Style, Stigma and Spin

Yeah, so the latest episode is only a chat with someone with his own Wikipedia page and published bestseller book... And since we talked, an MBE. So is Mark Esho officially a legend? I think so! A lovely wide-ranging chat full of laughter, thought-provocation and SEO tips. Mark will teach you that it doesn’t matter what obstacles life throws at you - it’s how you respond that counts! Mark is well worth a follow on LinkedIn and on Instagram @Mark_Esho. You can read the episode transcript here.

This month Mark Webb talked to Helen ('Hel'!) Reynolds. She's smiley of voice, Welsh in accent and runs the fabulous commscreatives.com. Needless to say we talked, ummm, creativity. And some of our fave social media campaigns! The Comms Creatives Academy gives you unlimited access to all social media classes, courses and workshops to take your digital communications to the next level. You can also find Helen on Twitter @HelReynolds or doodling @commscartoons Follow Helen on LinkedIn We had fun! You can read the episode transcript here under episodes.

A lovely opportunity to catch up with Sara Hawthorn. She doesn’t like me calling her a guru, but she’s fab. A social media friend for yonks, Sara runs an ongoing survey into disability representation in the PR industry. Few would deny that disabled people in PR are few and far between. But the stats that emerge point to stigma and reticence around ‘coming out’. Too grim a listen? Nah, Sara is fun and constructive.  Sara is a Chartered PR practitioner who ran her own agency for several years. She has been a visiting lecturer in digital marketing at Leeds Trinity University and was cited as one of the Shaw Trust’s top 100 influential people with a disability in 2018. She founded the DisAbility in PR network to tackle the woefully low numbers of disabled people working in PR and to work with agencies to overcome issues around ableism and exclusion of those with disabilities from entering and progressing in PR. She is a hearing aid user and is now living with Long Covid. You can find her on Twitter @DisabilityPR and find plenty more thought-provoking info on disabilitypr.com. You can read the episode transcript here under episodes.

Unhidden Clothing Founder Victoria Jenkins chats with host Mark Webb about how and why she started an adaptive fashion-line designed for people with disabilities. You can read the episode transcript here under episodes.

In this episode Mark Webb talks to none other than Sam Carlisle, who masterfully underplays herself in her bio: “Sam Carlisle is Director of Cause Communications which specialises in PR campaigns for charities and community interest companies. Sam builds on her experience of 25 years in senior national newspaper journalism. She is mum to Elvi, 19, who has complex needs and Sonny, 14. She met Mark on the school bus.” So knowing her as well as Mark does - the school bus bit is true - Mark pleads her case better. "On both the journalism and now PR agency side, Sam has delivered some of the most powerful National campaigns for good causes. I like her because; she’s unassuming; she’s humble; she delivers amazing work we can all learn from; she laughs at my jokes." Check out here for a snapshot of just some of the work Cause Communications has delivered. Find Cause on twitter. And Sam, with lots of Elvi stuff on Instagram. http://www.wheelsandwheelchairs.co.uk/

Disability@thetable podcast is hosted by Mark Webb. It is the first of the initiatives to get off the ground of the newly branded PRCA Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council. This episode is a conversation with Mark Webb and Jonathan Hassell, CEO & Founder of Hassell Inclusion. Jonathan is one of the world’s top digital usability & accessibility thought leaders. He has over 20 years experience in identifying new directions and challenges in digital accessibility, finding best practice process and technology solutions, authoring international standards and presenting best practices to conference audiences across the world. He has just delivered the new International accessibility Standard ISO 30071-1, which is based on the British Accessibility Standards BS 8878 that he led in 2010. He leads Hassell Inclusion’s team of accessibility experts in applying the Standard to provide strategic accessibility transformation services to organisations worldwide. Check out https://www.hassellinclusion.com.

We are absolutely thrilled to launch the first ever episode of Disability@thetable podcast with Mark Webb as the host. It is the first of the initiatives to get off the ground of the newly branded PRCA Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council. This episode is a conversation with Mark Webb, who leads the disability workstream, about his journey as a comms professional; living with MS; inclusive employers; disability representation in the PR industry; what we hope to achieve by launching Disability@thetable (other than putting it right at the centre of all conversation on inclusion) etc. We deliberated at some length about how best to use our resources for the best possible outcome. Disability@thetable is an PRCA EIAC platform to showcase role models, discuss challenges in the workplace, share best practice and give people with different abilities an opportunities to share their stories. The long term ambition is to integrate disability into the diversity agenda and short term we would like to invite speakers/allies and sponsors to join us in this journey.