THOMAS
DUNNING
Authentic and passionate Thomas Dunning cuts to the heart of the mental health experience. An advocate of “healthy body, healthy mind” Thomas discovered running as part of his own recovery journey. He runs the mentalhealthrunner.co.uk platform to share his story and break down the stigma attached to mental health.
Since his recovery, he has become a Service User Governor for the Lincolnshire NHS, leads Run Talk Run Lincoln as part of the global initiative to make running and mental health more accessible, Media volunteer for Mind and Rethink charities and is a sponsored runner through Brooks Running UK.
Featured by:
zoe
burnett
Heartfelt and candid, Zoe Burnett is a playful, warmhearted and compassionate speaker, a creative graduate with broad experience of teaching across a wide demographic, including children and adults.
With first-hand, lived experience of conquering eating disorders, anxiety and depression, a suicide survivor, Zoe believes ‘life is more than self-hatred and celery sticks’. A strong advocate of ‘Set Point Theory’, Zoe inspires us with empathy, to rebel against social norms, ‘ditch the diet’ and embrace the notion of body acceptance.
Featured by:
lisa
spring
Pragmatic, empathic and astute, with a common-sense and credible perspective Lisa Spring demystifies the jargon and ‘buzzwords’ embedded in the schemes and frameworks of authority. Focusing with clarity on the practicable, Lisa gets to the heart of the matter: how to work with young people to support them to fulfil their potential in the ever-changing modern world.
For over a decade, Lisa has been engaged in a range of specialisms including addiction, mental health and well-being, learning needs and safeguarding with young and vulnerable people, inspiring them to make informed choices with a solid foundation for growth.
Featured by:
OWEN
LEWIS
Non-binary Owen Lewis is a passionate human rights advocate and social entrepreneur, identified as one of Lincolnshire’s 30 Under 30 Rising Stars by The Lincolnite in 2019. Their work focuses on creating and empowering inclusive communities, building better communication and using our voices to create social change. Owen has led workshops across Europe focused on gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and race. They have worked in South Sudanese refugee camps and hospitals, and works with global environment defenders as part of an international charity.
Owen offers a wealth of cultural and lived experience that is able to bring difficult topics to life in a compassionate and heartfelt manner.
Featured by:
RYAN
LOVETT
Ryan Lovett is an award-winning Town Councillor, TEDx Speaker, Founder and Chair to C.L.E.A.N; a free environmental scheme used within Lincolnshire, a Litter Hero Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy, and has appeared on local and regional radio representing a variety of organisations and local government.
Ryan’s a dynamic down to earth leader, listener, mentor and public speaker being able to connect to a diverse range of ages and audiences. Ryan also offers visits to schools for educational workshops or talks on the environment and how we can better understand our footprint with litter.
Featured by:
TANYA
Akrofi
A modern-day medicine woman, writer and storyteller, Tanya Akrofi, takes her inspiration from folklore and fairytale, bringing their magic and mysticism to the telling of true-life tales.
In the liminal space where magic and mythology meet lie the power to transform the human psyche. It becomes not just about spells and rituals but about assembling the toolkit to aid our survival in today’s challenging times.
Through her workshops and talks, with intimacy, vulnerability and mysticism Tanya helps audiences reconnect with the healing power of sharing our individual stories and honouring their collective power.
Featured by:
jo
tolley
Jo Tolley believes in the vibrant, unstoppable force attributed to finding your own lane. An energetic writer, artist and facilitator with lived experience of Cerebral Palsy, Jo is all-round advocate for disability integration. Jo is passionate about ensuring accessible arts opportunities for all and leaves no stone unturned in offering an alternative perspective to breaking down barriers within society.
Jo strives to create a new trajectory for disabled communities by championing equity and diversity, promoting self-acceptance as the key to positively influencing how disability is portrayed and understood.
Featured by:
Cas
potterton
A modern day Sir Ken Robinson, Cas Potterton is a humble and authentic poet, performer, educator, advocate and activist. He speaks fluently on his teen trans experience of factory style education and offers insight into alternatives that allow for creativity and passion to model the way for all young people.
Through his work with Lincoln based Zest Theatre, Cas has developed a range of tools to facilitate and engage diverse audiences in better conversations around education, culture, and building resilient communities for the future.
