How I Became an Expert in Brand Activism and Social Impact
Hi, I’m Sarah.
I’m a brand activism and social impact consultant.
I have experience supporting big companies like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Gen Z fashion brand Monki, non-profits like Feminist Internet, as well as award-winning start ups to realise their brand activism and social impact goals.
Activism and creative problem solving are in my DNA.
Brand activism is trending. And purpose-led businesses are growing three times faster on average than their competitors.
We are seeing the private sector reimagine itself as a force for good.
But, this shift won’t happen overnight. And, the potential for controversy, risk and backlash leaves many brand managers feeling the old adage ‘damned they do, damned if they don’t’ when it comes to brand activism.
So, how do brands get it right? Where is the sweet spot for them to add and gain value in the activism space?
Well, that’s where I come in.
With me, I bring a diverse background of expertise in anthropology, grassroots movement building, advocacy, campaigns and human-centred design. I’ve done this within large international NGOs and the United Nations across multiple countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
As a brand activism and social impact consultant, I believe that, as an approach to social change, brand activism and private sector social impact is one of the most powerful and efficient ways to change norms and disrupt the status quo.
Here you’ll find writings and musings on brand activism, corporate social impact and reimagining the private sector as a ‘force for good’.
But first, here’s a bit about me…
Born a whacky combo of Barbadian and Scottish, I’ve had a pretty nomadic and diverse upbringing.
Growing up entirely in the global south, in countries, like Pakistan, South Africa, India, Thailand and Iran, I’ve had a rather immersive education on the human experience, how diverse cultures and societies operate and the common threads that unite us across our planet.
From Art to Anthropology to Political Science: my education
My interest in the intricate ways cultures and ideas are literally woven into materials and objects propelled me towards a BA in Fashion Design from the Glasgow School of Art in 2011.
But, I wanted to know more about human cultures and societies…why is the world structured the way it is? Where do ideologies, sociocultural norms, behaviours and attitudes come from? How are they sustained? And why are some so much more powerful than others?
So, I graduated summa cum laude with my BSc. Anthropology (First Class Highest Honours) from UCL in 2015, specialising in social anthropology, ideology and behaviour change.
I loved every minute of studying anthropology. It taught me to unlearn everything about the world, articulate the ‘in-articulatable’ sociocultural, environmental and political patterns we take for granted, and to decolonise my perspective early on in life.
Armed with my anthropological tools, I dove further into understanding how injustices and systems of inequality have persisted throughout history. Who profits off of these injustices? Who has the power and will to change the narrative? And how?
In 2017, I graduated with my MSc. Political Economy of Violence, Conflict and Development (First Class High Honours) from SOAS, University of London.
For the last 8 years, I’ve been applying my academic background and accumulating immense experience and skills in movement building, influencing powerful institutions and changing the world within various roles at big international NGOs and the United Nations.
Working at the United Nations
While working at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Islamic Republic of Iran, I had the unrivalled privilege of learning from some of the world’s most inspiring human rights defenders. We worked together to push for increased economic rights for women and shift patriarchal and Sharia-imposed laws and norms that hold girls and women back from justice and equality. (Tricky and intricate work in a highly sensitive political context).
In Iran, I was lucky to sit down with a range of stakeholders to learn about the amazingly complex, contradictory and deep roots of Iranian culture, society, history and politics — from everyday young people, taxi drivers, shopkeepers, former political prisoners, chemical warfare survivors, veterans of the 1979 Revolution, and even got a carefully monitored meeting with one of Iran’s top ayatollahs.
Iran will forever be in my heart.
At UN Women in Cambodia, I worked with migrant workers, activists and government ministers alike to tackle social stigma and legal discrimination against women domestic worker migrants in Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Via a two-pronged approach, we were able to initiate behaviour and attitude change campaigns and — on the other hand — also work with ministers to close a loop hole in Cambodian Labour Law that was allowing domestic worker migrants to fall through the cracks.
Tackling religious extremism at Quilliam Foundation
Identifying and managing complex relationships and campaign opportunities is second-nature to me. It builds on my experience as a Programme Development Consultant for Quilliam Foundation, where I developed a multi-stakeholder programme to help tackle radicalisation and extremist attitudes in the UK.
Advancing girls’ rights and gender equality at Plan International
At Plan International, I have managed multiple cross-organisational projects and campaign initiatives with diverse stakeholders to advance gender equality and girls’ rights at the global level.
My expertise is leading on human-centred design, diverse stakeholder engagement and network coordination, and project managing across multiple countries and geographic regions from Latin America, West, East and Southern Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific
Recent exciting projects include:
- Collaborating with Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp: Over the past 6 months, I have collaborated with the Policy and Product Teams at Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp on a series of virtual listening workshops to create tangible solutions to make their platforms safer for girls and women who experience gender-based harassment and abuse.
- Developed an anti-harassment chatbot: Last year, I also co-led a feminist design sprint to develop an anti-harassment chatbot called “Maru” in collaboration with non-profit organisation Feminist Internet. This tool provides expert advice, resources and glossaries to support and empower people who are experiencing, witnessing or fighting online harassment
- Online gender equality initiatives: Over the past 1.5 years, I have been co-leading design and delivery of the #FreeToBeOnline global campaign strategy and public mobilisation plan with youth partners, civil society organisations and influencers. The goal is to end online harassment and abuse against girls and women online. This included designing and leading workshops, online trainings and webinars to mobilise hundreds of youth to take action, coordinating campaign actions, designing multilingual toolkits and engagement with celebrity influencers and government Heads of State.
- Design and lead workshops on online mis/disinformation: Last month, I led a series of co-design workshops with global youth activists to develop our campaign strategy on the impact of misinformation and disinformation online.
Within these projects, I coordinate the many ‘moving parts’ of these campaigns and projects, such as global networks of youth activists and manage their engagement with our offices, CSO partners and private sector stakeholders — pulling the strands together across multiple countries and in multiple languages.
Now, I am a brand activism and social impact consultant.
Building on my experience supporting big companies like Monki, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as well as award-winning startups to advance their brand activism goals, I am here to help businesses walk-the-talk when it comes to brand activism and social impact.
Purpose-led businesses are the future. I’m here to help forge that future.
So, that’s my mission.
Let’s make some impact.
Contact me
Looking to step into the brand activism space? Want to up your game on meaningful social impact? Connect with me here on LinkedIn or ping me on sarah@purpose-led.co.uk.
