Our team

Managing Director

Dono still doesn’t know how he ended up in public relations, but we’re so glad he did.

After starting out in government policy (he holds a Masters in Public Health), Dono made the move to what he used to call “spin doctoring” in and around the Beehive. This led to his finely tuned political knowledge and connections.

A move back home to Christchurch saw him continue in communications, championing trades training and working for the Christchurch City Council and Te Whatu Ora.

He has now been in the communications game for nearly 20 years. He’s a cool head in a crisis, there’s no problem he can’t solve, and he’s an awesome strategic thinker.

He is also pretty good at coaching his kid’s soccer team!

Executive Director

The first thing to know about Jo is that she will cringe if you call her Great Scott … she finds it embarrassing.

The second thing to know is that she loves, lives and breathes her work, bringing passion and insight to every project. 

Jo is both creative and strategic – her ideas deliver cut-through in any environment to reach target audiences and inspire them to take the action necessary to achieve a client’s goals. 

Whether you want to build brand equity, forgiveness, sales, awareness, employee engagement or inspire behaviour change, Jo can develop a strategy to get you there.

She began life as a radio reporter – winning multiple awards including New Zealand Radio Awards and a coveted New York Radio Award for her team’s earthquake coverage at Newstalk ZB. That means she is super passionate about journalism and its importance to democracy, having taught hundreds of students over many years at both the New Zealand Broadcasting School and the University of Canterbury.

Jo knows the media like the back of her hand and is adept at helping clients manage the media spotlight – whether they want to get into it, out of it or simply navigate through it. The key to that is relationships and solid experience in crisis communications. 

A multi-award winning communications practitioner, Jo’s proudest moment was winning the Joseph Peart Award for outstanding achievement in public relations.

Above all, she loves meeting people and hearing what they’re up to, so feel free to reach out at any time for a chat over coffee.

Senior Communications Advisor

Pip loves getting to know clients and developing creative and practical solutions for them.

She understands the power of well-devised communications strategies for bringing out the best in organisations, and for helping them deal with challenges. She loves using communications strategies to bring people and communities together and is a huge believer in utilising grassroots engagement strategies to achieve big results.

Her 20 years’ experience includes radio journalism, business management, communications, community relations and event management and won Public Relations Industry of NZ Awards.

She has worked in consultancy, for a major electricity generator and retailer, and managed the communications for Recover Canterbury, a post-quake business recovery organisation.

Pip loves a gnarly physical challenge. She’s a fan of adventure racing and rogaining (a bit like orienteering) and reading deliciously trashy novels to recover.

Senior Communications Advisor

Em is a very well-connected queen of media liaison who can write just about anything in an hour.

There is quite simply no one who can multitask in the way she does. It doesn’t matter if you need three different stories pitched for three different clients and a strategy drawn up all in the same day, Em will get it done.  

Her career began in the Newstalk ZB and Press newsrooms where she blossomed into a hard-hitting journo with a gift for writing killer stories. She then transitioned into the world of PR working for Christchurch City Council and handling media enquiries from her old colleagues.  

When Em’s daughters arrived, she swapped Saturday brunch for swimming lessons and morning walks, and joined Great Scott. We truly couldn’t live without her.

Strategy and Communications Manager

Josie is an expert at getting messages heard, whatever the cause.

Her vast experience is underpinned by some impressive and super useful qualifications—a Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Bachelor of Marketing Management, and a Masters in International Journalism.

She has worked in journalism and public relations in both the UK and New Zealand. She gets great satisfaction from developing big-picture strategies for organisations of all sizes. To top it off, she is also a gifted storyteller and talented jingle writer.

Josie’s love of beekeeping is a perfect match for her veggie growing. She’s a dog and cat person and loves a nice cup of tea (her coffee drinking tends to take the form of espresso martinis).

Communications and Systems Manager

Meet Ash, our dedicated Senior Comms Advisor with a passion for accessibility and a ‘how can I help’ attitude.

With in-depth experience ranging from government comms to change comms, Ash’s previous roles have seen her in the Beehive, at embassies and on the road. There’s no crisis, change, or high-profile project she can’t tackle – and she’s the breeziest person in the room while doing it.

Ash’s journey in comms started when Judith Collins offered her a job straight out of uni. A trained journalist with a knack for communicating, it wasn’t long before others saw her potential and the opportunities flowed. In 2021, she met a boy from Ōtautahi - the rest, she says, is history.

When Ash isn’t walking her dog Cosmo or learning to be the worlds best potter she’s planning the next DIY project for her 1930s bungalow.

Digital Communications Advisor

Andrew is one of those rare talents—he designs AND programmes great websites.

He has experience with several website programming languages and is a dab hand at devising digital campaigns and search engine optimisation. He also knows what it takes to produce collateral that packs a punch.

Andrew is a collaborator extraordinaire, believing it fosters the most constructive working relationships and produces the best-informed outcomes. He is uber efficient and looks to find clever and innovative ways to solve problems.

Outside of work Andrew’s focus is keeping pace with his daughters and with all emerging technology. When time permits, he sneaks in a bit of gaming.

Communications Advisor

There is quite simply nothing that Hannah can’t do; she’s one of our talented communications generalists.

She is a talented writer, has dipped her toes into photography and you’ll even find her moonlighting as a radio host on RDU drive on Tuesday afternoons.

She initially studied film in Wellington before being drawn back to Ōtautahi where she completed her Bachelor of Broadcasting, Communications and Journalism at Broadcasting School. Hannah is thriving in the creative and often demanding world of PR.

On her weekends you’ll find Hannah enjoying a single shot latte, writing her next artist profile for Yo Vocal Magazine or enjoying some indie surf rock tunes.

Communications Advisor

Mona may be the youngest on the team, but you wouldn’t know it with his expert professionalism and immaculate people skills. A Comms Advisor by day and te reo Māori teacher by night, Mona is passionate about bringing communities together. Interested in equity, equality, and indigenous rights, he’s a forward-thinking guy who lives his life authentically. Of Sāmoan, English and Irish descent, Mona’s heritage is super important to him, and you’ll see him wearing a tapa cloth earring every day in honour of it.

If he’s not at work, Mona will be speaking fluent te reo with his whānau, brushing up on his Sāmoan language, or making music and writing poetry. Along with smashing mahi and singing in the office, he’s putting the Great Scott dress code to shame with his funky style.

Designer

Hatty sprinkles magical designer dust on everything she touches. From the serious to the silly and everything in between, Hatty applies talent and insight to create the ideal visual outcome.

She is a superb illustrator and animator; but design isn’t the only tool in her toolbelt. She is also skilled in video production and project management.

Originally from Scotland, Hatty handles her workload and relationships with grace including urgent last-minute design requests and our all too frequent Scottish accents attempts.

Hatty loves her work, but not as much as she loves her chocolate lab Quincy Bones, even if he does swallow socks. She dances and socialises like a butterfly, and loves a cheeky hazy any night of the week.  

Senior Designer

Janelle’s passions lie in making the impossible possible and going above and beyond. A flair for digital design coupled with extensive knowledge in print design makes Janelle the perfect addition to your next design project.

Janelle has been here, there and everywhere, working in Edinburgh in the tech scene for two years before coming back to Ōtautahi where she has since been honing her skills in brand and web design.

With international experience from start-ups to big corporates, she can whip anything up faster than you can say ‘ka rawe’.

When she’s not in the office, you can find Janelle at the beach, at a gig, or skiing down a nearby mountain.

Videographer & Photographer

Kurt is part of our dedicated in-house video and photography team.

His interest in people and their lives drives his storytelling. He loves nothing more than drawing out the unique story, no matter what the situation, and transforming it into compelling viewing.

Kurt learnt on the job through blood, tears and a fair bit of sweat, starting off as a keen participant in CrossFit and eventually transitioning to capturing the journeys of competitors. These days he turns his gaze, camera and creativity to any scenario, weddings, gigs, events, sporting competitions… the list is endless.

Outside work Kurt enjoys a fine red wine. He earns it by staying involved with CrossFit and then rounds it all off with golf in for good measure.

Designer

Gemma has a burning desire to create impact through her passion for design.

Growing up in a creative family, Gemma’s interest in all things design was sparked from an early age. She split her time between Wellington and Auckland studying a Bachelor of Communication Design Majoring in Graphic Design and has recently moved to Ōtautahi – lucky us!

Gemma’s background in publishing design makes her an exciting asset to our team.

When Gemma isn’t in the office you can find her settling in with a good book and a great coffee, finding the best eateries in Ōtautahi, or getting out on her bike (just ask her about that one time she biked from Blenheim to Milford Sound!).

Communications Advisor

Kristie is a captivating storyteller who understands the privilege of giving people a voice and telling their stories.

With a comms undergrad, journalism postgrad and experience in local and national news reporting, Kristie arrived at Great Scott from The Press with a wealth of experience and a keen eye for a strong news angle.

During her journalism career, Kristie was an all-rounder covering breaking news, crime and court, but it was during her time as The Press health reporter she honed her ability to sensitively, beautifully and personally tell stories.

It’s no surprise she knows how to work to a tight deadline and never loses her cool under pressure.

Before she began career in storytelling, Kristie was a hairdresser and still gets behind the stylist chair on the occasional Saturday. Other than that, on weekends you’ll find her walking her puppy Doug, at the gym or attempting renovations with her husband on their first home.

Communications Advisor Coordinator

Leah’s knack for juggling makes her the perfect fit for her role as our comms coordinator and office organiser.

Her balancing act involves being a full-time Bachelor of Communications student at the University of Canterbury, working at Great Scott, and working in sales.

Leah has always had a creative mind and through her studies has found a way to transfer that to her budding career in communications.

A self-proclaimed culinary queen and mixologist, when Leah does finally get some time to herself, you’ll find her down at the local markets sourcing fresh ingredients for her creations or catching up on the latest season of the real housewives with a martini in hand.