suzanne whitby: bio

I am driven by a single question: in the face of today’s many challenges, what can I do to help people co-create hopeful, sustainable futures?

I am a modern-day Pollyanna and a pragmatic optimist who believes that co-creating hopeful futures is possible, and that the most important factor in co-creating hopeful futures is people.

I’d love to say that I was very mindful, Zen-like person who has all the answers, but I am not and I don’t.  The only thing that I do know is that everyone has a part to play in creating a better world and that’s where I invest my knowledge and experience. When it’s possible, I bring people together through a variety of events that I organise, because the world doesn’t need one hero: we need many hero*ines working together.

Through communication campaigns, workshops, writing and speaking, I harness the power of stories, the senses, emotion and values to engage and involve people in today’s sustainability challenges, challenge thinking, change attitudes, and shift behaviours.

I describe myself as a professional storyteller, communication specialist, sustainability catalyst, climate communicator and researcher, although this constellation changes from time to time. You can learn more about my work here.

I am interested in making urban spaces sustainable places to live and work, and I design and organise many walking events in Innsbruck and beyond. I have a BA in English & Philosophy, an MA in Classics with a focus on sensory experiences, and my current PhD research explores the senses, stories and space as a way to shift thinking around sustainability.

I am often invited to speak, write, train, design workshops, craft performances, facilitate, consult, mentor, and lecture on my areas of expertise.

I love what I do. Every day, I am excited and empowered by the projects that I am involved in, and the inspired people I meet. I’m incredibly lucky, and I never (well, almost never!) forget it!

If you think we have something in common and you’d like to chat, get in touch. I am always happy to meet new and interesting people, on Zoom or in person for a cup of tea.

In my free time, I am avid reader, writer, fish hugger, star gazer, sailer, classicist, aspiring mindful person, and idea-generator. I am a traditional, oral storyteller. I seem to come up with 100 ideas a day, some of which turn into projects. I am proudly South African, and a long term resident of beautiful Innsbruck where I live in the foothills of the Nordkette with my endlessly tolerant (and rather marvellous) husband and thousands of books, most of which I’ve read.