Note: This page is updated monthly with recently published posts.
☎️ Welcome to The Switchboard! I’m Julia Levy, the Editor-in-Chief. My mission is to explore the ways we communicate and connect at work and beyond with career insights, inspiring stories and best practices from industry leaders. Thank you for being part of this community.
🏠 This About Page shares The Switchboard’s story and highlights from past posts. Continue the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter or in the comments on this page. For new readers, to receive future issues delivered to your inbox, add your email below.
Since launching in January 2021, I’ve published 100+ interviews and 35+ best practices articles. To make it easier to find content, I’ve created this index as a guide. It’s divided into sections — Best Practices, By Industry and By Role. For the interviews, note that the roles and companies listed are reflective of the time of publication.
On This Page
Best Practices
🏠 A Home for Content: Intranet Guide
📅 Editorial Calendar Guide
🐶 Howl-i-day Pet Show Planning Guide
🎆 Holiday Celebration Guide
🎺 Developing Operating Values at Mozilla
🖋️ Learn to Write for an Executive: 8 Best Practices
🚀 Why the Ways We Work Together Matter: 10 Steps to Align, Share and Succeed as a Team
📅 How to Start Writing Your 2023 Annual Report Today
Book Reports and Learnings
✨ The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
😂 Why Being Funny Should be a Requirement for Internal Communications
📖 Take a Storytelling Approach to Internal Communications
📚 The Power of Ritual: Finding Meaning and Connection with 6 Modern Traditions
🪙 What Philanthropy Taught Me About Executive and Internal Communications
🍜11 Food-Focused Ideas for Fueling Internal Communications and Culture
🎧 7 Inspiring Podcasts for Internal Communications
📚 Learning and Development Strategies
☎️ Meeting My Muse: A Switchboard Operator’s Story
🎩 What Magicians can teach us about Internal Communications
☂️ If Mary Poppins was your Chief Culture Officer
⛵ Set Sail on a Summer of Learning: Podcast, Books, and more
⛅ What Sesame Street Teaches us about Internal Communications and Careers
📅 Celebrate World Emoji Day: 🪄Magic Wand or 🔮 Crystal Ball
🍔 What The Museum of Failure Can Teach Internal Communicators
❤️ The Kindness at Work Honor Roll: 21 inspiring stories of empathy
📸 What Creators Can Teach us About Communicating at Work
🔮 The Future of Communications: Predictions for 2023 and beyond
📺 What We Can Learn from Wednesday, Acapulco and Ted Lasso
🎭 10 Employee Club Ideas to Start with Zero Budget
🍳 Communications Nourishment from Chefs and Food Storytellers
🏕️ Let's Go To Summer Camp: Campfire Stories
🌸 Nature At Work: 🌤️ Count Clouds, 🌌 Look at the Stars, 🐦 Go Bird Watching and More
🪀 Michelle Lee: Partner & Managing Director, Play Lab at IDEO
Rituals
By Industry
Coaching, Consulting and Future of Work
⭐ Mansi Goel: Executive Coach at Mansi Goel Coaching & Facilitation
📣 Christine Tao: Co-founder and CEO at Sounding Board
📖 Toby Frankenstein: Head of Storytelling at CRC
🫖 Rachel Miller: Director, All Things IC
📥 Jessica Thrasher: Vice President - Products and Services, SNP Communications
📈 Tracey Pavlishin: Senior Director, Head of Americas Marketing and Global Internal Communications + Alumni Engagement - Kearney
🌲 Netta Conyers-Haynes: VP, Communications at Sequoia Consulting Group
📣 Liz Soltoff: Consultant
🎙️Arlene Amitirigala: Global Corporate Communications Leader
🚦Becky Graebe: Senior Director, Communication Expert at Dynamic Signal
🍞 Ken Shuman: Founder of InterConnected Strategies and Interim VP of Communications at Misfits Market
🦪 Rhys Black: Head of Workplace Design at Oyster
🧃Brie Wolfson: Recipe Development at The Kool-Aid Factory and Author of Founder Fodder
💻 Helen Kupp: Senior Director and co-founder of Future Forum at Slack | co-author of "How The Future Works"
💡Lars Schmidt: Founder of Amplify, Author and Podcaster
🛬 Julie Inouye: Communications and Marketing Executive and Advisor
💿 Sean Garrett: Founder and Convener at Mixing Board
🗝 Nick deWilde: Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer at Exec
Education
🧰 Adrian J. Hopkins: Director, Internal Communications at General Assembly
🚀 Adrian Lai: Chief of Staff and Head of Operations at Wonderschool
🏫 Patrick Holmes: Director of Internal Communications at University of California, Berkeley
✏️ Christopher Pearsall: Vice President, Brand & Communications at DonorsChoose
🌞 Sherrie Westin: President of Sesame Workshop
⚡️Victoria Young Idol: COO and Co-Founder at Outpace
🏫 Wes Kao: Co-founder at Maven
📐 Kursat Ozenc: Lecturer at Stanford’s d.school
💼 Clara Ma: Founder, Ask a Chief of Staff
Hospitality, Food and Sports
🛫 Gina Laughlin: Managing Director – Employee Communications at Delta
🛒 Cynthia Horiguchi: Senior Director of Communications at Instacart
🌮 Jerilan Greene: Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc. and Chairman and CEO, Yum! Foundation
🚲 Caitlin Landsman: Senior Manager, Internal Communications at Peloton Interactive
🍽️ Samantha Hillstrom: Head of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement, Blue Apron
☕ Miki Levine: Retail Divisions Communications Manager at Peet's Coffee
🥫 Laura Colantuono: Head of Internal Communications, International at The Kraft Heinz Company
🍞 Ken Shuman: Founder of InterConnected Strategies and Interim VP of Communications at Misfits Market
🕯️Roseli Ilano: Head of Community at Eventbrite
🧁 Candace Nelson: Founder, Sprinkles and Pizzana | Author, Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit
🛠️ Michael Maney: Head of Internal Communications, The Home Depot
Agencies and Media
📺 Brianna Barker: Senior Director, Employee Communications at PBS
📰 Megan Dold: Head of Corporate and Internal Communications, Financial Times
💫 Jared Taylor: Vice President, Employee Experience at Edelman
🧪 Chase Warner: Director of Internal Communications at Real Chemistry
🌏 Beth Furtwangler: Internal Communications Director at National Geographic Partners
🌈 Soon Mee Kim: Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Omnicom Public Relations Group
❤️ Claude Silver: Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia
🪀 Michelle Lee: Partner & Managing Director, Play Lab at IDEO
Tech
📋 Roberta (Bertie) Thomson: Chief Communications and Creative Officer, Notion
🛒 Leslie Letts: Global Director, Internal Communications & Community Engagement for Worldwide Operations at Amazon
🌱 Tracy Van Grack: Chief Communications Officer at Revolution
🔎 Lisa Chen: Head of Internal Communications, People Operations, Google
💼 Laura McCafferty: Vice President, Global Employee Communications at Indeed
🗺️ Holly Nicola: Head of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement at Mapbox
🎞️ Emily Singer Mandel: Senior Director, Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google
🔖 Sean Langston, Jr.: Internal Communications, Reddit
📦 Elizabeth Rasberry: Internal Communications Leader at ABB
🪁 Jesse Bianco-Lane: Head of Internal Communications at Webflow
📝 Cath Anderson: Head of Communications, Cityblock Health
🎨 Laney Erokan: Director, Internal Communications & Employer Branding at Patreon
📣 Hannah O'Brien: Head Of Internal Communications at Culture Amp
🎥 Butler Rondeno: Director, Executive and Internal Communications at Salesforce
🔎 Laura Hunter: Senior Director, Executive Communications at Pure Storage
🥁 Lindsey Sanford: Chief of Staff, People Team
🔗 Lisa Mudge: Senior Director, Employee Communications at LinkedIn
🎫 Camilla Boyer: Head of Internal Communications and Culture at Hopin
📘 Danyelle Pollock: Internal Communications, Amazon
🏦 Luiz Whitney: Head of Internal Communications & Employer Brand at Pagaya
📁 Megan Stack: Head of Global Content and Culture, Internal Communications at Dropbox
💡Danielle Boris: Founder & CEO at Sandbox
🎥 Emily Busse: Director of Communications at Loom
🏦 Phillip Hales: Senior Director, Internal Communications at Stash
🧱 Nathan Fisher: Director of Internal Communications at Databricks
✅ Jacob Bank: CEO and Founder, Relay
🏰 Q Hamirani: Global Head of Live and Work Anywhere, Airbnb Global Head of Live and Work Anywhere, Airbnb
🪐 Caleb Bushner: Vice President of Marketing at Unusual Ventures
⚡Ben Lang: Head of Community at Notion
Public Service, Philanthropy and Health
📱Mona Nabil: Regional Internal Communications Officer at World Food Programme RBC
🏦 Sara Glick: Senior Director, Internal Communications and Engagement - U.S. Chamber of Commerce
🌳 Cheryl Magat: Director, Internal Communications - The Trust for Public Land
⛴️ Lise Harwin: Employee Communications Manager, Port of Portland & Portland International Airport
🏥 Elisabeth Wang: Executive Director of Brand Building and Communications for Piedmont Healthcare
🏙️ Janelle S. Kpeli: Director of Internal Communications at Cityblock Health
📺 Michelle Lyons Dandridge: Senior Director, Enterprise Communications and Colleague Engagement at Pfizer
Financial Services, Real Estate and Retail
🌐 Joe Cohen: Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, AXIS
🚪Allison King: Senior Director of Internal Communications & Editor in Chief at California Closets
👗 Tiffin Jernstedt: Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer at Neiman Marcus Group
🏢 Nicole Neal: Director, Global Employee Communications at Cushman & Wakefield
🎙️ Mita Mallick: Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta | Co-Founder, Brown Table Talk podcast
By Role
C-Suite
📋 Roberta (Bertie) Thomson: Chief Communications and Creative Officer, Notion
🌮 Jerilan Greene: Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc. and Chairman and CEO, Yum! Foundation
👗 Tiffin Jernstedt: Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer at Neiman Marcus Group
🌐 Joe Cohen: Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, AXIS
🌱 Tracy Van Grack: Chief Communications Officer at Revolution
🌞 Sherrie Westin: President of Sesame Workshop
Chief of Staff
🚀 Adrian Lai: Chief of Staff and Head of Operations at Wonderschool
🥁 Lindsey Sanford: Chief of Staff, People Team
DEI and People Leaders
🌈 Soon Mee Kim: Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Omnicom Public Relations Group
🎙️ Mita Mallick: Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta | Co-Founder, Brown Table Talk podcast
❤️ Claude Silver: Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia
Founders
🧁 Candace Nelson: Founder, Sprinkles and Pizzana | Author, Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit
🧃Brie Wolfson: Recipe Development at The Kool-Aid Factory and Author of Founder Fodder
💡Danielle Boris: Founder & CEO at Sandbox
✅ Jacob Bank: CEO and Founder, Relay
⚡️Victoria Young Idol: COO and Co-Founder at Outpace
🏫 Wes Kao: Co-founder at Maven
💼 Clara Ma: Founder, Ask a Chief of Staff
🗝 Nick deWilde: Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer at Exec
Communications, Brand and Marketing
📝 Cath Anderson: Head of Communications, Cityblock Health
🛒 Cynthia Horiguchi: Senior Director of Communications at Instacart
🌲 Netta Conyers-Haynes: VP, Communications at Sequoia Consulting Group
🏥 Elisabeth Wang: Executive Director of Brand Building and Communications for Piedmont Healthcare
🍞 Ken Shuman: Founder of InterConnected Strategies and Interim VP of Communications at Misfits Market
🎥 Emily Busse: Director of Communications at Loom
✏️ Christopher Pearsall: Vice President, Brand & Communications at DonorsChoose
🛬 Julie Inouye: Communications and Marketing Executive and Advisor
🪐 Caleb Bushner: Vice President of Marketing at Unusual Ventures
Executive Communications
🔎 Laura Hunter: Senior Director, Executive Communications at Pure Storage
📘 Morgan Baden: Head of Executive Communications at Acumen | Author 📚
📺 Christine Alabastro: Executive Communications Professional
📥 Jessica Thrasher: Vice President - Products and Services, SNP Communications
🎞️ Emily Singer Mandel: Senior Director, Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google
Executive Coaching
⭐ Mansi Goel: Executive Coach at Mansi Goel Coaching & Facilitation
📣 Christine Tao: Co-founder and CEO at Sounding Board
Remote and Future of Work
🦪 Rhys Black: Head of Workplace Design at Oyster
💻 Helen Kupp: Senior Director and co-founder of Future Forum at Slack | co-author of "How The Future Works"
🏰 Q Hamirani: Global Head of Live and Work Anywhere, Airbnb
Community
🕯️Roseli Ilano: Head of Community at Eventbrite
⚡Ben Lang: Head of Community at Notion
Internal Communications
🔗 Lisa Mudge: Senior Director, Employee Communications at LinkedIn
🛒 Leslie Letts: Global Director, Internal Communications & Community Engagement for Worldwide Operations at Amazon
🔎 Lisa Chen: Head of Internal Communications, People Operations, Google
💼 Laura McCafferty: Vice President, Global Employee Communications at Indeed
🏢 Nicole Neal: Director, Global Employee Communications at Cushman & Wakefield
🪁 Jesse Bianco-Lane: Head of Internal Communications at Webflow
🚪Allison King: Senior Director of Internal Communications & Editor in Chief at California Closets
🔖 Sean Langston, Jr.: Internal Communications, Reddit
🎨 Laney Erokan: Director, Internal Communications & Employer Branding at Patreon
📣 Hannah O'Brien: Head Of Internal Communications at Culture Amp
📱Mona Nabil: Regional Internal Communications Officer at World Food Programme RBC
🎥 Butler Rondeno: Director, Executive and Internal Communications at Salesforce
📰 Megan Dold: Head of Corporate and Internal Communications, Financial TimesExecutive Communications
🎥 Butler Rondeno: Director, Executive and Internal Communications at Salesforce
🧪 Chase Warner: Director of Internal Communications at Real Chemistry
🏦 Sara Glick: Senior Director, Internal Communications and Engagement - U.S. Chamber of Commerce
🚲 Caitlin Landsman: Senior Manager, Internal Communications at Peloton Interactive
☕ Miki Levine: Retail Divisions Communications Manager at Peet's Coffee
🍽️ Samantha Hillstrom: Head of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement, Blue Apron
🌳 Cheryl Magat: Director, Internal Communications - The Trust for Public Land
🫖 Rachel Miller: Director, All Things IC
🏫 Patrick Holmes: Director of Internal Communications at University of California, Berkeley
🌏 Beth Furtwangler: Internal Communications Director at National Geographic Partners
📈 Tracey Pavlishin: Senior Director, Head of Americas Marketing and Global Internal Communications + Alumni Engagement - Kearney
📘 Danyelle Pollock: Internal Communications, Amazon
🏦 Luiz Whitney: Head of Internal Communications & Employer Brand at Pagaya
📁 Megan Stack: Head of Global Content and Culture, Internal Communications at Dropbox
🥫 Laura Colantuono: Head of Internal Communications, International at The Kraft Heinz Company
🏙️ Janelle S. Kpeli: Director of Internal Communications at Cityblock Health
🏦 Phillip Hales: Senior Director, Internal Communications at Stash
🧱 Nathan Fisher: Director of Internal Communications at Databricks
📺 Michelle Lyons Dandridge: Senior Director, Enterprise Communications and Colleague Engagement at Pfizer
🛠️ Michael Maney: Head of Internal Communications, The Home Depot
Employee Engagement, Culture and Branding
💡Lars Schmidt: Founder of Amplify, Author and Podcaster
💫 Surbhi Ugra: Head of Employee Experience Excellence at Unilever
🗺️ Holly Nicola: Head of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement at Mapbox
🏦 Sara Glick: Senior Director, Internal Communications and Engagement - U.S. Chamber of Commerce
🍽️ Samantha Hillstrom: Head of Internal Communications and Employee Engagement, Blue Apron
💫 Jared Taylor: Vice President, Employee Experience at Edelman
🎫 Camilla Boyer: Head of Internal Communications and Culture at Hopin
🎨 Positively Present's Inspiring Illustrations: Q&A with Artist and Author Dani DiPirro
🎙️Arlene Amitirigala: Global Corporate Communications Leader
🦊 Diane Tate: Internal Communications and Employer Branding at Mozilla
🪀 Michelle Lee: Partner & Managing Director, Play Lab at IDEO