About Me

Thandi Fletcher is a strategic communications leader, former journalist, and scholar in philosophy of education. She lives on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, also known as Vancouver.

She brings a unique blend of expertise in strategic communications and media relations, higher education, and applied ethics, working at the intersection of media, institutional leadership, and academic discourse.

Professional Experience

As Manager, Reputation and Leadership Strategy at the University of British Columbia, Thandi specializes in issues management, speechwriting, and institutional storytelling. She advises senior leaders on strategic communications and responses to potential reputational issues.

Before transitioning to communications, Thandi worked as a journalist for major daily newspapers across Canada. She was awarded the Michelle Lang Fellowship in Journalism in 2011, which allowed her to write a nationally published investigative series on barriers that breast cancer patients face when seeking reconstructive surgery in Canada.

Academic Work

Thandi is a PhD student in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her scholarship examines ethical dimensions of freedom of expression and academic freedom, epistemic injustice, and inclusion in higher education.

Thandi presented her first academic paper, “When Free Speech Hurts: Ethical Approaches to Controversial Speakers on University Campuses,” at the Philosophy of Education Society’s (PES) annual conference in March 2025. The paper, which is forthcoming in the Philosophy of Education journal, was a finalist for the Philosophy of Education Society’s Legacy Award.