About — Hawley Strategic Advisors

I’m Heather Hawley. I’m a strategist.

Not a PR firm. Not a messaging consultant. A strategist - someone who helps leaders and leadership teams think clearly, plan deliberately, and move forward with confidence when the environment around them is anything but simple.

I started Hawley Strategic Advisors because I kept seeing the same gap — and because I believed there was a better way to show up for leaders in those moments. Not as a vendor. As a partner who is genuinely invested in getting it right.

I wanted to do something different.

How I Work

I work best with senior leaders - CEOs, COOs, executive teams who own a P&L or carry real organizational responsibility. People who don’t need to be convinced that strategy matters, but who want a partner who will push them to think harder about it.

My work sits at the intersection of business strategy, stakeholder dynamics, and communications. I use strategic communications as a tool to solve real business problems - not as the end goal.

That means I’m going to ask you questions your communications agency might not ask. I’m going to want to understand your business challenge before I ever think about your message. And I’m going to tell you what I actually think, even when it’s not the easy answer. I'm direct, I listen more than I talk, and I don't mistake activity for progress.

That’s the work I find most meaningful. And in my experience, it’s the work that actually moves the needle.

Background

I’ve spent more than 20 years advising organizations through growth, disruption, and high-stakes change - primarily in healthcare, energy, nonprofits, and regulated industries where leadership decisions happen under real scrutiny.

I’ve worked inside complex stakeholder environments, alongside executive teams during difficult transitions, and in situations where the margin for a misstep was very small. Trust is the most underrated strategic asset an organization has — and the hardest to rebuild once it's lost. I understand how decisions get made, how narratives form, and how trust - with employees, communities, regulators, or the public - gets built or broken.

That experience shapes how I think. I don’t see communications as a department. I see it as a strategic function that belongs in the leadership conversation from the beginning.

A little more about me

I’m based in Nashville. I’m a wife, a mom, a storyteller - and I think the best strategic work has something in common with a good story: it has a clear point, it respects everyone it touches, and it moves people from where they are to somewhere better.

I built this firm to do work that matters, with leaders who take it seriously. If that sounds like you, I’d love to connect.