“It’s all about changing hearts & minds. That’s kind of me all over really.”

With a career in PR working across small & large agencies through to founding TransMission PR - lovingly described as her third child - for Aby Hawker (she/her), it’s truly a mission driven by love, values & an incredibly clear stance on what it’s all about. That being to flip the narrative and prioritise uplifting Trans+ representation & stories across the board.

Aby is the first LGBTQ+ ally I’ve had on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ and we talk about her journey to the space she’s in now as a cisgender, straight woman from taking on comms in Trans+ healthcare for Gender GP over a decade ago through to founding a Trans+ focused PR agency that centres collaboration, lived experience & expertise and positive change for the community. I was curious as to how much of Aby’s origin story has influenced the Aby we know & love today…

Little Aby was a self-labelled “total swot” who wasn’t easily deterred from her goals. She reflects on how this was driven by a need to please, potentially as a result from coming from a divorced background, but how it’s got her to where she needed to be. Being born in Italy & spending time there throughout her life meant that Aby completed a degree in languages which sparked the revelation “now I know what I don’t want to do”.

Aby’s determination, clarity around who she is & a firm belief in what’s right & wrong clearly shows up in her work now. An eternal optimism, tenacity & learning to be a bit braver are fundamental to her story and the three words she uses to describe herself & her origin story ‘Run Towards It’ couldn’t be more fitting.

We chat about career failures, take-aways for anyone wanting to go into PR, parenting, success & happiness and some solid advice including ‘don’t be a dick’. Enjoy!

If your organisation would like to work with TransMission PR, get in touch | https://transmissionpr.com/

Oh and go stream ‘First Day’ on YouTube - available to watch now | https://www.youtube.com/@firstdaytvseries