Leading Lights

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 sectorAreeba’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.ukInstagram: @greenpeaceukBlueSky: greenpeace.bsky.socialTikTok: @greenpeaceukFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceukAreeba 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 hereEnjoyed 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

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.ukIf 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

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 3 of Leading Lights, Abi has the pleasure of meeting Dr Sarah Hughes, the inspirational CEO of Mind, the mental health charity. Sarah has worked in mental health and social justice for 35 years. She has held a number of chief executive roles in the voluntary sector including for the prestigious think tank The Centre for Mental Health. She holds a professional doctorate on the topic of women and leadership and was given an honorary doctorate by Hull University where she happily studied social work in the mid 90s. Sarah's vision of becoming the CEO of Mind was established at the age of 18 when she ‘found her people’ during a gap year job at Mind Haringey. She was strongly influenced by her father’s leadership style and her mother’s resilience. She has a clear idea of what it means to be a feminist leader, which she applies to her role daily. During the conversation Sarah reveals what it takes to lead in really complex environments, which she learned in her role managing mental health services at HM Prison Holloway, along with her understanding of the importance of combining theory and practice. Sarah talks about what it’s like to challenge the perceptions of how a CEO ‘should’ look, speak and carry themselves and her thoughts on the 'strong headwinds' facing the charity sector. She shares how finding levity at difficult moments, her 'CEO squad', and spending time with her family are her coping strategies. About Mind Mind, the mental health charity, provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. The charity campaigns to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect. To find out more about Mind: Follow Mind on X | Instagram | TikTok| Facebook | LinkedIn or visit mind.org.uk If you enjoyed this conversation, please come back! 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 other people 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 Follow us on ⁠LinkedIn ⁠| ⁠Instagram ⁠| ⁠Facebook

Our first episode features the incredible Chief Executive of Together Co, April Baker. April has more than 10 years of senior leadership and board experience in the for purpose, not profit, sector. She is passionate about finding innovative and empowering solutions to societal issues, particularly loneliness and social isolation, which affect millions of people in the UK and around the world. In this episode April shares how her earliest memories of going out on her bicycle as a young child to make friends with her neighbours may have been the spark for the inspiring work that she does now at Together Co. She also shares how she’s committed to bringing ‘social health’ up the agenda in the UK, her biggest influences, how she relies on her ‘work persona’, how habit stacking works for her, what it’s really like to be in a leadership role in a charity, how her ‘why’ is what keeps her going, and how she protects her reading time and her resilience. During this conversation, April recommended reading Start With Why by Simon Sinek. About Together Co Together Co is a loneliness charity that delivers services in Brighton and Hove through befriending, social prescribing and other volunteering programmes. It supports over 2,000 people a year. This is only made possible by more than 450 volunteers. It also campaigns nationally and internationally to raise the awareness and impact of loneliness on our health and communities, and the importance of social health. To find out more about Together Co: Follow Together Co on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook or visit https://togetherco.org.uk/ If you enjoyed this conversation, please come back! 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 other people 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 Follow us on ⁠LinkedIn ⁠| ⁠Instagram ⁠| ⁠Facebook