At Shelter, took up a senior role in the media team in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. The organisation was operating under intense public, political and media scrutiny and the housing crisis had moved sharply into national debate.
The challenge wasn’t only to secure coverage but make careful decisions about how and when Shelter should enter a fast moving and highly sensitive news environment, where the pressure to respond was constant and the risks of getting tone or positioning wrong were high.
I oversaw the work connecting Shelter’s on the ground response to the wider national conversation, bringing the realities of the frontline into the media in a way that was responsible, reassuring and accurate - while also feeding into the broader policy debate around housing and holding the right people accountable.
Working closely with senior leadership, I shaped a reactive and proactive communications approach across media and digital channels to ensure Shelter’s voice was clear and authoritative without overreaching or cutting across the experiences of the people directly affected.
This meant making real time decisions on when to engage, how to frame complex housing issues for different audiences and ensuring communications were well coordinated under pressure.
Shelter maintained a consistent and high-profile presence across national media, spanning broadcast, print and political outlets, as well as contributing to the wider debate on housing policy following Grenfell. Our approach combined being visible with being disciplined, allowing the charity to play a critical role in both the immediate response and longer term national conversation.
Following our Grenfell response, the media team was recognised as PR Week’s In-House Team of the Year.
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