Sandra Lowman-Simpson FIIC

Communications Practitioner

Sandra began her career in property and facilities management, working on various global accounts and rising to senior levels. Her achievements culminated in her being awarded the runner-up spot for the BIFM Young Facilities Manager of the Year. In 2011, after qualifying, she transitioned into the communications industry. Since then, Sandra has worked in a variety of roles, including as an in-house generalist (and specialist), a change agent, a senior consultant to the C-suite, and interim positions with top London agencies. Her extensive experience gives her a comprehensive understanding of communications practice. She became a Fellow of the Institute in 2023. Today, Sandra advocates for the well-being of communicators by supporting them as a coach and mentor. She is passionate about assisting the work of the Institute to help shape the next generation of communicators.

Sonia Squires

Head of Internal Communications, Citizen Housing

Sonia Squires is Head of Internal Communications at Citizen Housing. Sonia started her career working in higher education institutions, the University of Manchester and the University of Huddersfield where she worked with under-represented groups, supporting and encouraging young people to achieve their ambition. She then found her calling with internal communications, working for the NHS, AQA and most recently in social housing. Sonia’s passion is in supporting leaders with their communication so that they develop a greater connection with their teams. This stems from her MBA dissertation which focused on the importance of leadership in employee engagement and the significant impact it has every day.  

A mum of two young girls (3 and 5), Sonia spends her weekends exploring new places/ parks and singing lots of Disney and Bollywood songs on repeat. Vegan for nearly 10 years, Sonia's a big Derby County fan, and has a season ticket for the Rams cheering them on through good times, and bad! 

Justine Stevenson FIIC

Director of Internal Communication and Employee Engagement, AQA

I’ve been working in Internal Comms for more than 20 years and have been lucky to work in some fantastic organisations across a range of sectors. I’ve been a member of IoIC for all of my IC career and a board member for a good part of that. I currently chair our annual awards – and am amazed every year and the excellence in our profession.

Claire Widd

Claire is a Fellow of the IoIC and a multiple award-winning Global Director with extensive experience in employee experience and internal communications in the technology, utilities and professional services industries. Claire specialises in hard-to-reach employee engagement, transformation and has a not-so-secret love for measurement. Additionally Claire is a Freeman of the Company of Communicators and Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.