Suzanne Whitby
I am a communication specialist and climate communicator, and since 2012, I have focused my energy, experience and expertise on supporting the transition to a sustainable future, raising awareness about environmental disruption, and tackling climate change.
I primarily work with individuals, schools, groups and organisations who want to make sense of climate change, talk about them and tackle them. You can see the services that I offer to support this here →
Occasionally I work with fellow-facilitators, trainers, and coaches with my “communication specialist” hat on, offering both good advice, mentoring and practical communication and marketing support. If you’re interested in this, you can learn more here →
Professional background
I am a communication specialist, professional facilitator, trainer and experience designer. Over the last 10 years, I have focused my energy, experience and expertise on supporting the transition to a sustainable future by raising awareness about environmental disruption, and tackling climate change.
I do this by helping individuals, groups and organisations understand, tackle and talk about today’s sustainability challenges and solutions.
Here is my professional background in a nutshell:
- I am a communication professional with over 20 years of international experience
- I am the principle of make SHIFT happen where I work with businesses to support their sustainability transformation.
- In Austria, I am the founder of the Klimafit project, which is on a mission to give every Austrian access to climate awareness training by 2030. I am also the co-founder of Nachhaltig in Tirol (Sustainable in Tirol).
- I teach science communication and interpersonal communication skills at SciComm Success and since 2014, I have delivered hundreds skill building and science communication training programmes, including a science communication curriculum for climate scientists at Innsbruck University.
- I am the co-author of “A Zest for Business”, which provided practical branding, marketing and communication advice for new and growing businesses in the UK. It was published in 2006, and things have moved on since then!
- I am a PhD candidate at VU in Amsterdam, exploring how the intersection of oral storytelling, sensory experiences, and landscapes can affect environmental thinking.
Giving back
I believe that we have great power as individuals, but collectively, we can be wiser. Okay, sometimes we can also be stupid when we’re part of a group, but my optimistic view is that when we tap into the knowledge of a group, we can learn from the experiences of others, test theories before we implement them, share our knowledge, and get to where we want to be faster.
The result is that I constantly bring people together and create spaces for people to find opportunities to be part of something bigger than the individual. Here are a few active projects:
- Nachhaltig in Tirol: co-founded in 2023, this online platform provides residents of and visitors to Tirol with a one-stop shop to learn about sustainable events and initiatives in the area.
- KlimaNetz: a network of sustainability & climate professionals in Austria to network, build skills, and find ways to work together to help Austria achieve Net Zero.
- Wir sind Athena (we are Athena): based on my idea that “together we’re wiser”, this is a networking group for women in Tirol.
Past projects:
- Facilitation Laboratory (#FacLab): a space for professional and aspiring facilitators to learn and grow.
Memberships
Education and accreditations
I hold a BA (Hons) in English & Philosophy, an MA in Classics with a focus on sensory studies. I am currently a PhD candidate at VU in Amsterdam, researching how the intersection of oral storytelling, sensory experiences, and space can affect environmental thinking.
In addition, I am:
- a trained facilitator of Celemi™ Sustainability and a Celemi Solution Partner
- a trained focused conversations facilitator
- a trained Participatory Strategic Planning workshop facilitator
- a PATH facilitator
- a Climate Fresk Facilitator
- an En-Roads Facilitator
- Carbon Literacy trainer and Climate Literacy training designer
- a Deep Time Walk leader
- a certified TetraMap® Facilitator
I also have a long list of project management and ICT qualifications, thanks to my corporate career as a programme manager and systems administrator, and which have proven surprisingly useful in my current work. If needed, I can also run workshops in Yin Yoga, Pilates and perfume making!
More questions? Fancy a chat?
Do feel free to get in touch if you’d like to connect or have a chat.
I wanted to send you a personal note to thank you for all your support and efforts in helping us with this moderation. I admire your flexibility and adaptability to whatever curveballs we end up throwing at you, your ability to spontaneously reshuffle and reconceptualise the sessions, and your upbeat attitude and energy! It is always a pleasure to work with you, and the sessions are always extremely engaging and fruitful.