Welcome to my website! I am Helena, a media professional with two decades of experience in the fields of journalism and communications.
What started as a summer job in a Finnish tabloid newspaper in the late ’90s, led soon into producing newscasts for a nationwide TV Channel in Finland and later into working as a freelance journalist and a writer in France.
I took a leap out of the journalistic world in 2018, when I joined the Embassy of Finland in the US as the Press Counselor and later the Head of Public Diplomacy Section.
Today I am based again in France and lead my own company, Helena Communications & Media. I do what I love the most: consult, coach and create.
I’m a believer in the power of good communications and a profound understanding of the audience. As a person living in between cultures and languages, I hope to enhance intercultural understanding through my work – whether it is communications, public diplomacy, storytelling, or journalism.
I enjoy the challenge that the multifaceted world of communications and media provides.
As an embassy press counselor, I prepared diplomats for press events, worked in the world of digital diplomacy, organized successful media gatherings and country branding events, dove into the world of crisis communications, and lead a wonderful team of professionals.
As a journalist, I have reported from major international news events, traveled as a solo video journalist, hosted a podcast as well as written columns, blog posts, and long-form magazine articles. I speak fluent Finnish, English, French, and Swedish.
All of this is what I do today too. You can read more about my services on this website and get in touch. I’d love to tell you more!
I am also an author; my two published books dive into the different aspects of French life. First one, Maman finlandaise, Poskisuukkoja ja perhe-elämää Etelä-Ranskassa (Maman finlandaise, kisses and family life in South of France), was published in 2016 and the second, Mon Amour – ranskalaisen parisuhteen jäljillä (Mon Amour – in the Footsteps of a French relationship) in 2018.
I hold two master’s degrees: Master of Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki (2002) and a Master of Arts from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism (2013). My final thesis looked into the role and relevance of art museums in today’s society through video interviews. It is also an early example of how a journalistic story can be produced on Pinterest.
I have also recently completed the “Executive Presence” certificate program that focuses on Public Speaking at Cornell University.