Weaving stories, moving people

Why spoke and spider?

In communications, a spoke is any channel, person, or piece of content that reaches out from a central hub to carry a message. A spider's web works the other way: it's a finely tuned network that senses every vibration and brings information back to the center. Good media needs both, reaching outward to deliver a message and listening closely to what comes back. 

 We find spokes and spiders beautiful, both as real things and as metaphors, and together they describe what we do. 


We reach out & we listen in. Here's how.

Strategic Planning
We help you map the best way to communicate your mission or project: who needs to hear it, what they need to hear, and which channels will reach them. You leave with a clear, realistic plan your team can put into action.


Listening & Engagement
Good communication starts with understanding your audience. We track news coverage and online conversation, research how your issue is being discussed, and design public engagement through surveys, listening sessions, and stakeholder conversations. You get a clear picture of what people think, what they're worried about, and how to respond.


Media Relations
We write and distribute press releases, research the right reporters and outlets in your market, and help you build lasting relationships with the journalists who cover your issues. Your news reaches the people most likely to tell your story.


Media Training & Interview Coaching
Through group workshops or one-on-one sessions, we prepare your spokespeople for big interviews and tough questions. Group sessions include an overview of today's media landscape. Every participant learns to stay on message, pivot and redirect with confidence, and gets candid feedback on their delivery.


Writing & Content
We write feature stories, blog posts, news briefs, speeches, annual reports, newsletters, and web and content. Our writing makes complex topics like transit funding, climate data, and housing policy clear and compelling for the audiences you need to reach.


Events
We handle planning and on-site logistics for galas, networking mixers, annual meetings, and press conferences. You can focus on your guests while we make sure the day runs smoothly.

We Work With:

  • State and local government agencies
  • Nonprofits, advocacy groups
  • Research institutions
  • Small businesses


We especially enjoy partnering with organizations working on the environment, climate resilience, transportation, and housing.


Find out more

About Alison Gillespie

Alison Gillespie helps mission-driven organizations and public agencies explain complicated work in ways people want to read. She has served in several federal communications roles, including at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, turning complex science and policy into clear stories for the public, the press, and decision-makers. She has written feature stories, annual reports, newsletters, web content, and press releases for nonprofit organizations and national media outlets, including Smithsonian magazine. She has also led hundreds of hours of media coaching, preparing subject matter experts for interviews and speeches. Her work reflects her own commitments: she is a longtime advocate for parks, pedestrian safety, better transit, and more housing near urban centers and transit hubs, and she brings that understanding to clients tackling environmental, transportation, and housing challenges. 

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