It’s a short trip up the A3 from Guildford to our Tufton Street office – but it’s a trip to a very different kind of diocese! Our new Head of Communications, Ruth Blanco, has just made that journey having joined us from the same role in Surrey. Here she tell us a little of her story:

Tell us about your upbringing

I was born in the North of England and moved around a lot, partly due to having a dad who was a vicar, and after university in Scotland moved down to the South of England where I’ve been based ever since. I now live in West Sussex in England, very close to glorious countryside to walk and run in, which I love. I have two daughters aged eight and 13 who are great fun but who also keep me on my toes.

What is your faith story?

Having grown up in the Church of England, I currently worship at a local Vineyard church, and continue to explore my faith. I am increasingly finding joy in the variety of denominations and traditions across the Christian church.

Tell us about your career

I have more than 20 years’ experience in communications. I started my career in the corporate world working across a range of industries from advertising to property to pharmaceuticals and then made the move to focus on organisations making driven by their social impact 5 years ago.

My last role was as Interim Head of Communications at the Diocese of Guildford, and I enjoyed working in the Church, sharing stories across the parishes and supporting the diocese through communicating a new strategy. I especially enjoyed the variety of the role and passion of the people I worked with, showing their faith everyday through their work.

What attracted you to your new job?

This role has always intrigued me, with the unique nature of the Diocese in Europe, and the wonderful breadth and diversity within it. I am very pleased to be able to stay within the Church of England, and the role here at the Diocese in Europe is one which is exciting and fascinating.

I am already enjoying meeting people and hearing so many stories about the great work which is happening. I see listening at the centre of my role, discovering the opportunities for how we communicate across our diocese and beyond. I hope to bring a fresh perspective to this role, building on the great work which has been done already and continuing to celebrate the stories, faith and work of everyone across the diocese.

As I settle in, I’m very keen to listen to and chat with people in different roles across the chaplaincies. Please do get in touch and I look forward to meeting more of you soon.

Diocesan Secretary Andrew Caspari said:

I am absolutely delighted to have Ruth joining our team. She is highly skilled, motivated and experienced and will be a great addition to our team in the diocese.

Andrew also thanked Adrian Butcher of Meads Media, who is stepping down as Interim Director of Communications after 10 months.

Adrian has been absolutely fabulous here at a really busy and challenging time and will be hugely missed so I hope we will remain associated with him in some ways in the future.