Experience
Mentor
Mentor to many young people right throughout career, with positive and lasting outcomes. See testimonials.
Communications
Initial training as a print journalist set Di on a 30-plus year career in communication across the full spectrum including media and PR, crisis comms and issues management.
Brand
Di led the rebranding of one of the oldest legacy brands in Australia - from the YMCA to the Y - a journey over several years of intense collaboration. See launch video here.
Conferences
Have achieved great earned and owned media outcomes at conferences for many brands with a knack for speedy & memorable content creation. One highlight was writing a speech for the Y’s young national treasurer Thomas Stephenson which he absolutely nailed at the Y’s 175th birthday celebrations in London in 2018.
Entrepreneurship
Di established and ran her own public relations consultancy for 11 years in her 20s and early 30s. She’s also co-founder of startup streetwear brand, @Eithaway with her daughter, which started in 2022, when her girl was 17.
Wellbeing
More than three decades of therapy gives Di unique insight into herself and others. Mental Health First Aid Certified.
See below for more about Di-NAMIC Communications experience!
Di believes everyone and every organisation has their own unique story. This is some of hers.
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Journalism
Di McDonald’s career kicked off with a cadetship in journalism at the Border Mail Newspaper in Albury-Wodonga, when she was 18. Here, she was mentored by the smartest, kindest, fiercest individuals a young person could hope to meet in their first job. Many of the lessons she shares with the young people she mentors today are informed by this formative time. She’s pictured here with many of these mentors who were part of the crew that reported on Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Albury in 1986.
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Brand, Comms and Events Leadership
In her 17-year journey with the Y, Di found herself drawn to working with young people and empowering them to be and do their best for the Y.
Along the way, and always collaborating with young people, she led national fundraising events, national campaigns, national communications efforts, and a repositioning of the Y, to stand clearly for all young people. This included the Y’s first new logo in 53 years. (Di is pictured taking a breather on a giant Y after the successful agreement by the collective Y Movement in Australia to change its logo and positioning in 2019).
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Communications Leadership in Challenging Times
Di led communications for the Y in Australia through the global pandemic.
This included leadership of a low-budget national brand campaign Here for young people', when 90% of the Y's operations were shut down, securing $0.5M in pro bono print and TV advertising and achieving an ROI of 0.41c for a reach of 2.7M Australians.
She also led organisational communications through a Royal Commission, a Public Apology to survivors, and the establishment of the Y’s own Redress program before the Federal Scheme was established.
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Campaigns
Di has worked on many state and national campaigns in her career.
One highlight was leading the Y's first national brand campaign in 2018 "WhyNot" featured Boy George's remake of 'our' song and the launch of the WhyNot platform for the voices of young people. The campaign reached 1 in 4 Australians and featured in international media. WhyNot continues today as a platform for the voices of young people today, having published the work of over 400 young people and having over 50,000 visits a year.