This is Internal Calms.
What if internal communications could keep people steady and engaged — no matter what’s going on in the world? Discover how a trauma-informed, people-centered approach can help your organization navigate complexity and disruption, ensuring folks stay calm, connected, and ready for what’s next.
explore The approach
Delve into the core principles that guide the Internal Calms approach to employee communication — and why these ideas are essential for today.
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hi, I’m ELLEN.
I’m a trauma-informed leader, employee communications strategist, and expert storyteller passionate about building clarity, trust, and resilience in the workplace. With 20 years’ experience across tech, healthcare, and journalism, I empower organizations to communicate with empathy and purpose, creating lasting impact for teams everywhere — even in an era of perpetual uncertainty.
I'm based in Portland, Oregon, and work with organizations nationwide.
why this? why now?
Here's what I know: The pandemic didn't just disrupt business — it rewired us.
Climate anxiety, layoffs, AI headlines, political division — these aren’t occasional disruptions anymore. They’re the daily soundtrack of work. Employees are showing up with their nervous systems already activated before they even open their laptops.
Yet we’re still communicating like it’s 2019.
The Internal Calms approach works with nervous systems, not against them. It recognizes that stress fundamentally changes how we process information — and designs communications accordingly.
This approach doesn’t eliminate uncertainty. There will never be another day in our lifetimes when we have certainty. But we can help people stay steady within it by communicating with clarity and humanity — consistently, transparently, and with deep respect for what our people are carrying.