Michelle is a highly experienced communications professional having specialised in crisis comms and stakeholder engagement in both public and private sector for more than 20 years. She has led regional and specialist media teams to deliver national strategic communications portfolio, having previously worked at the heart of policing and government influencing cross-departmental communications.
As an Associate at the Cabinet Office’s Emergency Planning College, she developed the ‘Five Rs Crisis Communications Course’ and delivers training to local government, law enforcement and international partners, with a specialism across the MENA region.
As Deputy Head of Communications for Counter Terrorism Policing, Michelle prepared for and led the response to multiple crises and major incidents, including the terrorist atrocities across the UK in 2017 and the Salisbury nerve agent attack in 2018.
As interim Head of Comms Michelle represented CT Policing and UK Government in training and development programmes designed to boost communications capabilities overseas. She has assisted comms counterparts throughout EMEA, highlighting comms challenges arising from terrorism and extremism and sharing CT Policing campaign messaging and crisis comms practices.
After extensive programme delivery in Oman, Michelle was selected as the Crisis Communications specialist advisor to Qatar’s Supreme Committee for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Embedded in-country, she assisted comms practitioners in the preparation and contingency planning for crisis on the lead up to the games and strategic communications and stakeholder engagement, contributing to the successful delivery of the World Cup - the first to be staged in an Arab state.
Michelle was Deputy Comms Lead for the COVID-19 communications response in London, operating on behalf of London’s Strategic Co-ordination Group and working to navigate the capital through the global health crisis towards recovery.
As a security vetted, post-graduate NCTJ-qualified news journalist Michelle has worked for both print and broadcast media and was a reporter with News UK and Sky News.
In her spare time, Michelle volunteers for several security organisations and a sporting charity. In 2020, she became the first woman elected as a Board Director and Head of Communications and Marketing for the Association of Security Consultants. She is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals in the City of London. In addition, she is a Board Member, and the strategic communications advisor, for the charity ‘Love of the Game’, campaigning and successfully working alongside the UK Government to introduce new legislation across UK sports in relation to preventing concussion and head injuries, from grass roots to professional athletes.
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) English Literature
- National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)
- National Certificate Education in News Journalism (NCE)