From a challenging childhood to leadership of a ground breaking charity, Danielle Bridge has built her successful career out of being open to the range of opportunities that have come her way.

In this episode of Leading Lights, MOREVER Managing Director, Abi Mellor talks with the Chief Executive of Black Minds Matter UK about her role as the leader of a charity helping the Black community to access the mental health resources they need for better mental health, or to recover from mental illness.

This conversation covers a lot of ground.

• The mental illness challenges within Danielle’s own family that shaped her childhood.

• How being ‘unprescriptive’ has unlocked the opportunities that have led her into leadership.

• Her ‘driving force’ to do something with purpose.

• How she came to found ABC Life Support, a first aid training organisation.

• How the murder of George Floyd propelled her into her current role.

• Her thoughts on what she calls out as the ‘life epidemic’ impacting mental health.

• Her concerns around the impact on the Black community of the current political climate and the development of AI.

About Black Minds Matter UK

Black Minds Matter UK is a registered charity connecting Black individuals and families with free 1:1 talking therapy delivered by qualified and accredited Black therapists.

Its network of therapists work tirelessly to break down stigma and redefine therapeutic experiences for Black individuals.

Its three pillars of impact are therapy, awareness raising through education, and advocating for systems change in statutory services.

Black Minds Matter UK is working towards seeing a community of Black people readily accessing mental health support, recovering fully from mental illness, and thriving.

To find out more about Danielle, and Black Minds Matter UK, visit:

https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/

Instagram:

@daniellebridge_ceo

@blackmindsmatter.uk

@abc_life_support

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellebridge/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-minds-matter-uk/

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Are you a Head of Brand, Marketing or Creative at a charity? Join the MOREVER Meetup – an informal space to share ideas and connect with other women doing creative work in the charity sector.

Leading Lights is brought to you by MOREVER – an independent creative agency for charities and changemakers. www.morever.co.uk

Unfiltered conversations with women leading change in the charity and non-profit sector.

Leading Lights shines a light on female leadership, amplifying the voices of the inspiring women making a difference through purpose-driven work.

In each episode, we speak to non-profit CEOs about how they lead, what they’ve learned, and what keeps them going. Expect honest conversations, bold ideas and practical insights. It's the perfect listen for anyone passionate about the third sector, purpose-lead work or leadership.

Brought to you by MOREVER – the creative agency for charities & changemakers

From grassroots campaigning in India to co-leading one of the world’s most influential organisations, Areeba Hamid’s journey is one of purpose, resilience and quiet power.

As the first woman and first person of colour to lead Greenpeace UK, Areeba shares her deeply personal path into activism – seeded by the influence of a grandmother who showed her it is possible for women to ‘defy expectations’ by raising a child alone in post-Partition India, and her grandfather, a newspaper editor who was active in the Indian independence movement and filled her childhood with stories of resistance and political action.

In conversation with Abi Mellor, Areeba reflects on: 🔹 How she fell in love with campaigning and activism, but it was the idea of going on the boat that really drew her in. 🔹 How she’s making co-leadership work at Greenpeace UK through a ‘high-trust, low ego’ model. 🔹 How Greenpeace took on (and beat) Shell in the courts 🔹 Why she believes only strong leadership can save us from a climate catastrophe 🔹 The weight of breaking the leadership mould, and her experiences of navigating identity, belonging, and leadership in the UK charity sector

Areeba’s story is both inspiring and urgent – a powerful reminder of what can happen when bold values meet fearless action.

About Greenpeace UKGreenpeace UK is part of a global network campaigning for a greener, more peaceful planet. Through direct action, lobbying, research and innovative communication, it works to expose environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and just future.

www.greenpeace.org.uk

Instagram: @greenpeaceuk

BlueSky: greenpeace.bsky.social

TikTok: @greenpeaceuk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceuk

Areeba recommends 📖 Butter by Asako Yuzuki – Get it here 🖼 In the Mood for Love: Hockney in London 1960–1963 at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert – More info 🎧 This American Life – Listen here

Enjoyed this conversation?

Subscribe to Leading Lights to catch the next episode, and please consider rating and reviewing to help others find the podcast.

Are you a Head of Brand, Marketing or Creative at a charity? Join the MOREVER Meetup – an informal space to share ideas and connect with other women doing creative work in the charity sector.

Leading Lights is brought to you by MOREVER – an independent creative agency for charities and changemakers.www.morever.co.uk

From losing both parents as a teenager and growing up in poverty in Taiwan, to founding a charity driving systemic change across Asia - Pei Su’s journey is nothing short of remarkable.

She’s a pioneer in animal welfare, a trailblazer in charity leadership AND a published author - her memoir is a must-read (here’s a link to get a copy).

As CEO of ACTAsia, Pei is leading efforts to shift attitudes around animal welfare through education and advocacy. In the latest episode of Leading Lights, she joins Abi Mellor for an inspiring and deeply personal conversation.

They discuss:

🔹 Why cultural attitudes to animals vary so widely

🔹 Some of the shocking sites she’s seen (trigger warning) and how she’s put a stop to them🔹 Her journey from her hand-to-mouth childhood in Taiwan to leadership🔹 How she now sees her breast cancer diagnosis as a positive🔹 Why Pei believes re-education is the key to lasting change

Pei’s story is a powerful reminder of what’s possible with vision, resilience - and a refusal to give up.

About ACTASIA

ACTAsia works to drive long term, sustainable change for animals, people and the environment through a range of education programmes for children, consumers and professionals. The award-winning programmes, recognised by the UN, drive positive and sustainable long-term change in Asian societies, helping people to understand and appreciate the importance of the interdependence of animals, people and the environment. Education helps to increase awareness and understanding of animal sentience and interconnectivity of all living things - something which can be lacking in parts of Asian society owing to a complex range of historical, political and socio-economic factors.

To find out more visit www.actasia.org

Or on social platforms:

X: @Tweet_ACTAsia

FB: ACTAsiaEducation

Instagram: @actasia

If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe so you don’t miss the next one! We’d love you to rate, review Leading Lights - this helps others to find the podcast.

And, if you’re a Head of Brand, Marketing or Creative within a charity, why not join us at the MOREVER Meetup to share ideas and insights with women in similar roles from other charities.

MOREVER is an independent creative agency for charities and changemakers. To find out more about us and check out some of our work visit www.morever.co.uk

Our guest this month is Helen Rowbotham. Helen has been CEO of Access Sport, a national charity dedicated to making inclusion the norm in community sport, since January 2022. With over 25 years of sports industry and non-profit leadership experience, she has overseen significant growth across Access Sport’s programmes, reaching more than 20,000 disadvantaged and disabled children and young people in 2024.

In this episode Helen describes how an inspiring secondary school PE teacher put her on the path to leadership and what it was like to move from a career in consultancy to the charity sector. She explains where she gets her boundless energy for every role, how she 'flicks the switch' to turn around a less than perfect day, and outlines the goals she has in mind for the many projects that have gone from strength to strength under her tenure.

To find out more about Access Sport visit www.AccessSport.org.uk

If you enjoyed this conversation, come back and listen to our next episode! We release Leading Lights on the first Monday of every month. And, we’d love you to rate, review and subscribe to Leading Lights - this helps others to find the podcast.

And, if you’re a Head of brand, marketing or creative within a charity, why not join us at the MOREVER Meetup to share ideas and insights with women in similar roles from other charities.

MOREVER is an independent creative agency for charities and changemakers. To find out more about us and check out some of our work visit www.morever.co.uk

Our guest this month is Angela McConville. As Chief Executive of the NCT, the parents national charity for pregnancy, birth and early parenthood, Angela has brought her ‘spirit for change’ to the organisation. After only 9 weeks in the role, the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to make changes to the fundamental operating strategy of the organisation overnight.

In this episode Angela describes how her mother inspired her understanding of how communities can come together and how she plans to tackle the challenges that face the NCT in 2025. She also talks about her own path to leadership, how she has built a supportive network of working mums around her and her number one skill for making a success of the CEO role.

To find out more about the NCT visit: www.nct.org.uk

If you enjoyed this conversation, come back and listen to our fascinating April guest! We release new episodes on the first Monday of every month. And, we’d love you to rate, review and subscribe to Leading Lights - this helps others to find the podcast.

And, if you’re a Head of brand, marketing or creative within a charity why not join our own supportive network of senior marketers within charities at the MOREVER Meetup? Our quarterly meeting to share ideas and insights with women in similar roles from other charities.

Find out more about MOREVER - www.morever.co.uk

Abi’s guest is Michelle Thew, long standing CEO of Cruelty Free International, one of the world’s most respected animal protection organisations. It works to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.

In this episode Michelle shares her journey to leadership and her thoughts on what it’s like to be the leader of a campaigning organisation for social justice. She also discusses:

• How she was driven to this role by an overwhelming desire to work in the animal protection community.

• The reasons why the job isn’t at all what she expected it to be

and

• How she spots leadership potential in others

She also shares how she maintains her staying power and her secret sauce for managing stress in such an important, high profile role.

About Cruelty Free International

Cruelty Free International is one of the world’s longest standing and most respected animal protection organisations, it works to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals.

Cruelty Free International is widely accepted as the global authority on animal testing issues, combining award-winning campaigning, political lobbying, pioneering undercover investigations and scientific and legal expertise.

Educating, challenging and inspiring others across the globe to respect and protect animals, it investigates and exposes the reality of life for animals in laboratories.

It has saved millions of animals from a life of suffering.

To find out more about Cruelty Free International you can find it at the following links:⁠

Instagram - @crueltyfreeintl / @michelle_crueltyfree

Facebook - @CrueltyFreeInternational

X - @CrueltyFreeIntl

TikTok - @crueltyfreeintl

Linkedin - @crueltyfreeinternational

Or visit: http://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/

If you enjoyed this conversation, come back and listen to our fascinating March guest! We release new episodes on the first Monday of every month. And, we’d love you to rate, review and subscribe to Leading Lights - this helps others to find the podcast.

And, if you’re a Head of brand, marketing or creative within a charity, why not join us at the MOREVER Meetup to share ideas and insights with women in similar roles from other charities.

Find out more about MOREVER - www.morever.co.uk

In Episode 4, Abi’s guest is Jayne Taylor, CEO of The Elephant group, a headteacher-led charity dedicated to improving fair access to top universities.

Through collaboration with school leaders, universities, and key partners, The Elephant Group supports academically able students from non-selective state schools, helping them achieve their aspirations through tailored programmes and sector-wide initiatives.

In this episode, Jayne shares how the impact of her older brother having a serious illness when she was ten defined her childhood, and sparked a keen desire to help young people derailed by difficult circumstances to achieve their academic potential.

She also shares her thoughts on:

• The surprising similarities between becoming a parent and becoming a chief exec;

• Why she thinks teenagers are underrated;

• What she's learned about leadership from playing Roller Derby and obsessively reading about mountaineering.

This is a fascinating listen for anyone interested in the charity sector, leadership, young people, academia, achieving a balance between family life and career goals, and much more.

About The Elephant Group

The Elephant Group is a headteacher-led charity that is committed to creating fair student access to top universities by collaborating with schools, universities, and wider partner organisations.

It identifies challenges faced by schools and works with key partners to create a lasting change. Via its core programmes, Elephant Access and the Meta Method, it works with over 3,500 students from low progression areas, delivering targeted activities designed to develop lifelong skills and support capable students into the universities and career paths that they deserve.

Its model of cross-sector collaboration allows it to draw on a wide network, gathering resources, information and connections to help upskill school staff and help students to develop the skills and knowledge that they need to make an informed choice based on their aspirations.

To find out more about The Elephant Group follow it on X | LinkedIn or visit https://theelephantgroup.org/

If you enjoyed this conversation, come back and listen to our fascinating February guest! We release new episodes on the first Monday of every month. And, we’d love you to rate, review and subscribe to Leading Lights - this helps others to find the podcast.

And, if you’re a Head of brand, marketing or creative within a charity, why not join us at the MOREVER Meetup to share ideas and insights with women in similar roles from other charities.

Find out more about MOREVER - www.morever.co.uk