About us

 

Hanna Thomas Uose

Photo by Sophie Davidson

Hanna Thomas Uose is a writer and activist. She is a Co-founder and Principal Consultant at Align, a consulting firm dedicated to supporting organisations in the progressive movement. 

Hanna specialises in organisational design and strategy, team alignment and organisational culture, research, coaching, facilitation, and digital transformation. She is always focused on helping teams meet their missions effectively, whilst centering joy and liberation. 

Key projects have included:

  • Research for UN Global Pulse on how art, imagination, and creative practice can be in service of organisational transformation.

  • Long-term projects working with the leadership teams at Liberty, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, and Tax Justice UK, supporting them to find alignment and new ways of working.

  • A 3-year project for Greenpeace International as digital transformation lead, intended to make Greenpeace’s tech and ways of working fit for purpose across all 25 offices.

  • Working with Jewish Voice for Peace over a 9-month period to align their structure and processes with their values and strategy. 

  • In-person, multi-day facilitation for the Fossil Free Japan coalition and Greenpeace International, including agenda design.

  • Ongoing coaching for staff at Mozilla Foundation, FRIDA, 350.org, and Irish Network Against Racism.

Hanna combines her professional experience with knowledge from her training with Robert Gass (Art of Transformational Consulting); Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation; Yogahaven; and Ourmala (220hr YTT). Her professional publications include A Progressive’s Style Guide, the Covid-19 Social Movements Report, and Divide and Rule: How the ‘culture wars’ are a reactionary backlash designed to divide us, and how to respond. Her work has appeared on the BBC, and in The Guardian, Independent, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, and Vice, amongst others. She has been the keynote speaker at the Ethical Consumer Conference, and was recently a speaker and panelist for Ada's List, Allied Media Conference, and The London Festival of Architecture.

Previously, she was Chief Product Officer at 350.org, Co-founder at Level Up, Campaigns and Culture Director at Ekō (formerly SumOfUs), and Board Trustee at Free Tibet and Girls Rock London.

Hanna grew up in Tokyo, Birmingham, Essex and Oxford, and went to the University of Cambridge. She received an MSc in Climate Change & Policy from the University of Sussex in 2012, and completed the MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia in 2023.



Hoda Baraka

Photo by Daniel Salib

Hoda Baraka is a communications specialist, organisational consultant, writer and photographer. She specializes in crafting holistic, creative communications strategies, which are culturally and linguistically conscientious, and centered on empowering marginalized voices. She also specializes in developing long-term strategies centered on equity and justice, building empowered teams, and providing leadership coaching.  

Formerly, she was Chief Communications Officer at 350.org where she built out a 30-person global communications department spanning all continents. The department was engaged in communications work through traditional media engagement, social media engagement, multimedia, storytelling, translations & localization, design, branding, media tracking and analysis.

Prior to that, Hoda was with Greenpeace, leading their communications work in the Arab World, and before that she was an environmental journalist becoming the first environment editor for a daily online English outlet in Egypt. Hoda was also trained in digital media having been an Intajour (International Academy of Journalism) fellow from 2012-2013 successfully completing the Intajour Fellowship Program “Journalism in the Digital World.” 

Hoda’s professional management and leadership experience weaves in practices gained from the Transformational Leadership training with Robert Gass, The Management Center training as well as weaving mindfulness practices inspired by the monastics at Plum Village. Hoda also received communications training as part of the global messaging programme given by ASO communications and NEON. Hoda is fluent in Arabic, English and Spanish and is a published author in numerous regional and international media outlets including Thomson Reuters, Huffington Post, Open Democracy, New Internationalist, Al Ahram Weekly, Al Masry Al Youm (English Edition), to name a few. As a photographer, Hoda participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. One such exhibit, entitled ‘From Gharb Soheil,’ was a solo exhibit depicting the beauty of a village located in Aswan, Egypt to help drive public awareness on the unique habitat of the region and the importance and urgency of preserving it. Photos from this exhibit were selected to be a part of the 21st Youth Salon organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture Fine Arts Sector. Most recently, Hoda was part of the Foundry photojournalism Workshop in 2021.

Currently residing in Cairo, Hoda was born in Kenya, grew up in Uruguay and Colombia and went to the American University in Cairo, where she received a BA in political science with a minor in art and a graduate diploma in development. In 2007 she received her MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

 
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More Testimonials

“Hanna's coaching sessions had a big impact on me; I came away feeling more confident about the value of my work and I started to feel proud of my professional achievements. I was in an unhealthy relationship with someone who didn't value my work and I felt like a failure - our sessions allowed me to see a different perspective. I'm still working out how to be self employed and happy/healthy but I'm getting there, and I'm now in a supportive relationship with someone who really values what I'm trying to do, which helps! I'm really grateful for the time we spent talking through my work.”

- K, coaching client

“Hoda is strategic in planning, innovative in problem solving, and always responsive. I have worked in collaboration with Hoda for the last six years on massive global days of action.  She excels at building teams that are collaborative, productive, and deeply effective. If you get a chance to work with her, don’t hesitate.”

- Shadia Fayne Wood, founder and CEO of the Survival Media Agency 

“Hanna is one of the smartest minds out there in digital organizing. She’s a great strategist, she sees the big picture and crucially she understands how to lead teams to achieve a common goal and drive change. She’s an extremely skilled facilitator and taking part in meetings and retreats under her leadership are an absolute joy. Her understanding of how oppression manifests in the workplace is nuanced and she drove forward some great changes as a leader at SumOfUs. I was lucky to work with her and would wholeheartedly recommend working with her.”

- Anne Isakowitch, SumOfUs.org

"I have loved my time working with Hoda whether it was in the midst of a mass protest, a management team meeting, or a UN meeting. Hoda has extensive experience with the global climate negotiations, the geopolitical issues connected to climate, development, political economy, and global social movements. She knows how to speak to a variety of audiences, from activists to policymakers. Her passion for storytelling, creating connections across issues that in turn create stronger connections among diverse groups, is a distinct strength."

- May Boeve, Executive Director 350.org