Brandy Svendson is co-founder of public health firm Be The Change Group. For the past nine years, this mix of professionals from the scientific, public health, and creative worlds have been striving to use their combined talents to educate and inform our community.
Where are you from originally? If not from Vancouver, how did it become your home?
I was 13 when I moved from Edmonton with my mom because my dad was transferred to Winnipeg for work. I always wanted to live elsewhere, somewhere more glamorous—New York, Brazil, Miami—but the more I traveled, the more I realized Vancouver is home. I am now grateful to be able to live here.
What is one thing that you love about Vancouver?
The ocean. I can never live away from the ocean. Water has always been a calming force for me.
What is Be The Change Group? And what inspired you to start?
Be the Change Group was co-founded in 2012 by me and my business partner, Natalie. We brought together a team of bright, young, public health professionals, who I had already been working with globally in the HIV field, and cutting-edge creatives who wanted to make real change in the climate, education, and health sectors. We created a firm that combines the following three interdisciplinary teams to solve complex issues: Research and Community Engagement, Design and Development, and Strategy and Communications.
When I was working globally in HIV, I saw this gap. While development institutions implement high-impact programs and conduct high-value research, they frequently find it difficult to effectively and creatively translate and communicate their knowledge and achievements to broader audiences. Accordingly, these institutions often hire traditional creative and marketing agencies to convey this information to target audiences at the country level. But without technical knowledge and field experience in low- and middle-income countries, these creative agencies may lack the deep knowledge and understanding of the issues and the audiences that are required for effective behavior-change communication. Be the Change Group addresses this gap, and, over the last eight years, we have had the privilege of working with clients such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Health Organization (WHO), BC Children’s Hospital, JHPIEGO, the BC Centre for Disease Control, Islands Trust, GreenCare, and UBC.
Tell us about your latest project?
Our team is always working on a number of projects; these identified below are just a few.
We are currently completing animations and infographics for the UN Climate Change Secretariat. Under the Convention on Climate Change, developing countries have been participating in the measuring, reporting, and verification process. Under the new Paris Agreement, Parties now participate in a similar process known as the enhanced transparency framework, or ETF.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regional trainings were going virtual and the UNFCCC’s Consultative Group of Experts needed our help to convert PowerPoint slides into engaging videos with plain-language scripting, custom graphics, and infographics.
Our knowledge translation teams developed a four-part video presentation in five languages (English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic), ready for use on the UNFCCC website and learning platforms.
We also just completed a national consultation with environmental public health professionals; these are the people who keep our public spaces and services safe, including drinking water, beaches and pools, restaurants, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, and so on. With this consultation, we provided key recommendations to help raise the profile of the profession and will be developing a marketing strategy, a new national website, and a campaign in 2021.
What are some of your goals for Be The Change Group?
Internally, our goal is to provide a place for our team members to grow and become the best versions of themselves. We want our team members to look back at their time with Be the Change Group as a time that helped shape them, providing them opportunity and a safe place to make mistakes and grow.
In our work, our ultimate goal is to create healthy, more equitable environments in which people thrive. This is not possible if people do not have access to equitable health care, healthy environments, and education.
What’s one of your most memorable moments in your career with Be The Change Group?
Hands down, it was the moment we screened the last video of The 30 30 Campaign. The 30 30 Campaign included a year’s worth of research, 59 interviews with the leaders and community members who were on the front lines of the HIV epidemic, and the filming of 37 of these people, including medical health officers, community organizers, nurses, doctors, and the loved ones of those who were lost. One video story was released each day in July 2013, culminating in the release of the final video at a fundraising gala and celebration on the day of AIDS Vancouver’s 30th anniversary.
When the final video played to over 500 people at the Commodore Ballroom, at the very end our logo appeared and the room cheered the loudest they had all evening. Natalie and I cried, and I will never forget that feeling. We were so exhausted, overwhelmed, honoured, and full of gratitude that we were able to tell all these incredible stories of heartache, unfathomable loss, and resilience. What an incredible gift.
We now have a historical archive like no other, documenting the fight against HIV in Vancouver, ensuring that we’ll never forget the stories and voices of those who survived and those who died.
Covid has affected us all in different ways. Can you share with us how this time has affected you and your business? And do you have a message to share with the community?
COVID-19 has made my business partner and I stronger and more committed than ever to the work we do. In the very beginning, the first week we felt a little uneasy, but Natalie and I are at our best when things are the most difficult. We are both able to see clearly, work as hard as we need to, and support those who need it most. This is why we are partners—I have never met anyone like her; it sometimes feels like we share the same brain, and even heart, in times like these.
Because we are a population and public health firm, right away our teams started to support our existing clients, and a new one, the Vancouver Coastal Health COVID-19 response team. We co-developed resources for physicians and support staff who deal with the most vulnerable populations, primarily in the Downtown Eastside.
After the first three months we started to get very busy again, and it hasn’t slowed down.
We know we were lucky to some degree because of the field we are in, but ultimately it has never been about luck for us, it is quite simply an incredible work ethic. I have not had more than two days off since February. This is the reality of being an owner in the middle of a pandemic: you do what you gotta do, and be grateful that you have your health and a job.
What advice do you have for someone wanting to start their own business? What is something you wish someone had told you?
Hire sooner, fire faster.
In the beginning we didn’t have employees, rather contractors. Due to the nature of our work being entirely contract based and lacking consistent revenue, we felt we could not afford employees—but we learned later, employees are not a budget item, they are an investment. We were doing it all in the beginning: bookkeeping, admin work, cleaning, etc. You cannot grow a business till you free up your time to focus on it. Get the employees you need at a minimum and fill administrative roles right away. Free up your time to get the work, sell your product, plan, and implement. If we did this in the beginning, I believe our company would be twice the size now.
I learned early, and still have to remind myself—when people show you who they are, believe them. If someone is not the right culture fit, they will not become one. If someone disappoints you and is not 100% accountable and does not correct their actions immediately, they will not change. Strike two, you’re out. It is your company, trust your instinct. Bad fits seep into the fabric of your teams and company fast. If you think you should let someone go, you are right—do it, don’t delay. In the end you, are doing the right thing for them as well.
What’s coming up for you?
We will “officially” launch our new brand—we did it during COVID-19 but didn’t want to make a big splash for obvious reasons.
And we are hiring a new designer to join our team, so if you know any awesome humans who design, send them our way!
Brandy Svendson shares 5 Fun Facts about Be The Change Group!
- At Be the Change Group, “women rule the world” isn’t an ideal, it’s a culture, (we are 100%
female owned and operated). - Despite producing industry-leading websites for clients the world over, our website is never finished. #2021goals
- We are the only firm of our kind in the city—we house a full technical research team, a communications and strategy team, and a design and development team.
- Our co-founder Natalie was just named one of Business in Vancouver’s 40 Under 40, and her side hustle is being a doctor!
- Our staff are diverse in both background and skill sets. We have researchers who write, writers who research, designers who strategize, and strategists who design. Our coders code, and that’s it, because it’s coding. No one else understands that shit.
WBD’s Lightning Round!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?
Italy. I love fashion, food, Ferraris, wine, and warm people—so where else?
If I gave you $20 to spend on anything right now, what would it be?
Coffee and a cookie.
Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people.
I have lived in Brazil; I finished high school there.
What would your career be in an alternate universe?
Race car driver (for Ferrari of course).
One guilty pleasure you aren’t willing to give up?
Winners. I love a good deal and have been to almost every one in B.C.!
Brandy, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us and share Be The Change Group with our readers. We’ll be keeping an eye out for your upcoming projects!
For more info:
Website: https://bethechangegroup.com/
Instagram: @bethechangegroup @brandyland
Facebook: Be The Change Group