Overview

As WRI’s Internal Comms Network, we work together cross-functionally to foster a culture of impact, accountability, inclusion and wellbeing, while promoting WRI as a great place to work. Through robust internal communications, our aim is that everyone across WRI, regardless of role or location, is informed, aligned, and connected to our mission and each other.

Our vision: WRI’s internal communications help staff feel engaged, aligned & well-informed on WRI’s strategy and impact, leadership and governance, and journey to organizational excellence so we can contribute effectively to our mission for people, nature & climate.
Our approach: We do this by reinforcing strategic priorities, supporting change initiatives, clarifying policies, reflecting and strengthening culture, and highlighting our collective impact. For more info, see Target 5 in Comms 5-Year Strategy

Our Network

We’re made up of a central team as well as regional, country, Core Functions, and Program staff working together toward a common goal. These teams include defined Internal Comms roles as well as other staff who may have different primary functions, but still have internal comms responsibilities in their work.

Our work at the central, local, Core Functions, and Program levels approaches the same goal, but from different angles.

Central Internal Comms Team

As the center point of the global network for Internal Comms, we work in sync with country, regional, Core Functions, and Program teams and staff to distill important messaging and ensure strategies work in practice for each context.

Function	Goal
Strategy	Oversee, deevelop and own the overall internal comms strategy, guidelines and standards
Messaging	Lead on global announcements, leadership comms, crisis comms, and major internal campaigns. Provide messaging guidance and toolkits
Channels	Oversee and maintain central channels and platforms (See Channels)
Coordination	Manage the central comms calendar and support the global IC network
Measurement	Track the central and overall internal comms effectiveness through surveys and analytics

Core staff

Natalya Podgorny, Senior Manager of Internal Communications
Kar López, Specialist of Internal Communications
Andrew Marshall, Chief of Communications and Marketing
Lauren Zelin, Director of Communications and Engagement for the President’s Office
Srikant Mahanty, Associate Director of IT and Communications

Country, Regional, Core Functions, and Program Teams

Each country or regional office, and each Core Function and Program team at a global level, shapes internal comms for their respective defined audience. This includes not only addressing team-specific needs not met by broader central comms, but also contextualizing information and tailoring campaigns for their defined audiences needs.

Function	Goal
Strategy	Set internal comms strategy for their defined audience
Messaging	Communicate about local/core/programmatic strategy, impact, policies, change initiatives to their identified internal audience. Adapt central messaging for local relevance and context
Channels	Manage local or otherwise delimited channels (e.g., a local banyan site, a program-owned internal newsletter, a core functions teams channel, office-wide staff meetings, etc.)
Coordination	Facilitate two-way comms with the central internal comms team to surface staff voices across the network and feedback. Liaise with the central team to highlight local announcements and achievements
Measurement	Track internal comms effectiveness on their defined audience through surveys and analytics

Points of contact

US – Natalya Podgorny
Mexico – Kar Lopez
India – Umer Fayaz, Rama Thoopal
Colombia – Diego Gomez
Africa - Joan Nthiga
China – Lili Zhai, Yuning Zhou
Brazil – Katia Arima
Europe – Angela Bekkers
Indonesia – Dewi Satriani

Programs

CEF – James Allman-Gulino, Deidre Cogan, Nicole Fragano, Rocio Campos
Cities – Maribel Lora, Schuyler Null, Taylor Symes, Matt Kessler-Cleary
Energy – Joyce Javillonar
F | L | W – Tim Constien
Ocean – John Lyons
Delivery Platforms - TBD

Core Functions

The following list does not refer to Internal Comms people inside the teams, but rather to points of contact that Internal Comms works closely with.

Board of Directors – Lena Shelton, Amy Amato
Committees – Emilia Suarez, Laura Ombelet, Cathy Donn
Core Comms – Romain Warnault
Country transitions – Chelsea Babcock
Data Lab – Sergio Baldit
Development – Andrea Mendez, Trace Carlson, Emily van Bronkhorst
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Kynai Johnson
Events - Nathan Cogswell, Eilah Brown
Executive Office – Kerry
Finance – Kristin Snyder, Cathy Donn, Kelsey Lopez, Maria Salinas, Kote Lodmize
IT – Srikant
Legal - Milagro Ventura, Mary Waddell
MfR - Rachel Kenny
Operations - Shailesh Sreedharan, Mrun Godbole, Sandeep Dutta
Partnerships – Betty Tushabe
People team – Daria Castro (Interim)
Project Management - Kemoy Liburd-Chow
Research Integrity – Allison Meyer, Renee Pineda
Staff Assembly – Nia English
Strategy – Emilia Suarez
Sustainability Desk – Shengyin Xi

Connecting with each other

We use a variety of channels to connect and collaborate with fellow Internal Comms colleagues. These are different from the channels and tools we use to launch our comms initiatives and are for planning and development purposes. For tools and resources to launch campaigns, see Channels.

Teams: Shared workspace on MS teams
Email list: Regular updates and communication from the Internal Communications Core team
Monthly calls: A space for sharing resources, aligning on messaging for key rollouts, and supporting each other across regions
Office hours (coming soon): Open space for questions, discussion, or learning more about internal comms functions