Meet our founder & CEO
Hey, I'm Becky
My name is Becky Hirst. I founded HeyEngage as a passionate advocate for community engagement and effective communication.
With over two and a half decades of experience, I've been at the forefront of involving communities in meaningful conversations and decision-making processes. Over the last 26 years I’ve worked with hundreds of government clients and involving over 50,000 people in discussions about issues that matter.
My career began in the UK in the late nineties, focusing on social inclusion, health promotion, and community development. In 2009, I established Becky Hirst Consulting, a boutique agency in Australia dedicated to helping governments involve people and communities in their decision-making processes.
I'm the proud host of an international community engagement podcast, author of For the Love of Community Engagement, and one of the co-instigators of Global Community Engagement Day, celebrated around the world, annually on 28 January.
A SHIFT IN FOCUS
REACHING AROUND THE WORLD
During the Covid-19 pandemic, my eyes were opened to the potential of connecting with others around the world and learning from each other.
During this time, I pivoted my consulting business to deliver successful 6-week online Community Engagement Bootcamps to hundreds of learners worldwide.
These experiences fuelled my desire to reach even more people and share the methodologies that have driven my success in working positively with communities.
A breast cancer diagnosis in 2024 shifted my focus even further in this direction. After spending the first couple of decades of my career building my expertise as a practitioner, working with individual communities, I realised I want my time on this planet to have a bigger impact. I want good community engagement happening in every corner of earth. I needed to scale!
I’m excited that HeyEngage is a space where I can share my expertise with people across the world, provide much needed leadership in valuing community, and build a global network of skilled practitioners.
