Leah Kennedy Clarkson
PROFESSIONAL ME
I am, first and foremost, a writer and communicator who is passionate about telling human stories.
My work (and my talents) sit at the intersection of editorial publishing, cultural storytelling and digital distribution, helping organisations operate more effectively as modern media brands. I’m drawn to this work because I believe deeply in the power of human creativity, and I have evolved a skill-set which helps me translate that creative vision into real, measurable business impact. My clients include FTSE 100 companies, world-leading universities, membership organisations, charities and some of the UK’s most storied manufacturers.
In my current role, I am a member of senior leadership, working collaboratively to set the business direction and creative vision for a boutique communications and marketing agency. I co-lead our creative team of writers, designers and filmmakers to produce award-winning campaigns that tell our clients’ stories better. For the past four years, I’ve also partnered closely with the Royal Society of Arts in my role as Editor of RSA Journal, which under my tenure has evolved into a multi-platform ecosystem of print, digital, social and video.
ME ME
I was born in Chicago and raised in West Africa and the Middle East.
After my childhood in Niger and Egypt, I returned to the US to study English Literature, beginning my post-graduate career as a cigar slinger and Catholic school drama teacher in Chicago before earning my MFA in fiction writing. After stints as a freshman comp professor, a bartender and a ghostwriter, I became a white-collar private investigator in Manhattan during the hedge fund boom, all while moonlighting as a YA novelist on the side.
In 2013, my itchy feet took me from my beloved Brooklyn to Amsterdam, where I spent five years producing content for female-owned small businesses and start-ups, learning Dutch, raising a couple of kids and riding every possible permutation of bicycle. Eventually, though, London called and I answered, making the city my permanent home in 2021.
I like to think I bring my international outlook to every project and challenge; my background has given me a skill that will be familiar to third-culture kids everywhere: I am an adaptor, always curious, and always ready to roll up my sleeves and get stuck into whatever needs unsticking.
PROJECTS
As a content and editorial director, I partner with all manner of clients – from universities to charities to FTSE 100s – to help define and deliver impactful brand campaigns.
WRITING
Commissioning and connection is at the core of my work. As a writer and editor, I value precision and heart, and finding new entrances into classic themes.
ON CAMERA
As a creative, I imagine and tell stories on-camera to help to define the brands, organisations, causes and publications with whom I partner.