Vanessa Campbell is a communications and PR lecturer at Western Sydney University's Sydney City Campus, with 33 years of industry experience that includes radio, tourism, local government, and her own PR consultancy.

In this episode:

• How Vanessa bridges the gap between academic theory and real industry practice in her classroom, including bringing alumni back to share their experiences with current students.

• The key differences between PR, advertising, and marketing — and why PR is less about selling and more about authentic, two-way relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

• The unique communication challenges facing not-for-profits in the children's health and safety space, and why dialogue and a non-judgmental tone consistently outperform oneway messaging

• How not-for-profits outpaced government and corporate bodies during COVID in supporting vulnerable families — and what that tells us about agility, passion, and being close to the people you serve.

• The through-line connecting great teaching, effective PR, and community health communication: relationships built on genuine, two-way dialogue.