The Pros Collective People
Elizabeth Bananuka
Founder & CEO, The Pros Collective
Elizabeth Bananuka is a comms pro, a DEI consultant and the founder of The Pros Collective (formerly BME PR Pros/Blueprinted) which she describes as “one person’s little attempt to promote diversity in the UK PR and comms sector”.
A popular trainer she has delivered diversity workshops for agencies including Weber Shandwick, Blurred, Cirkle, CCGroup, a Hoffman Agency and Headland, lobbied industry publications to diversify their judging panels, speakers and commentators, and in 2019 she organised the first BME PR Pros conference with nearly 30 speakers from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority backgrounds.
Elizabeth developed and launched include The Blueprint (the definitive diversity mark); The Xec. leadership scheme for BME PR and comms pros and The Pros Awards (celebrating talented BME PR and comms pros and inclusive campaigns).
Elizabeth is listed in the PRWeek PowerBook 2019-2026, was PRovoke Media ‘15 People to Watch’ 2020, PRovoke Media Innovator 25 2021, listed in PRWeek’s “24 Most Influential Women in UK PR” 2024 and “25 most influential UK Black comms pros” 2025.
Photo credit: Rob Greig
Nyree Connell
Strategy Advisor/Blueprint Judge
Nyree is corporate policy manager with the General Dental Council (GDC) where she leads on policy development and commissioning research. In her 6 years in health regulation she has successfully led on legislative reforms to enhance the effectiveness of the GDC’s processes as well as on measures to improve patient safety.
Before the GDC, Nyree worked for the Medical Protection Society where she was responsible for raising the profile and influence of the society through strategic engagement with Westminster, Whitehall, academics and a range of stakeholders. She has also worked for the Federation of Small Businesses where she had responsibility for environmental and energy policy as well as corporate social responsibility.
Sasha Daley
Blueprint Judge
Sasha has over 20 years’ experience working in policy and advocacy roles mainly in health and across sectors from regulation, charity and corporate. Sasha has a long history of lobbying for policy change and championing the voice of citizens and advocacy organisations, which shines her passion to challenge systems to meet the needs of all.
Sasha grew up in London and now lives in Bristol, and has always been involved with community groups local to her which represent the diverse communities she’s lived in. Her life experiences and broad network inform her views and maintain grounding.
Henry Rowling
Blueprint Judge
Henry is co-Founder of innovation agency Flying Cars Innovation, working with charities and brands doing good in the world. Flying Cars Innovation solves big problems for organisations working in the homeless, health, humanitarian, animal welfare, and social justice space.
With an early career in strategy and fundraising at leading charities like Crisis and Scope raising millions of pounds annually, Henry believes profoundly in the power of innovation to drive social change. He is interested in exploring the human possibilities at the intersection of audience-led design, technology, non-profits, and social purpose.