This would be my second time on the border between Chad and Sudan. It’s been a year since war broke out in Sudan and one of the few ways to get to the heart of the story has been through its western ...
Strategic communications leader helping institutions and leaders navigate complex global conversations with clarity, integrity, and human-centered storytelling.
I began my career as an award-winning journalist, drawn to stories and the responsibility that comes with telling them well. That grounding in listening closely, verifying carefully, and writing with integrity continues to shape how I work today.
Over time, my work moved beyond the newsroom and into humanitarian and global development spaces, where communication carries consequence. I became increasingly interested in how narratives shape power, influence trust, and determine whose lives are seen, valued, and acted upon.
Today, I work across strategic communications, advisory, and leadership engagement in global health and humanitarian spaces. My work focuses on helping institutions and leaders communicate with clarity and care, particularly in moments of crisis, transition, or scrutiny, while keeping people at the center of the story.
I also moderate and help shape high-level conversations, from policy dialogues to global forums, where ideas require structure, listening, and thoughtful facilitation. I bring a journalist’s instinct for inquiry and a communicator’s responsibility for holding space, ensuring that expertise, evidence, and lived experience meet in meaningful dialogue.
Writing remains central to my practice. This site is where I think in public through essays, reflections, and field notes, a way of making sense of complexity and staying anchored to the human realities beneath policy and systems.
Increasingly, I see communication not simply as a function of institutions, but as part of the infrastructure of leadership itself. The words we choose, the stories we elevate, and the voices we include shape how decisions are understood and whether trust can take root.
“I believe good communication is not loud. It is precise. It listens. And it leaves room for dignity.”
Where my work began.
Journalism & Storytelling
Award-winning journalist and former Senior African Correspondent at BBC News.
Where my work is focused today
Strategic Comms & Leadership Dialogue
Advising leaders and institutions across global health, development, and humanitarian action.
Mercy Juma
Founder and CEO
SELECTED RECOGNITION
Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling
ICJ
First recipient — awarded by the International Center for Journalists
United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Fellowship
UN
Awarded by the United Nations
Senior African Correspondent
BBC
Choice of soak, scrub, mask, moisturizer
LATEST WRITINGS
What Moderating Global Conversations Has Taught Me About Listening
There is always a moment just before a panel begins when the room shifts. The microphones are tested. The audience settles. Speakers glance at their notes or exchange a few quiet words with one an ...
Why, do those who have less, give more?
I wouldn’t call myself a coffee connoisseur, but I do enjoy a good cup. And I thought that, through my travels, I’d sampled some of the best brewed coffees around - until I a ...
