We are behavioural
designers
If behaviour connects us, it can be what protects us.
We humans are a complex bunch. Fickle. Erratic. Contradictory. Emotional. Some call these obstacles. At Common Thread, we call them catalysts. And once they’re understood, a few small, careful nudges can move people to positive change. From disease to inequality to climate change. Universal and interconnected problems need solutions that reflect the social and cultural complexity that we all live in.
What We Do
Research Design
We bring the best of applied behavioural science, design thinking and anthropology to original and secondary research.
Experience Design
Through workshops, trainings, services and solutions, we seek to elevate the moments that matter with and for our clients.
Strategy Design
Practical, evidence based and optimised to consider the entire ecosystem of human behaviour.
Storytelling
Context, not content. We support people to explain and reveal their challenges in their own words, to add a human face to graphs and data points. Stories matter.
Our Approach
We listen to all voices and perspectives
Every perspective deserves to be heard so we seek out all voices that play a role in behaviour change. Policymakers and providers, advocates and obstructers, the refusers and early adopters.
We understand the drivers of behavioural change
Uncovering the insights that prove to be the real levers of change. That’s our focus. When we reveal and leverage the motivators of human behaviour, better health is possible.
We unite global science with local context
Our approach fuses the best of design, behavioural science, marketing, public health and anthropology, while amplifying local voices and promoting community solutions.
We design human-centred solutions
We design with people, not for them. From insights, we design and prototype solutions. We test, modify, and start again until they are solving the problems we set out to tackle together.
Our Story
Now more than ever, the world need systems that work for people.
Common Thread was born out of frustration and possibility. Sherine and Mike met while trying to eliminate Polio from Pakistan and immediately bonded over the need to put people, their context and their real needs at the centre of public health design. Driven by a desire to do great work, with great people, today Common Thread is a leader in behavioural design for a healthier world. We count the world’s most important organisations as partners, clients and friends.
We want to know what moves you.
Our Team
Mike brings people to the table.
As Co-Founder and Lead Storyteller at Common Thread, Mike makes sure that the people whose lives are most affected by decisions shape how it’s made, and how their stories are told.
He has held senior communications roles with UN agencies in Angola, New York, Pakistan, and Viet Nam, and brings a background in social development, documentary production, and journalism. Years spent supporting polio eradication efforts and responding to violence against health workers in Pakistan taught him to listen deeply before acting.
Mike holds a MA in Political Communications from Goldsmiths at the University of London. He is a member of Design for Health, a USAID–Gates Foundation community of practice, and has served as a guest lecturer at NYU’s School of Global Public Health and a lead trainer for the Center for Disease Control’s STOP Polio Programme.
When he’s not working, you’ll find him in the mountains or coaching his daughters’ soccer team. He speaks French and Spanish with enthusiasm, if not perfection.
Sherine looks for the people behind the data.
As co-founder and lead Strategist, Sherine Guirguis turns data into powerful narratives.
She brings over two decades of experience leading large-scale social and behaviour change strategies—helping rid the world of polio, and responding to major public health crises like the Indian Ocean Tsunami, West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, and Covid-19. Before founding Common Thread, she held senior social and behaviour change positions at UNICEF.
Sherine holds a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a MA in International Development and Economics from Johns Hopkins University. She is widely published and cited in the fields of public health and social and behaviour change.
When she isn’t thinking about gender and power dynamics in public health, she’s guest lecturing at NYU’s School of Global Public Health or posing tough questions as a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, PATH and Immunization Metrics and Monitoring Studies.
Sherine speaks Arabic, and lives in Montclair with her husband and twins.
Felicity guides us towards our goals.
As Managing Director, Felicity makes sure we’re asking ourselves, our clients, and the communities we work with, the right questions.
Felicity’s background in public health, health-systems strengthening, and community engagement has allowed her to call many many places home. Over the years, she has worked for Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, the WHO in Geneva and the Philippines, UNICEF in South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka), and other national and sub-national governments, and donors. Her career has brought her to South Africa, Switzerland, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Ghana, and many more countries.
Felicity holds a Postgraduate Degree in Public Health from the University of York and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Development Studies from the University of Sussex.
She’s now based in York, but offline she’s still a wanderer — climbing, hiking and sailing in Yorkshire with her dog, Eevi.
Souada keeps us on track.
As our Project Manager, Souada steers the ship and ensures our crew is smooth sailing.
Souada brings over 5 years of experience in SBC programme coordination and management in the Global South. Her experience leading diverse project teams in behavioural research, SBC strategy design, and capacity building for both governmental and non-governmental donors has primed her to design projects that achieve impact. Before joining Common Thread, Souada consulted at MAGENTA where she supported a range of SBC projects spanning water conservation, violence against women and children, and HCD for immunisation in Jordan, Zanzibar and Yemen, respectively. She has also worked for the OECD, where she conducted research on wildlife trafficking and disaster risk reduction.
Souada holds a BA in Political Science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and a MA in International Development from Paris Dauphine University. She speaks native French and Arabic, fluent English and conversational Spanish.
When she is not busy building meticulous work plans, you can find Souada practising shoulder mounts or the butterfly at her nearest pole studio.
Olivia helps us grow as people, and as a company.
As the People and Project Manager, Olivia makes sure every team member has what they need to thrive.
Her advocacy for wellness in the workplace and knack for connecting people with their passions grew over the years as Managing Director for Impact Hub Phnom Penh. There, she worked with organisations like UNDP, USAID, and Oxfam to train and empower the next generation of local change-makers and entrepreneurs. She has consulted on design research projects to trainings for organisations like 17 Triggers, Swiss EP, Youth Business International, and Frontier Labs Asia.
She holds a 1:1 BSc in Climate Change and Energy Management from the University of the West of England, and is a certified coach. She has continued her education through short courses on moral leadership, positive psychiatry, and mental health. She is also an Advisory Board Member for Klahaan and Impact Hub Phnom Penh.
Olivia is currently based in Southampton, UK but is fond of taking her work around the world. Though her location may change, her love for crafting and karaoke-ing remains.
Jim makes us look good.
As our Creative Director, Jim architects thoughtful, creative solutions to design and communications challenges.
His nearly two decades-long career cuts across print, UI/UX, 2D animation, illustration, graphic design, photography, and copywriting. Over the years, he has amassed extensive experience working with NGOs and international development and environmental agencies including UNICEF, UNDP, and the WHO, to name a few.
Jim holds a Diploma of Arts from RMIT University and a BA in Public Relations from Deakin University.
In his spare time, he pretends he’s a folk musician and wears plaid shirts. He also enjoys hiking and swimming as often as possible. Jim is based in Vancouver and speaks a smattering of Bahasa Indonesia, that he picked up while living in Java.
Caroline exudes empathy.
Fascinated by the intersection of health and human behaviour, she has built a colourful career in public health seeking to understand health outcomes through the way people live, think, and act.
Since her big move from Boston to Cape Town in 2016 to pursue her MPH at the University of Cape Town, Caroline has contributed to a number of projects that explore health topics through the lens of social and behaviour change. Her experience researching behaviours that fuel tuberculosis transmission, perceptions around HPV vaccination, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and leveraging user insights to design new family planning methods has cemented her belief that it’s the people closest to the problem that hold the most valuable insight for solutions.
When Caroline isn’t bouncing between the US and South Africa, you’ll find her hiking in the mountains, enjoying a book on the beach, boxing, biking or catching up with friends and family.
Katrina brings our ideas to life.
As our Senior Graphic Designer, Katrina transforms messy first drafts into works of art, whilst ensuring our values, message and meaning shine through.
Katrina boasts over 12 years of international experience providing art direction, building brands, and creating digital and physical artwork. She has led the visual design of numerous Common Thread projects including the Call for Change Kenya, UNICEF SBC Programme Guidance, and the Vax Up initiative, to name a few. Her passion for the beautiful and practical has helped us create materials that sit in the hands of frontline workers and leaders across the globe.
Katrina holds a MA in Roman-German Philology from Lomonosov Moscow State University and a BA in Visual Communications from British Higher School of Design and Art.
In her free time, she loves drawing people and is currently working on her own series of illustrations. She loves curling up with a fiction book and a glass of wine. She is also fluent in Russian.
OL focuses on what works, not just what’s ideal.
As our Lead Behavioural Scientist, OL brings years of experience improving public policies and services through human-centred design, behavioural insights and experimental economics.
A skilled workshop facilitator, mixed-methods researcher, and heuristics nerd — you can trust OL to develop cost effective interventions, run impact and process evaluations with ease and lead teams through messy, complex challenges. During his time as a Principal Advisor at the Behavioural Insights Team, OL co-lead the Latin American and the Caribbean office, where his team helped set up the first Government Behavioural Science Unit in Uruguay, supported local governments to set up Evaluation Units through the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance, and conducted field experiments to increase the agency of Venezuelans navigating migration in Colombia. He has also held positions at the World Bank’s Mind, Behavior and Development Unit (eMBeD) and the Federal Government of Argentina, where he specialised in developing innovation capacity, advising government teams to tackle challenges using human-centred design and behavioural insights.
OL holds a MSc in Behavioural and Economic Science from the University of Warwick and a Masters in Finance and Bachelors in Business Economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. He returns to his alma mater as well as Universidad Católica Argentina and Universidad de San Andres as a visiting lecturer of Behavioral Science. He is also a Global Competitiveness Leadership Fellow and a member of Global Shapers.
Ol likes playing football, watching rom-coms, and taking long walks with his hyperactive border collie, Lumi. He is currently based in Barcelona, but as a polyglot in a global community, he gets to flex his fluency in Portuguese, German, Korean, and English as much as his native Spanish.
Cassie wonders why.
As our Behavioural Design Lead, Cassie blends scientific rigour with strong ethical practice to understand the complexities of people’s lived experiences and the conscious and subconscious factors that influence behaviour.
Driven by her curiosity for social and behaviour change and passion for improving public policies and services, Cassie spent the last few years working in design research and consulting for organisations like ThinkPlace, Deloitte Digital UK and the UK’s public sector programmes. She brings over six years of experience leading multi-disciplinary teams across Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Senegal through collaborations with UNICEF, Aga Khan Foundation, JSI, The Nature Conservancy, SightSavers and Johnson and Johnson, sharpening her skills in service design, prototype design and usability testing along the way.
Cassie holds a BA in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and speaks fluent French and conversational Spanish. When she’s not working with people, you can find her in the front row of her weekly dance class or at the studio firing her latest creation.
Matthew creates with care.
As our Graphic Designer, Matthew brings accessibility and fun into frame.
A whiz at all things web, from the graphics to the very font on the page, Matthew has made sure bold visions fit all screens. He has spent 15 years designing for the social impact space, helping key missions and messages resonate with the right people. Before joining Common Thread, Matthew led design at 350.org and designed for various non-profits and NGOs including Greenpeace International, Rainforest Action Network, and Grassroots Law Project.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Sustainable Architecture from Miami University. When he’s not pushing pixels in his Brooklyn apartment, he’s enjoying time outside as the most in-demand goalkeeper for his local Sunday football league (soccer, for his fellow Americans), thanks to his ability to show up on time and willingness to hurl his body through the air.
Aishwarya navigates complexity through collaboration.
As our Behavioural Science Associate, Aishwarya brings a social psychology lens to last-mile, sticky challenges.
Through her previous post at Final Mile Consulting, Aishwarya gained invaluable experience combining behavioural science and human-centred design to tackle issues that impact vulnerable populations. Her work at Centre for Social and Behaviour Change at Ashoka University brought her face-to-face with central and state governments in India and the challenges of adapting design strategies for public policy and implementation. Through years working on issues across sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, and immunisation in South Asia and Africa, she has developed a deep appreciation for varied perspectives to understand the layers of human behaviour, which is what led her to Common Thread.
Aishwarya holds a MSc in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Sussex and a BA in Economics from Christ University. Undeterred by failure, she claims every hobby that comes her way: dancing, singing, and painting, taking breaks only to ponder life’s endless ‘what-ifs’. She is based in Bangaluru and speaks English, Hindi, and Malayalam.
Paula solves puzzles.
As our Senior Behavioural Designer, Paula enhances user insights and context analysis with evidence and understanding to move the needle forward on some of the most taboo topics.
Armed with a research toolkit that combines the best of design research, anthropology and behavioural science, Paula is drawn to designing behavioural solutions that reduce sexual harassment in the workplace, prevent intimate partner violence, connect rural communities with digital health and education services, combat loneliness and cultivate financial safety for underserved populations. She has lived many lives over her 14-year career, which has brought her all over the globe. Her previous work as a journalist and a public policy analyst focused on indigenous rights in Peru were crucial to building her understanding of human behaviour as a function, rather than a friction. She has worked extensively with underserved populations in collaboration with organisations like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Rescue Committee, Equimundo, and Innovations for Poverty Action.
Paula holds a MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. When she’s not busy researching, you can find her training Capoeira, climbing mountains or dancing salsa.
Associates
Associate
Lusaka, Zambia
Lydia takes complex issues and methodically guides our team towards answers.
An epidemiologist by training and behavioural designer by nature, she has spent most of her career designing and evaluating health programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. Before Common Thread, Lydia worked with ideas42, designing reproductive health programming in Senegal, studying intimate partner violence prevention strategies in India, and understanding how to build empathy between health providers and their clients in Zambia. Whether buried in a dataset or chatting with a couple about their children’s health, Lydia is constantly trying to understand how context shapes people’s decisions.
Lydia holds a MPH from the University of Cape Town and a BA in Political Science and Public Health from George Washington University. She is a part-time lecturer at the University of Zambia School of Public Health.
Outside of work, you can find her outdoors—tending her (slowly) budding vegetable garden in Lusaka, trying not to be thrown off her horses, or deftly avoiding crocodiles on the Zambezi river.
Associate
Nairobi, Kenya
Qali is an advocate, globalist, and storyteller dedicated to fostering connections and driving change. With a background in communications and international development, including roles at World Vision International and the World Bank, Qali is passionate about crafting impactful narratives that build bridges and catalyse transformation. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Imperial College London and is the host and producer of ‘The Qonnect’ podcast, lauded as one of Africa’s best podcasts by The Guardian. Qali seeks to capture the essence of diverse cultures and experiences, whether that be through writing or documentary photography.
Associate
Washington, DC, USA
Nga turns insight into everyday habits.
Nga is a strategic communications and social and behavior change specialist with over 20 years of experience, helping organizations translate insight into action and designing programs that move people toward healthier choices across health and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Her career spans senior advisory roles in global health and international development, including UNICEF, USAID, the World Bank, the ADB, and international NGOs. Nga holds a Master’s Degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
When she’s not working, you’ll find Nga gardening, dancing, or cooking. She’s based in the Washington, DC area.
Associate
Islamabad, Pakistan
Ali keeps us on track. Over 11 years, Ali has led 30 qualitative and quantitative studies and monitored systems and work in health, agriculture, education, skills development, energy and financial services sectors. Ali’s focus on research, monitoring, project management and private sector development has contributed to organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP, Jhpiego, MSI and Cardno, as well as projects funded by development agencies like USAID, DFAT, WHH and BMGF. In addition, Ali is an avid sportsman, a trained socio-economic development expert and filmmaker, with success as a radio jockey, stage actor and financial economist, all reflective of the diversity in thought and skills he brings to the team.
Associate
Chicago, USA
Michelle explores with intention. As a research designer and facilitator, she loves helping teams design for justice and equity. With over 15 years experience in design, digital, and post-production, her multidisciplinary background enables her to find unique ways to tell stories and connect the dots.
She holds a BA in Interaction Design and recieved training in human-centred design from Hyper Island, Stockholm’s innovation school, where she first worked with UNICEF. Her long list of clients includes MUJI, Deloitte, and adidas.
Michelle spends her free time reading, hiking, and flipping through streaming services in vain.
Our Funders
We hold long term collaboration agreements with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Council of Europe, Results for Development (R4D), Burnet Institute, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and GDI Advisors.
No cookie cutters here. We build custom tools and solutions for each project.
We can do great things together.
