Our Ambassadors

Sylvia is a former banking executive and now a workplace mental wellbeing consultant, NLP coach and integrative counsellor. She also talks openly and honestly about her personal experience and transformation from mental ill health (suicidal depression) to mental wealth. In her last position, Director, HSBC, Global Banking & Markets, Sylvia lead a globally respected team working in highly pressurised environments managing a multi-billion USD portfolio. As HSBC’s mental health network Chair, she also passionately drove the Time to Change agenda forward. Sylvia has an insightful blend of business, professional and personal experience and now works with various organisations championing workplace mental wellbeing, creating mental wellbeing confident and supportive workplaces and encourage a practical, business risk-based approach to recognising mental wellbeing as a workplace asset. Sylvia’s work with RidersMinds was instrumental to their extraordinary success at This Can Happen 2021 awards.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

If you mean poor mental wellbeing, then… as an adult, due to a series of life events, I tried taking my own life several times. Eventually I went to my GP and was diagnosed with a severe, major depressive disorder (MDD), single episode, although probably had MDD from childhood. With medication and counselling I fully recovered and transformed.

How has this impacted at work?

It didn’t. I wore a mask at work and kept very strong personal and professional boundaries. Hindsight there were some subtle behaviour changes but no one ever said anything.

What do you do to help others?

I educate, inform, train, raise awareness, speak, advocate, counsel and coach. I have a private counselling and coaching practice. I’m learner specialist support at a local academy for 16 – 25 year olds. I also offer career coaching, employability etc. workshops. I do highly specialised work with survivors of sexual abuse and rape. I have been volunteer of the year several times. I am a Counsellor coach, and advisory board member for a workplace wellbeing package provider. I provide one to one sessions for all employees of their contracted parties. I am a workplace speaker and storyteller sharing my story but more importantly what practical things we can all do differently. I am a speaker at global risk management events that mental health is a risk management and ESG matter, affecting performance and productivity. I am a consultant, speaker and driving force for Riders Minds, becoming known by others, overseas too, as THE mental health and well-being charity for all equestrians. Partner with Baton of Hope.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Educate, and therefore create mental health cognisant workforces which [then] reduces fear and stigma by being better informed, equipped, and enabled, and encourage kindness and compassion on every level because behind every face there’s a story and we have no idea what people may be experiencing.

Harpreet is a wellbeing champion at NatWest and a mental health advocate in the Sikh Panjabi Community. His main focus is on the intersectionality between wellbeing and inclusion, whilst bringing the topic of mental health alive within minority communities.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

I struggled with my own personal mental wellbeing in 2018 during a time of high stress at both work and home. Up until this point I never really took my mental wellbeing seriously, so I was unaware and unprepared with what was happening to me. It felt like I hit rock bottom and I just didn’t feel like myself, but lucky for me I found the strength to reach out management at work which really helped.

How has this impacted at work?

I struggled to work efficiently and just couldn’t bring my personality into work which was one of my biggest assets. I knew something had to change and didn’t feel taking a lengthy time off work was right for me at that moment in time (worth noting I did do this a few years later). Work was able to make some adjustments which meant that I was able to deal with my stress levels better and I slowly got back to being myself.

What do you do to help others?

I try to create a safe space for dialogue, especially in my South Asian circles because it can still be a taboo subject. I make sure I check-in with those close to me, and publicly share my mental wellbeing struggles and learnings.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Avoid blanket one size fits all approaches to supporting mental wellbeing. Every people leader at every level needs to understand what their employees are dealing with and have a variety of tools at their disposal to support. Personal and empathetic approaches work best and create an environment where people can strive.

Dr. Mark Cox qualified in 2018 and has worked across a range of specialities including Psychiatry. He is an entrepreneur and performance coach with a personal and professional commitment to revolutionising mental health. Having experienced burnout, he understands the flaws in the current mental health status quo and is dedicated to fostering a culture of connection and collective support. He founded 'Your Roots', an innovative platform that embodies this ideology, empowering effective mental health support for all. Known as TheStraightTalkingDr on social media, he also hosts a podcast of the same name, providing candid mental health support with other experts and well-known figures in the space. Their mission is to empower individuals to not only help themselves but also others, fostering resilience and vitality to achieve the life that they truly want.

Natalie has worked for Experian for 13 years, is a qualified Chartered Manager and a passionate people person who loves to engage with individuals. She believes that no one should feel alone or unheard and that support should always be available. Natalie is a qualified mental health first aider and trained domestic abuse awareness advocate who prides herself on being there for people when they need it the most. She proactively shares best practices and acts as a role model for her peers and the wider business. As an advocate for employees, Natalie champions the mental health and wellbeing agenda within Experian and is not being afraid to push the boundaries to ensure that this topic is considered as part of all business decisioning.

Miki is an award winning writer and Public Speaker for technical subjects as well as Diversity & Inclusion and other social subjects. My passion lies with advocating for underrepresented communities in Tech. My career has encompassed everything from firmware to application space. I have worked with teams providing full stack development. My current position as a Security Researcher and as Product Security Expert for Open Source Software. I am a former TrevorChat Crisis Counselor and working with outside organizations like Portland Women in Tech a 501c3 non-profit as a member of the Board of Directors, Women Who Code, Women of Security, Portland Women in Tech, and the Diana Initiative.

I’ve been in my advertising career for over 20 years now and somehow made a half-decent career out of it, however I tried to fit into a mould I simply didn't fit in for too long, resulting in a mini-breakdown in front of one of my fairly intimidating bosses (which they took really well). After a series of crises on and off for another 10 years, it wasn't until I was 36 that I finally crashed and burned but was lucky enough to have an angel of a mental health first aider where I worked, who did everything they could to get me in front of a psychiatrist. I was eventually diagnosed with ADHD and related Anxiety. Nothing has been fixed overnight, but I certainly know how to live in my own skin better now. I'm like a born-again evangelist with my discovery! I want to make the symptoms and paraphernalia of being neurodiverse as normal as life's everyday occurrences and break down the taboos for the betterment of those in the workforce today, and the future. I also love a deep chat out of nowhere and cherish the 121s with random folk all over, to hear more about their mental health journeys also. I’m now a public speaker and advocate in this space, and enjoy appearing on podcasts, webinars, panels, events etc.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

Over my 40 years, it could probably be summarised by 'no hope to hopeful'. It's only really in the last 5 years that i've really begun understanding the good and bad sides to my brain. Increasing my awareness and self acceptance has been crucial in making strides to live the rest of my life less anxious and depressed and more purpose led and for the most part, enjoyable.

How has this impacted at work?

The way I conduct myself now; by advocating for good mental health practice, spreading awareness around ADHD and Neurodiversity and using my high levels of emotional intelligence, means that any employer with good sense can take advantage of this. I mean in the sense that i can not only help set up support for our own workforce and be a positive influence within, but also showcase the companies commitment to good mental wellbeing to attract similar minded individuals. Emotional Intelligence should be a big green flag for any hiring manager and critical for anyone in leadership.

What do you do to help others?

I am best helping others in talking and helping others talk out their issues. I can do this on a 1:1 basis over a coffee or call, in groups round a table, on stage sharing my story and breaking down stigmas and taboos and on virtual stages such as webinars and podcasts. I find in playing 'vulnerability chicken' with me going first, this has led to some wonderful conversations in the most random places!

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Work towards all staff in leadership positions having a degree of emotional intelligence, listen to your workforce - ask them, survey, Q&As, open door policies, don't assume all the mental health perks out there fix it all, if you show you care first - your people will invest in you, their job and feel psychologically safe which is the greatest of all the markers for a supportive workplace.

António is a multi-award-winning mental health activist and anti-racism campaigner. António fervently campaigns for anti-racism within the mental health sector, intending to shift the way the UK views and addresses mental ill-health within racialised communities. As a teenager, he was diagnosed with 'Undifferentiated Schizophrenia' and 'Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder'. However, as well as now studying Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Essex, António speaks and advises professionally as an expert through lived experience in the private and public sectors.

An experienced senior leader with mental health as her core passion, and 18+yrs marketing and employee engagement experience in some of the UK’s top performing media and brand agencies. Emma is an award-winning wellness specialist with a belief that businesses are responsible for the duty of care of their people. As a mental health first aider, trained in wellness consultancy and strategy, Emma has improved the employee experience, recruitment and retention by delivering successful considered wellness plans to over 1000 employees in the advertising industry. Emma has appeared on panels and podcasts discussing how employee engagement is changing what wellbeing means. She is the author of insanelynormal.co.uk, an open letters blog on mental health, has completed her postgrad in neuroscience at KCL and lives in London with her two children.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

I supported my sister after she attempted suicide before I myself suffered from both perinatal and postnatal depression.

How has this impacted at work?

My own illness completely paused my career growth as I had no confidence to push outside my comfort zone. I wore m mask well but many other relationships were impacted instead. It did completely elevate me into a new role after training in mental health first aid, strategy, consultancy and eventually a post-grad to help my peers avoid my plight.

What do you do to help others?

I started a mental well-being blog that had the purpose of opening up the conversation around mental illness. I will soon be adding in a section around workplace wellbeing as my passion is to prove the businesses that by looking after their people in the right way, they can increase their revenue. I now run the mental health team across my media parent group, Omnicom Media Group, and have had wellbeing added to my remit within my own agency, PHD – a top 5 UK media agency.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employee’s mental wellbeing?

Healthy people drive better results so educate them to understand how to look after themselves, give them the permission to do it and invest in your people via great wellness programmes and useful support resources and benefits to help them recover if they need it.

Anita has always been intrigued by the human mind, which led to her completing a master's degree in Occupational Psychology. Anita has since worked in Leadership, Learning and Organisational Development for nearly 20 years with experience spanning across various sectors including FMCG and Professional Services at organisations such as Deloitte and Coca Cola European Partners. She now uses her experience to deliver effective solutions as part or her consultancy and is a qualified coach. Anita is a public speaker who delivers sessions on topics around mental health, infertility and grief, intersecting with her experience as a South Asian woman. Anita has been on a personal journey with mental illness where she was diagnosed with Complex PTSD after an initial in patient stay at a psychiatric hospital. She has since been raising awareness around mental health to break the stigma in the workplace. Anita is a Trustee for the mental health charity, My Black Dog and a published poet.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing? 

I have been on a personal journey with mental illness where I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD in 2017 after an initial inpatient stay at a psychiatric hospital. I have since been raising awareness around mental health to break the stigma in the workplace and open the conversation for others who may be struggling. I have personal lived experience with infertility and grief, I have gone through many different types of therapy and battled with suicidal thoughts during my journey.

How has this impacted at work?

I have taken extended periods of leave which led to feelings of self doubt and hindered my career progression, often staying in roles I had outgrown.

What do you do to help others? 

During my last role time at her last place of work, I undertook a secondment into a Wellbeing role due to my active involvement in the wellbeing agenda. I have designed and delivered a range of learning events focussed on topics such as mental health, infertility and trauma. I have run various types of support groups across different charities to support people going through challenges with their mental health. I am a qualified coach and will be starting the journey to becoming a therapist in 2023. I am a public speaker, deliver training on mental health and I've been a guest on podcasts to continue to break the stigma on mental health.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing? 

Be kind, compassionate and curious about the employee experience. Ask the employees what they need and if senior leaders can role model talking openly about wellbeing and mental health, this can create a culture of psychological safety.

I'm a 20 year veteran of Project, Programme and Portfolio management, with a particular interest in the management of project risk. I'm also a person who has lived with variable mental health throughout my life and have made it a point to speak out about it, and usualise mental health as something which can be variable for anyone! I am also transgender and have a special interest in the mental health challenges facing members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Mike is graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received his J.D. from NYU School of Law, where he now teaches as an Adjunct Professor.  He has worked in law firms (large, mid-sized, and small), practicing IP litigation for over 20 years. Mike is presently a partner in the IP Group at Wiggin and Dana LLP in their NYC office, and serves on their diversity and pro bono committees. 

For the last ten years, Mike has also been in leadership at The Good Men Project, where he has served numerous roles on both the editorial and business side, including editing and running its mental health section, and now serves as Director of Special Projects (and Sr. Sports Editor).  He has written articles, appeared on television, radio, and podcasts, developed videos and social media campaigns (#NotWeakJustHuman, #WeRageForLove), and created and led training and workshop groups focused on mental health for over a decade. 

Most recently, Mike has married his interests in mental health advocacy and the legal industry under the umbrella of Lawyering While Human. In this regard, he also serves on the Communications Committee of The Institute for Well-Being In Law. His own personal experience with depression, while working as a practicing lawyer, given him some unique insights, and he is happy to have this opportunity to share his perspective and what he has learned with others in the field.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

I experienced clinical depression for the first time in my life when I was 35 years old, while at work. It was a time of high stress both at home and at work at the same time, and after a lifetime of never thinking about it let alone learning the tools to manage my mental health, it was quite debilitating. That started me down the path of becoming a (rest of my) life-long mental health and well-being advocate, which started by writing about the topic, first anonymously and then not, and recently led to my founding the mental health and well-being in the legal profession initiative, Lawyering While Human.

How has this impacted at work?

There is only one me, and the false dichotomy between "work" and "life" and phrases like "work/life balance" really falls apart when you look closely and think about issues like mental health and well-being. So...of course one's mental health impacts our lives, including our work. And that goes not only for clinical mental health issues, but also the everyday ups and downs of life that we all experience. Whether you come at it from more of a "moral" its-the-right-thing-to-do or more of a "business" reason, mental health in the workplace is a fundamental issue for businesses to navigate.

What do you do to help others?

I do my best to make myself available to listen. I share openly. I try to use my own story to reduce stigma for others and to humanize and normalize talking about these issues together. #NotWeakJustHuman.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Don't treat it like a box-checking exercise and don't treat it as an individual problem. Companies that create workplaces that support their employees mental wellbeing benefit from that by being more successful and more innovative and more sustainable. To do it well means treating it - in terms of management championing it, thoughtful strategies to address it, and investing resources in it - like a the fundamental business issue that it is.

In 2017 Dawn became aware that something wasn’t quite right. Struggling with her busy operational role, people management and day to day life, after a number of ‘wake up’ calls Dawn realised she needed help. Humbled by her own mental health journey, Dawn wants to use her lived experiences to help others after working through a number of areas, including anxiety and codependency herself. A lead MHFA, site Mental Health champion within her organisation and supporter of a number of outside charities. Dawn now uses her own experiences to help others open up about their own feelings. Passionate about driving initiatives and helping to normalise the conversation within the workplace and hugely proud to be a TCH Ambassador.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

I have to summarise this as there are many sides to my story as you may or may not know….

I went through 47 years for my life being the rock, the listener, the good friend, the person who helped everyone else together, the person who always had 10 minutes for others at the drop of a hat but never made 10 minutes for herself and then one day I just broke. Looking back I can now see some of the red flags I missed – my main one being excessive working, evenings and some weekends. I also isolated myself on occasions to stop people getting to close and asking if I was OK. I’m not sure what triggered this but at the time I had a number of difficult work situations that I was dealing with. These were emotionally draining situations for a number of reason, maybe I just didn’t give myself the space I needed to process them. I also wasn’t good at applying boundaries so was absorbing everyone else’s emotions on top of my own so something was always going to give.

Through workplace support, lots of self-funded therapy and work on ‘me’ I am now able to turn my mess into my message and drive change within my own organisation, and use my livid experiences to show others that there is a way through things.

How has this impacted at work?

Going back 6 years ago, when I was struggling (this lasted approx. 18 months before I really realised what was going on) – the simplest of task became extremely difficult – making a decision on what I wanted on a team meeting agenda, writing an email that would normally take 15 minutes would / could take all days as I’d overanalyse it to ensure I didn’t offend / upset anyone. I found myself losing chunks of time during the day as I’d be worrying about the fact I was struggling and didn’t know why. I lost my ‘why’ and struggled to get through some days – on many occasions I would cry to my way to work and get there and feel exhausted ….

What do you do to help others?

I use my livid experiences to support others and continue to raise awareness around mental health in the workplace and also outside of it. I help to create environments where people feel able to share and open up and talk about the things that matter. I do this through arranging talks, awareness, panel discussion and other things across my organisation and I challenge the status quo.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Create a safe space / environment for people to be themselves without fear of judgement. We should value people for who they are not which minority group they may identify with. We need to continue to talk openly about mental health as that way the stigma surrounding it lessens, team meetings should start with how’s your mental health and we should ask everyone to ensure they take regular breaks during the day.

James works as Senior Marketing Officer for Hertfordshire Mind Network, a mental health charity. He is a published author of a book called 'Befriending My Brain' - a memoir about his experiences with psychosis and schizoaffective disorder. James is very passionate about getting his mental illnesses more coverage and awareness in the workplace and reducing the stigma. He has also made appearances on many podcasts, as well as blogs, articles, radio and television.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

I've experienced anxiety and depression, but my current diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder and I have had two episodes of psychosis.

How has this impacted at work?

I had to leave a previous job after the first psychotic episode, but thankfully my employers since then have been very supportive. I am now working for a mental health charity and feel very valued and supported.

What do you do to help others?

I try my best to raise awareness of psychosis and schizoaffective by talking, writing, and participating as much as possible in opportunities to share my lived experience. I am a proud author of 'Befriending My Brain: A Psychosis Story' - my memoir which I am hoping will help a lot of people, raise awareness and reduce stigma.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Make sure employees know that your support is available as early as possible to them joining the team, keep the conversations going with regular wellbeing hours and opportunities to access training, such as MHFA.

Rebecca is a Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Kier. Rebecca’s interest in workplace mental health and wellbeing was sparked in 2018, when she began building and implementing the mental health strategy at BCS. Her personal interest in mental health started many years earlier, following a diagnosis in her early teens, and has continued throughout her journey of diagnoses, discovery and growth to today. Dedicated to making a difference in the workplace, Rebecca uses her lived experience, candour and passion to raise awareness and drive forward the mental health agenda.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

My mental health and wellbeing journey started in my early teens and has seen me through many years of diagnosis and misdiagnosis, treatments, learning, mis-steps and personal growth. While a lack of mental wellbeing has at times made me experience the lowest lows, resilience and commitment to strive for good mental wellbeing has led me to the highest highs and moments of real pride.

How has this impacted at work?

In times of poor mental wellbeing work has been very challenging, whether that was due to struggles engaging with work or from taking on too much. However, it has also allowed me to support others, drive forward mental health conversations, and engage with brilliant likeminded individuals like the This Can Happen team and fellow ambassadors!

What do you do to help others?

I am honest and open about my journey - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I share anything I can about my experiences to help others feel less alone, or know how much support is waiting for them from people who understand.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

Ensure the things you put in place are having a real, positive impact on people. You can implement all the benefits and initiatives in the world, but if your employees don’t know about them or don’t feel served by them you could be putting energy and resources into something more impactful.

Nicola is a Technical Accountant at Swiss Re as well as current co-chair for our UK mental health network, Pathways. In 2020 I joined our global Mental Health core team for Pathways, working with my colleagues around the world to ensure that support is available for all Swiss Re staff wherever they may be located. I also helped launch a UK menopause support network within Swiss Re which we have called MELT, a network of support for those going through the menopause but also used to educate all on symptoms and available support.

What is your personal experience with mental wellbeing?

In 2016 my husband had a breakdown and was signed off work for several months, during that time he was diagnosed with high anxiety and depression and has since been diagnosed with PTSD. During that time our mental health network was launching at work and I joined wanting to learn more about how I could support him and others around me as I never wanted to see someone feeling like that and not be able to support them. I have also gone my through own challenges/ trauma with infertility, hidden illnesses , grief, and childlessness which is something that I continue to work on.

How has this impacted at work?

The impact at work was the fact that I was there when all of this was going on, I had to still show up and do what I could whilst at home we were going through some of the toughest times our lives. There were times where I was not able to give 100%, had to take time off, supporting my other half or attending hospital appointments and surgeries all of which impacted me but also my team. I have had some great support from some people I work with which is always so appreciated and helpful when you are already unsure of your place in the world.

What do you do to help others?

I joined the mental health network in 2017, trained as a mental health champion in 2018, became co-chair of the network in 2020 and helped launch the network globally in our company. I share my stories with people to show that you do not always know what people are going through behind close doors and a little bit of empathy can go a long way. I helped start a menopause support group for people experiencing the menopause/perimenopause to raise awareness on the topic and to show people why it is so important that we are talking about it in the workplace. I work with our other employee networks as an ally and also with our HR teams on important topics to ensure that our colleagues feel supported.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to help the workplace support their employees mental wellbeing?

As before – a little bit of empathy and understanding can go such a long way – you will not always have the exact right words to say to a person but by just being there, listening and showing them that you care is more powerful than knowing exactly what to say every time. We can learn from our experiences to be more aware if it comes up again but the power of a simple listening ear is underrated.