Holly Greenland – Incoming Managing Director
With twenty years industry experience, Holly has led communications, campaigns and insight projects with national impact both in house and agency side; from projecting onto Big Ben for National Voter Registration Day, to building inflatable Stonehenge for BBC Hands on History. Prior to Social & Local, career highlights include Deputy Director for Communications at the House of Commons; leading adult literacy and poetry campaigns for BBC Learning; and delivering public information campaigns with Terrence Higgins Trust. Holly has a passion for data and recently submitted her PhD in Publishing to Kingston University.
Peter Yardley – Incoming Director
Peter began his career at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister before moving to ThomsonReuters, and was most recently Director of Live Content at Brunswick Creative. Peter has extensive experience coordinating complex projects, programmes and teams across communications disciplines, and now leads client services for Social & Local, as well as heading up new business. Peter also takes the lead for a range of special projects, with a particular interest in creative content production and developing effective internal communications campaigns.
Steph Drakes – Co-Founder
Steph co-founded Social & Local CIC in 2011 to bring a new perspective to the communications agency model. She has over forty years experience in advertising and communications, 35 of which at Board level. In 2020 Steph was named as a Female Frontier honouree in the Timewise Power 50 Awards. As of 2024 Steph passed on the reins at Social & Local, but remains an advisor on key projects.
Eliza Nicholas – Partnerships & Campaign Delivery
Eliza has eleven years experience across agency and in-house roles, within both the private and public sector. Specialist skills cover media relations, partnership marketing and campaign management. She is passionate about positive impact and behaviour change campaigns, with particular interest areas including culture, wellbeing and the environment. In her spare time, Eliza can be found getting her hands dirty in the garden, at the theatre, or practising her downward dog. Clients include the Food Standards Agency, the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, The Royal Mint and National Forest.
Anna Ponomarenko – Audiences & Insight
Anna has fourteen years experience working in the research industry, predominantly for public and third sector clients both agency-side and in-house, including heading up the Insight team at the House of Commons. She is equally adept at planning and delivering qualitative and quantitative projects as well as complex evaluations. Previous clients include government departments, arms-length bodies, training boards and charities, including Mind and the British Heart Foundation.
Adrian Hastings at Premm Design – Design Partner Lead
Premm Design are Social & Local’s partner design agency. They bring creativity and imagination to any design challenge and share Social & Local’s passion for projects with a purpose. From multi-platform campaign assets, to suites of learning resources, they have worked with high profile organisations and big brands including UK Parliament, Leonard Cheshire, Macmillan Cancer Support, The BBC Proms, Asthma UK, English Heritage, Harvey Parker Trust, Shakespeare’s Globe and the National Trust among many others: premmdesign.co.uk
Lynsay Biss – Brand Strategy & Visual Identity
Lynsay brings 13 years of experience working both agency and client-side. She is adept at translating client values and goals into meaningful brands that connect with target audiences, and has a particular focus on start-up and brand refresh projects. Lynsay brings a wide range of sector experience to Social & Local, and is thrilled to be applying her extensive skills to the charity and not-for-profit sector.
Jessica Duncanson – Marketing & Media Relations
Jessica has extensive experience in agency communications across the public and private sectors. Clients include the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, British Red Cross, Baby Centre, Nuffield Health and the British Cheese Board. Jessica’s skills span strategy development, campaign management, media relations, stakeholder relations, direct marketing, events, internal communications and social media.