About us
Shared Voice was founded in 2020 and built around a simple belief: planning should hear from more than the loudest voices in the room.
Established by four founders with a combined 50+ years’ experience in property communications, politics, national journalism and opinion research, we have built up a team of 30 with skills in engagement, data analysis and digital communications.
Our expert team has a unique offer in the built environment sector and will help you navigate the political uncertainties.
Meet the team
Michael Hantman
Co-Founder & Director
Michael has extensive experience in polling, business operations and scaling service-based organisations. He helps Shared Voice’s clients make better evidence-led decisions by turning public opinion research into practical insight on local sentiment, campaign strategy and demonstrable support. He also led Shared Voice’s accreditation as a British Polling Council polling company.
Cherry Norton
Co-Founder & Director
Cherry has over twenty years’ experience in journalism, communications and digital communications strategy. A former national newspaper reporter, she was Social Affairs Editor of The Independent and a reporter at The Sunday Times, with experience in the UK and abroad. She has a specialist interest in renewable energy and is a published academic in the field.
Alex Crowley OBE
Co-Founder & Director
Alex has twenty years of experience in politics, communications and development. He started his career in London politics, advising Boris Johnson as Mayor of London and then served in the heart of government in Downing Street in 2019. He’s worked on numerous high-profile development schemes, including for Stansted Airport, Network Rail and large regeneration schemes in London.
Wyn Evans
Co-Founder & Director
Wyn is the UK’s leading voice in Representative Planning. He has over thirty years’ experience of working in property and planning communications, predominantly on high profile property and infrastructure projects for a range of developers, investors, airport operators and local authorities. He is a regular speaker at property conferences and a Board member of the BTR Alliance.
Philip Barnes
Non-Executive Director
Philip has more than 30 years’ senior residential experience, including 12 years at Barratt Redrow as Group Land & Planning Director. As a Non-Executive Director, he supports Shared Voice’s strategic growth, bringing deep insight into planning risk, consent strategy and the realities of the UK planning system to the wider team.
Millie Dodd
Account Director: Growth
Millie is passionate about improving how communities, councils and the development industry engage around new housing. A regular public speaker at events and conferences and a contributor to the media, Millie challenges the way the planning process often amplifies opposition, while leaving supportive voices unheard. She strives to change the way the industry approaches engagement, pushing for more representative engagement and positivity in planning.
Katie Flynn
Operations Director
Katie leads business operations at Shared Voice, overseeing the systems, processes and infrastructure that support the organisation's day-to-day performance and long-term growth. Working across all areas of the business, she develops the structures and ways of working that enable teams to operate effectively, adapt to change and deliver consistently high standards for clients.
Oliver Trowell
Senior Client
Servicing Manager
Oliver is our Delivery Team Lead, with extensive experience managing complex engagement and communications programmes across the UK. He has successfully secured consent for a wide range of projects, from local planning applications to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). He oversees the delivery of Shared Voice’s live projects nationwide, ensuring high-quality engagement and acting as the primary liaison between clients and the team.
Erin Futter
Account Manager: Growth
Erin is a key member of our Growth Team, connecting project delivery with digital marketing, helping raise awareness of Shared Voice and its work across the industry. She has previously supported high-profile digital campaigns including Time for Liverpool Street and Back Stansted Plan, and, as a member of our Committee speaking team, represents the views of local supporters at Committee.
Lydia Chapman
Account Manager: Delivery
Lydia leads our engagement team, delivering an extensive program of projects to engage supportive voices across the UK. She manages our supporter engagement, research and Good Neighbour consultation projects, ensuring consistently high quality client experiences. She has a background in project delivery, operations and community engagement. Before joining Shared Voice, she managed projects within the public sector, including coordinating disaster response for the Australian government.
Zak Plumridge
Account Manager: Internal
Zak works across our internal operations, data and digital product development, with work focusing on how technology can improve processes, generate insight and support growth. He brings a strong technical and analytical background to developing practical tools and systems that help the business make better use of its data.
Kaci Barnfield
Office and People Coordinator
Kaci is our Office and People Coordinator. With a background in sociology, she supports recruitment, HR, employee wellbeing and office operations, helping to develop the company's culture and support the future growth of Shared Voice.
Andrew Ferry
Senior Account and
Research Executive
Through his day-to-day work in our Delivery Team, Andrew helps clients understand their audiences to build meaningful community involvement. A Spanish speaker with experience in the West End, and an educational background in human rights, he brings strong relationship-building skills and a people-first approach to every project. He is passionate about growing Shared Voice’s impact and ensuring more communities have a constructive voice in shaping their local areas.
Emma-Leigh Joubert
Account Executive:
Growth
Emma-Leigh is responsible for developing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports our Growth Team. Through research, data management and organisation, she helps ensure the team has the systems, information and insight needed to identify opportunities, respond to enquiries and support the continued growth of the business.
Lewis Zahra
Account Executive
Lewis supports Shared Voice’s client delivery and engagement work, helping to ensure projects are delivered accurately, consistently and to a high standard. He works closely with the Engagement Team on day-to-day delivery, quality assurance and reporting, helping to maintain the data and processes that underpin our work.
Want to join our team? We are always looking for talented professionals who embody our values and want to help us in our mission.
Get in touch at [email protected]