#WeLeadComms: Jeanine D’Alusio

Today’s #WeLeadComms honors go to North Carolina-based communication leader Jeanine D’Alusio.

She shares her story:

“I’m an internal communications and change leader who sits at the intersection of strategy, employee experience, and organizational culture. I began my career in the nonprofit sector, supporting leaders and boards in community organizations and foundations, and later moved into communications and marketing roles that deepened my understanding of stakeholder engagement.

“Over time, that path led me into learning technology and SaaS. At Relias, I worked across recruiting, learning and development, HR and organizational development, and product and content marketing as we delivered a learning management system for healthcare organizations across the continuum of care. At Schoox, I focused on communications, content and social, and ultimately internal communications and change, supporting enterprise companies in restaurant, hospitality, manufacturing and retail to train and connect their frontline workers.

“I didn’t start out thinking “I’ll work in internal communications.” I grew into it by being the person executives turned to when they needed to explain a hard decision in a human way, or when teams were struggling to connect the dots between vision, priorities, and the realities of their day‑to‑day work. That experience taught me that a true internal comms strategy is more than a content calendar or a cascade plan. It’s a working blueprint that links business goals, audiences, messages, channels, and measurement—and keeps evolving as you learn from how employees actually respond.

“In practice, that has looked like building scalable comms infrastructure from scratch: clarifying roles between HR, leadership, and comms; designing All Hands and manager toolkits that make change feel less chaotic; and creating feedback loops so employees have a voice, not just another inbox full of updates. I’m most proud of the moments when thoughtful communication helped restore trust after layoffs or major change—when people felt informed, respected, and able to see their own path forward, even in difficult circumstances.

“What I believe, and what I’m committed to, is that internal communications should function as a strategic partner, not a last‑minute messenger. Done well, it gives employees line of sight to where the organization is going, makes complex decisions understandable, and creates the conditions for real accountability and culture, not just slogans. Looking ahead, I want to continue helping organizations treat internal comms as a core leadership discipline—grounded in clear strategy, honest storytelling, and measurable impact on engagement and performance.”

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