I am delighted to be joining the Civic Power Fund as their new Executive Director this January.  The Civic Power Fund is the UK’s first pooled donor fund dedicated to community organising. We invest in community organising directly and in building the infrastructure and leadership organising needs to thrive.  We exist because we are worried about democracy. … Continue reading A new chapter with the Civic Power Fund →

According to the front page of the British newspapers, yesterday marks ten years since the Royal Wedding. Instead of fond thoughts for the happy couple, the gleaming pictures of Wills and Kate catapulted me back to one of the most stressful moments of my life.  I vividly remember watching the Royal Wedding in my then-new-boyfriend-now-husband’s … Continue reading What the royal wedding taught me about asking for help →

Before leaving Save the Children, I wrote down some of the leadership lessons I’d learned. Many of these were inspired by my amazing colleagues, as well as the resources I shared last week. Six months on, I wanted to revisit them – both to see whether they hold-up, and to check whether I am heeding … Continue reading Leadership maxims I try (and fail) to live by →

Last month, I shared some of my top books for campaign success. Today, I wanted to share some of the leadership resources that most inspire me. These are the books and articles I turn to when thinking about how I show up at work. You’ll notice that the same key themes emerge across them. They challenge us … Continue reading Five leadership resources I can’t stop going back to →

The latest episode of This American Life challenges us to be more intentional about delight. Host, Bim Adewunmi spends much of the show interviewing poet and 'delight connoisseur' Ross Gay. It is a beautiful conversation, which reminds us that joy and delight can - and should - be part of our day to day lives.  … Continue reading Discovering delight in a strange city →

The debate about charity overheads re-emerged this week after the Australian Red Cross was criticised for spending 10% of its Disaster Relief Fund on ‘office costs’. The charity is leading the response to the devastating fires sweeping the nation, and has been the first port of call for the millions moved to donate. Instead of setting up … Continue reading Should disaster relief money fund core costs? →

Last week, the Division of Communications at UNICEF was fortunate enough to be joined by Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Anthony shared insights on communicating about climate change, based on his decade-long work in this field. His talk prompted a lot of soul searching from the campaigners in the … Continue reading The Haiku Test – driving action on climate change →

I'm often asked about the best reading for advocacy success, so I wanted to share some of the books that have inspired me over the years. This list is far from exhaustive – and these books are not exclusively about advocacy – but they do provide a great perspective on what delivers change, both through … Continue reading Nine books for campaign success →

This week, I've been reflecting on my first Country Office Mission with UNICEF. Last October, two colleagues and I ran three day workshop with the Tanzania Office to a) identify their advocacy priorities and design corresponding strategies, and b) to build the advocacy and campaigns knowledge, skills and confidence of staff members across the office. … Continue reading Five steps to strategy success – learning from Tanzania →