In Conversation with Courtney Sunna, AstraZeneca
Please describe your role and responsibilities. How many years have you been in the company?
As Manager, Global Community Investment and Philanthropy at AstraZeneca, I sit within our Global Corporate Affairs team and support the delivery and growth of our Young Health Programme (YHP), disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, global non-profit giving and engagement as well as cross-sector partnership development. Most of my focus is on ensuring the success of the YHP, which is a core part of our sustainability ambition to make the most meaningful impact where society needs it – health.
YHP aims to address the growing global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers and respiratory diseases through primary prevention. It promotes education and awareness of the primary NCD risk factors to youth aged 10 to 24 living in underserved communities, so that they can make informed choices and protect their health in the future. Since its launch in 2010, the YHP has reached more than five million youth in dozens of countries – and we have big aims: to reach 10 million more young people, train 3,000 youth advocates, and change at least 12 laws/policies around the world between 2021 and 2025.
I joined the team back in September of 2020 and each day has been exciting, engaging and meaningful. It’s hard to have a bad day at the (virtual) office when you feel that the work you’re doing is truly making an impact.
What was your background previously and where did your interest in social impact begin?
My career has been more of a zig-zag than a dotted line. I think I took risks by following my passions, and those decisions ended up taking me on a path which brought me to exactly where I need to be.
In my early twenties, I took a career hiatus to travel the world (on a backpackers budget) and that cemented my desire to ensure that my work must always contribute positively to society. I ended up living in a few different countries involving a mix of study and work – the USA, Australia, Dubai, Italy – and am now happily settled in the Netherlands. These experiences have changed and shaped me into who I am today, and prepared me for a global role and the ability to work effectively with people of different cultures and customs.
Prior to joining AstraZeneca, I was responsible for business development and partnerships at Allergy Standards, an international certification company which tests and certifies consumer products for their ability to be asthma and allergy friendly. The link between air quality and health, with the responsibility of manufacturers to create healthy products while at the same time informing consumers about the importance of air quality – was something intriguing to me.
Over the past few years, I also served as Advisor and Co-Director at LEAP (Leadership & Executive Acceleration Program), a non-profit women’s leadership development program supported by the Irish Government which prepares mid-career professional women to get to the next level in their careers. LEAP has a unique social impact component where the participants are paired with local non-profits to help them solve a business challenge. We were subsequently recognized by One Young World (OYW) for our contribution to the SDGs, and had a measurable 1:24 social return on impact (SROI). The intersection of my work in the non-profit/youth leadership space with healthcare/behavioural interventions led to my selection as an AstraZeneca Scholar to attend the OYW Summit, and ultimately to my recruitment in the role I am in today.