Lilit Poghosyan, Managing Director

Lilit is a human rights and gender justice advocate with over 20 years of professional experience in the international NGO sector. Prior to joining Comms Hub, she was the Global Lead of the Winning Narratives Centre of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), where she set the foundation of evidence-based strategic communications and narrative change work and oversaw its expansion. She built a successful team and a network of practitioners within the organization, increasing the work’s reach and impact. Before IPPF, Lilit worked at ILGA-Europe in Brussels advocating for LGBTI rights in EU’s Foreign, Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies and at Medecins Sans Frontieres running health and humanitarian projects in Armenia, Pakistan, Zambia, and Uganda. Lilit has a BA in psychology and an MSc in human rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Alla Garcia, Knowledge and Operations Lead

Alla has over 12 years of experience working within international NGOs, think tanks, philanthropy, and the private sector at national, regional, and global levels. A generalist with knowledge of a broad range of issues, she has navigated her professional life around obtaining a diversity of geographic and functional insights. Alla’s previous role as a portfolio analyst at the Open Society Foundations has often required her to switch contexts and apply her skills in varied ways to support grantees, colleagues, and partners. Her thematic interests include gender mainstreaming, democratic engagement of citizens, inclusive digital governance, disinformation and big tech accountability, strategic communications, and civil society capacity-building.

Disha Arora, Global Campaigns Lead

Disha Arora is an award-winning feminist documentary filmmaker and international development communications specialist. Disha is committed to challenging social systems and ideologies which promote gender-based discrimination. Disha has done advocacy and communications for several issues, including climate change, gender equality, peacebuilding, and education. She has developed international campaigns and partnered with The World Bank, International Planned Parenthood (IPPF), UNFPA, UN Women, American Express, European Union, and Indian Ministries Health and Education.

Disha works with nonprofits to find the best way to tell their stories of impact and build their unique identities. She also develops high-quality communication tools that meet their goals.

Matthew MacWilliams, Public Opinion lead

Matthew is the founding partner of MacWilliams Sanders Communications (MSC) — a strategic media firm for progressive causes, initiatives, and candidates in the United States. He has worked with organizations, environmental and conservations groups, unions, and foundations on issues as diverse as the Arctic Refuge, the Chesapeake Bay, Canadian Tar Sands, Vermont Yankee, early childhood education, climate change, racial profiling, clean water, property rights, civil rights, PCB clean-up, human rights, gun control, workers compensation reform, right to know, choice, and nuclear disarmament. Matthew’s articles on Trumpism and authoritarianism have appeared in Politico, VOX, and the London School of Economics blog and have been cited by media around the world including The New York Times, Der Spiegel, CNN, and NPR. Campaigns & Elections Magazine dubbed him a “Media Wizard” for his media and strategic work for several winning Democratic campaigns decades ago. His children have never let him forget it. To this day, they enjoy calling him “Mr Wizard.”

Wanda Sanchez, Global Digital Research Lead

Wanda works with pro-democracy civil society to raise awareness about their environments and support them in applying research based on digital platforms and (social) media data to create an evidence base for strategic communications. She is passionate about reducing inequalities and working to accelerate sustainable societies, and exploring innovative approaches. Prior to this role, Wanda worked for seven years as a Lead Digital Analyst, assisting international clients’ communications and strategy teams to make decisions that come from a good understanding of the dynamics of the communication between users, narratives, and media consumption. Wanda holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Salamanca and education from the University of Amsterdam (Digital Methods Summer School’17).