About

Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree and a Masters of Public Policy and Management from the University of Melbourne. He is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Management (Marketing) at the Melbourne Business School.

He is a campaigns, marketing and policy professional with strong experience across the union and non-profit sectors. Alex has delivering successful marketing and fundraising campaigns and in 2012 worked with the Obama for America campaign in Massachusetts. His experience is complemented by leadership roles in community and political organisations (with a focus on climate change policy action).

He has been at the front line of world-class communications and marketing campaigns and has worked on highly successful political, industrial and fundraising campaigns. Alex has exceptional people-management skills, managing organising and marketing teams, and volunteers in number of roles.

He has excelled in tough environments of politics including in tactical units for Australian and American election campaigns. Alex is experienced in the design and influence of specific policies at State and Federal Government levels, and has first-hand experience with political & community campaigning.

For over a decade, he has brought innovative marketing communications techniques to the union and non-profit sector, effectively melding online campaign techniques with traditional approaches.

As a published author, Alex has also free-lanced as a speech-writer, public relations and researcher.

Alex lectured at Victoria University on public relations and media management, and guest lectured at US institutions. He is a Climate Reality Project Presenter and was personally trained by the Hon. Al Gore in 2009. From 2008-12 he was National Secretary of LEAN and in 2012 joined the board of The Wilderness Society (Victoria).

Alex White - feature

Expertise

Policy Action

With a Master in Public Policy focusing on climate change, I have experience developing and negotiating policy at a national level, and engaging the community to take action. Read more on policy

Writer

I have written columns for a range of publications including The Guardian UK, The Drum, Media 140, Centre for Policy Development & Climate Spectator. Read My Guardian UK Articles

Strategy

I have led and consulted on major campaigns for unions, non-profits and environmental groups in Australian and the USA, and have developed strategies that win. Read my e-books

Social Marketing

I am internationally recognised for my expertise in social marketing for progressive causes, environmental campaigns and the union movement.

Contact me

An essential resource for unions campaigners

Guide to Online Campaigning for Unions

Sale! Guide to Online Campaigning for Unions $35 $25

Guide to Online Campaigning for Unions is a blueprint for unions to use the power of the Internet to urge members and supporters to become online activists, and to take that action off-line in the real world.

This is a digital download

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Australia’s unpopular carbon tax?

Below I have published my latest article from my new Guardian UK column, Southern Crossroads. You can read the article over at The Guardian. Since the disappointment of Copenhagen in 2009, Australia has witnessed a concerted scare campaign against action on global warming. The scare campaign has been led by senior commentators in (Murdoch owned) News Limited [...]

Who are the real competition for unions?

Conservative crank Gerard Henderson wrote last year that unions “have nothing to fear from external competition”. Apart from demonstrating that he knows relatively little about the new Fair Work Act, which allows for inter-union disputes over membership coverage, the sentiment he expressed, that unions do not face “traditional”, market based competition, is one I’ve heard expressed [...]

Case study: using data to identify and develop activists

The Californian-based Alliance for Climate Education has a fantastic story about how it used its data to measure who amongst its supporters were turning into activists and leaders. I think it’s a really good example of how progressive non-profit organisations can use their CRM to achieve their mission (they’ve reached over 1 million students) and [...]

The secret to strong messaging for your union: focus

Because unions are democratic organisations, accountable to members and with a leadership elected by members, as organisations they face considerable challenges in messaging. Add to this the fact that many unions have a diverse membership covering distinct and structurally different industries. It’s no wonder that many unions struggle to develop strong, consistent messaging. The key to [...]

Tips to help you choose the right activist & delegate database

Activists, delegates and volunteers are the lifeblood of campaigning organisations like unions. Effective campaigning means keeping a track of your activists and delegates, and to do that, you need a proper database. There are myriad databases out there, some purpose built for membership organisations and others built for campaigns with beginnings and ends. Selecting the right [...]