to complex problems. As an avid reader and a lover of written communication, she enjoys engaging with others and building meaningful relationships.

As a postgraduate student, she is invested in honing her skills in digital communication, communication consulting, and brand management. Outside of her academic and professional pursuits, she loves trying out healthy food recipes, experiencing a new culture, and meeting new people.

In today’s volatile and unpredictable epoch, you’d be forgiven for thinking that graduates’ bright futures are simply the light reflecting off lava. Y’know, because the world is burning and all. Step forward these scrappy young students, who have travelled *thousands of miles to study PR and Communications in Leeds. 

 Join our effervescent host Teela Clayton as she probes them about their academic journey, issues in the industry and whether Elon Musk is 100% a d*ck. 

 *Carla’s travelled about 5 miles from Cas.

Prutha is a media and communication professional; always up for new challenges. She is currently pursuing her masters in public relations and strategic communications from Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England.

Previously, she has worked as an Associate Account Executive at Adfactors PR, India’s largest public relations and reputation consultancy firm. As a part of the New Economy and Financial Communication team at Adfactors, Prutha worked closely with Fintech, startups, crypto and blockchain clientele. Prior to that, Prutha also worked at Dr. Vaidya’s, a D2C brand as a Content and Social Media Executive.

She loves to binge watch shows and movies.

In today’s volatile and unpredictable epoch, you’d be forgiven for thinking that graduates’ bright futures are simply the light reflecting off lava. Y’know, because the world is burning and all. Step forward these scrappy young students, who have travelled *thousands of miles to study PR and Communications in Leeds. 

 Join our effervescent host Teela Clayton as she probes them about their academic journey, issues in the industry and whether Elon Musk is 100% a d*ck. 

 *Carla’s travelled about 5 miles from Cas.

Highly motivated analyst with a strong passion for data analysis and problem-solving.

Equipped with a solid foundation in data visualization, and data management techniques. I have excellent critical thinking skills and a keen eye for detail to uncover valuable insights. Strong ability to communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner. Eager to contribute to data-driven decision-making and drive business success.

In today’s volatile and unpredictable epoch, you’d be forgiven for thinking that graduates’ bright futures are simply the light reflecting off lava. Y’know, because the world is burning and all. Step forward these scrappy young students, who have travelled *thousands of miles to study PR and Communications in Leeds. 

 Join our effervescent host Teela Clayton as she probes them about their academic journey, issues in the industry and whether Elon Musk is 100% a d*ck. 

 *Carla’s travelled about 5 miles from Cas.

Lyrically feisty, with a PhD in Communication Management loading, Teela Clayton is a CIPR Accredited PR practitioner whose agency experience spans healthcare, pharma comms, consumer and B2B. Alongside her PhD, Teela works at Leeds Business School as a researcher and lecturer. A former teacher by trade – though she never mentions it – she knows her way around a dictionary and is never without a red pen. Her interests include spelling, Yorkshire Tea, and socio-political communication. She is most oft found atop a soap box, or in a bucolic setting.

In today’s volatile and unpredictable epoch, you’d be forgiven for thinking that graduates’ bright futures are simply the light reflecting off lava. Y’know, because the world is burning and all. Step forward these scrappy young students, who have travelled *thousands of miles to study PR and Communications in Leeds. 

 Join our effervescent host Teela Clayton as she probes them about their academic journey, issues in the industry and whether Elon Musk is 100% a d*ck. 

 *Carla’s travelled about 5 miles from Cas.

Dom is Marketing Director at Taylors of Harrogate, best known as the makers of Yorkshire Tea and sister business to Bettys. Dom joined as a copywriter 15 years ago, when he launched Yorkshire Tea onto Twitter in the very early days of brands on social media. Since Dom became Marketing Director in 2016, Yorkshire Tea has grown to become the UK’s number one brew. Key to that success has been creative but consistent communications centred around the notion of “where everything’s done proper”.

As a challenger to iconic brands like PG Tips and Tetley, it was never likely that Yorkshire Tea could outspend the competition. Yet somehow, over the last decade, it rocketed past them to become UK number one. In this session, Dom will share how the Yorkshire Tea team used imagination, humour and an entrepreneurial attitude to comms to punch well above their weight, as well some of the more painful lessons they learned along the way. 

Steve has a decade of experience leading communications for not-for-profit organisations and joined GSA in 2022. At Citizen he led an award-winning transformation of the communications function, the organisation’s rebrand from WM Housing and its establishment as a trusted voice in the sector.

Steve previously led communications at the housing sector’s professional body, the Chartered Institute of Housing, where he served as the organisation’s chief speechwriter and devised the Make a Stand campaign – a pledge to support people affected by domestic abuse which has since been signed by 400 housing associations across the UK.

He is a thought leader in communications and has delivered keynote sessions at the Inside Housing Communications Conference and Institute of Internal Communications Conference. He is a judge for the UK Housing Awards, the Housing Heroes Awards and the Internal Communication and Engagement Awards.

Steve is a former news editor and worked on newspapers across the West Midlands and Warwickshire for four years before moving into communications and PR. In his spare time Steve enjoys sport, theatre and is a semi-professional voice artist.

A few years ago I tweeted about what I would put into a Comms Room 101 – it really took off and CommsHero picked it up as a regular slot at their networking sessions, which were a lifeline for many of us during the pandemic. I’m really excited that I’ll be hosting a live, in-person Comms Room 101 in Manchester on 26 September as part of Comms Hero Week!

Hel Reynolds is an award-winning communications creativity expert, and she runs Comms Creatives with her sister, Lesley.

Each year, she trains hundreds of communications professionals from brands like BBC Studios, Manchester Council and Macmillan Cancer Support to unleash their creativity, with engaging online courses that get people fighting their fears and growing their social media and creativity skills.

She draws those cartoons you might see popping up all over your Linkedin and Twitter, and writes the very popular Big Yellow Newsletter, dropping commsinspiration into over 10,000 inboxes each week.

Hel lives in Wales, and when people call her childish, she takes it as a compliment, & she is usually attached to a mug of coffee and a cat.

Embark on a journey where the realms of creativity and science meet, as Comms Creatives Chief Officer, Hel Reynolds, reveals the secrets behind unleashing your inner Comms Unicorn. 

This talk will get you trying out simple creativity-boosters, and will empower you with the tools and research that will help you make your communications more imaginative and effective.

Get ready to spread your wings, ignite your creative sparkle, and magic up a wave of brilliance in your communication.

Jenni is an international speaker, author, podcaster and business communications strategist.  

In a career spanning nearly 20 years she has worked in defence, retail and hospitality as well as not-for-profit. It is this experience that contributed to the development of The Field Model™ and her book, Influential Internal Communication which was published in April 2021.  

Before setting up Redefining Communications, Jenni worked as a Communications Director for a global pharmaceutical business and prior to that she was Global Head of Communications for a FTSE 250 hospitality business.  

Jenni has her own podcast; Redefining Communications with Jenni Field and co-hosts the award-winning podcast Calm Edged Rebels which focuses on coaching topics like motivation, influence and boundaries.  

Jenni is a certified Company Director, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), she is a Chartered practitioner and is qualified in internal communication.  

Every leader wants people who will follow them and seamlessly perform the necessary tasks needed to succeed. But no matter how hard they try, most leaders struggle to get their teams to do what they want. They work on being more empathetic. They work on their communication style. They work on being “authentic.” But those issues are rarely the root of the problem. The real problem is not that you don’t have a clear vision and a plan to get there. The problem is nobody believes you. Until a leader becomes credible, we will not follow that person. Jenni has identified eight traits that make someone credible and she has tested these with leaders and followers. Importantly, this has been tested against protected characteristics to find out if statements like “women care more about empathy than men” is actually true. This session will be the first time this research has been shared and it will delve into the nine traits of credibility, sharing what happens when one of them is missing.