Getting curious with Shaan
We are very excited to welcome Shaan to the Curious Health team as our new Account Executive!
Shaan is interested in the gap between what a policy or product promises and what reaches the people it’s meant to serve, turning that gap into a clear, compelling story. Her background in law and policy allows her to analyse where messaging breaks down, whether that’s clinical discretion, medical literacy, or evidence-based inequity, and she uses that to shape communications that close the distance. Her dissertation applied this thinking to lupus care, exploring the double pain gap facing ethnic minority women.
Shaan has brought that narrative instinct to sensitive, high-stakes subjects: linking the far right to its impact on migrant women at Woman’s Trust, making reproductive health education playful and accessible at WUKA, and rallying MPs and press behind global poverty at The Borgen Project.
Now at Curious Health, Shaan applies that same thinking to her work, finding what’s missing and shaping it into messaging that drives real uptake, so that underserved communities are heard and prioritised, not overlooked. The right questions, asked well, are what turn a message into change people can feel.
Why did you want to join Curious Health?
I have always considered myself to be an inquisitive person, wanting a deeper understanding of the world around me. What really stood out to me about Curious is that it is a company that takes pride in the good work they do for others, the positive changes they make to real life people, their dedication to likeminded principles such as equity, sustainability and justice. With a background in law, justice is very important to me. I think it is integral to anyone working within the health sector because it is all about the language we use, how we think, how we recognise and articulate our own experiences and whether those experiences are believed and upheld. This is essential to understanding the patient and practitioner perspectives and is something I feel strongly about.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Throughout the years I have been through a few phases, wanting to work in social care until I realised it was a small part of a wider societal issue. Then law, until I realised that the rules we implement to protect us can sometimes fail to do so. Most recently, policy, until I realised that it’s not just the environment that we create, but how we communicate to the people, and more importantly, how that communication is received. I have always loved to write and tell stories; I feel that at Curious I get to see these intersections come to life.
What was the last song you listened to?
Chris Isaak- Wicked Games
What do you do when you’re not working?
I like to spend time with the people I love, my friends and family. I like to either explore new places with them or sometimes just stay in bed, binge watch shows and eat snacks with them. I am a big fan of promoting sustainable lifestyle and I love clothes, but do not have the means for an endless amount of them, nor do I want to contribute to the fast fashion industry. So, I love to go charity shopping or buy decor and furniture on Facebook marketplace to upscale.
Do you have a go-to karaoke song?
My Kind of Love- Emilie Sande
Tell us an embarrassing moment
When I was in year 6, we had a talent show; my best friend and I had rehearsed a dance to Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. I made a wrong move and instead of carrying on gracefully, I shouted, “what are you doing?” at my friend, who then stopped dancing too. This left us staring at each other on the stage awkwardly while the teachers scrambled to turn the music off. This was also the first time in my life that I had felt myself turn completely red in the race.
What’s something you saw recently that made you laugh?
The girly messages on the work group chat titled “SLAY…”
What’s something you’ve done, but you’ll never do again?
Changed my career/ education choices based on a current boyfriend.
What’s your favourite TV show?
Sex and the City
What are you passionate about?
Radical change that helps make the world feel better for real people.
