Pick of the Month - August 2025
31 July 2025 | By Lucy Grehan-Bradley
Welcome to August's Pick of the Month! We’re excited to feature individuals who are making a real impact in the charity world. From creative social innovators to tireless charity leaders, their work is all about driving change and improving lives. We’ll take a closer look at their unique paths, the challenges they’ve navigated, and the incredible contributions they’re making to communities across the UK. Come join us in celebrating their inspiring efforts!
Charity Leader of the Month - Sue Ricketts, Nystagmus Network
Nystagmus is a complex eye condition, characterised by wobbling or flickering of the eye. The Nystagmus Network’s vision is a world which welcomes people living with nystagmus, affords them comprehensive support and the opportunity to reach their full potential. Its mission is to champion the cause of the community it supports, to raise awareness of nystagmus, its impact and the interventions needed. The Network hopes to change attitudes, break down barriers, build relationships and drive research. We spoke to Sue about her role as charity leader.
Sue shared a little bit about her work and mission:
“I was born to work for the Nystagmus Network – it just took me a while to realise it! It is in our DNA to represent the authentic voice of people living with nystagmus through our own direct or parental lived experience. We involve those we support in all decision making – who better to understand what's needed?
We support people with both acquired (late onset) nystagmus as well as children and adults with infantile or congenital nystagmus. Some even have both kinds! As the leader of a small charity with a tiny staff team, there's tremendous variety in what you do – from attending research conferences to applying for grants, from explaining the impact of nystagmus to keeping the website up to date.
We asked Sue how she got to where she is today and what her role involves:
“I had a gift for modern foreign languages at school, so I thought I'd be heading to Strasbourg to be an interpreter. And I did! For a while! But then I got the teaching bug – teaching adults – and I absolutely loved it. Everything changed when my daughter was diagnosed at 6 weeks with nystagmus. I remember thinking ‘What the heck is that?’ Luckily for me, another Mum had already founded the Nystagmus Network, so I didn't have to. The charity changed my life from that very first phone call – I was no longer alone trying to find the way through for my girl. I started as a volunteer parent adviser and even served as a trustee for a while, all whilst raising my family and enjoying a 25-year career in adult and community education. I finally made my way onto the Nystagmus Network staff team in 2015. I was home at last!
It's been rather busy since then! In the past decade I've seen a total rebrand, a new website, digitisation of all our communications and 15,000 Facebook followers. I've trained countless schools and clinical staff, delivered workshops to hundreds of parents and written more blog posts than I care to count. And I've celebrated 10 Nystagmus Awareness Days – the most recent on 20 June 2025.”
Sue shared some advice for aspiring leaders:
“Never underestimate the value of your own lived experience. It gives you insights you simply can't get any other way. When you've walked in those shoes, you understand not just what support is needed, but how it feels to need it. I certainly don't think you have to have all the answers from day one. I didn't! Be willing to learn from others, especially from the people you're trying to support. Some of my best ideas have come from conversations with other parents or adults living with nystagmus who've shared their experiences and frustrations. And don't get frustrated if progress seems slow. Every workshop delivered, every person trained, every family supported – it all adds up to real change over time. "
Finally, Sue discussed what she’s passionate about seeing change in the sector:
“There's still such a lot to do. I don't think I'll ever be able to say, “my work here is done.” We won't rest until nystagmus is properly understood, support services are readily provided at school and in the workplace and significant funding is made available for clinical research.
What really drives me is knowing that every time the phone rings and it's a parent, I'm right back there, remembering what it was like to feel scared and alone. That's why I'm still here! No family should have to navigate this journey without proper support and understanding.
In research, we continue to inch towards greater knowledge of this hugely complex and misunderstood condition, working alongside the UK's leading experts. I can see so many developments and improvements since my daughter was diagnosed, but there's still a long way to go. Until then, we'll be here supporting families and people living with nystagmus to live fulfilling lives – because everyone deserves that chance.
To hear more about the work at Nystagmus Network, visit their website.
Social Entrepreneur of the Month – Jack Durant, Young Wilders
Youngwilders is a non-profit doing youth-led nature recovery work in the UK. Its dual aim is to accelerate the nature recovery of the UK and centre young people in the process and movement. It does this by running a variety of accessibility-minded ecological restoration projects characterised by local youth involvement through all stages of the work, alongside a variety of creative, nature skills-based educational programmes and events. All designed to connect, energise and up-skill the next generation of environmental stewards. We spoke to Jack about his role at Youngwilders.
We asked Jack how he got to where she is today and what his role involves:
“Youngwilders started in 2020 as a group of friends hellbent on doing nature recovery work. Our journey began with emailing and chatting to as many landowners, councils and community land groups as possible, before one kindly agreed to let us work with them. As we got further into the nature recovery world, we noticed a few areas of significant oversight. Most starkly, a huge dearth of substantive youth engagement and outreach. Addressing this in tandem with doing practical ecological work on the ground has been the driving force behind all our work ever since.
My role is Co-Director. In practice, my days tend towards the youth engagement and fundraising side of our work."
Jack shared some advice for aspiring leaders:
“Of course it’s early days for us, but one piece of advice I would give to ourselves from a few years ago is sing your song unabashedly! We’ve always believed in our mission and vision but were more tentative in presenting it in the early days on account of not understanding the landscape of the sector and being anxious about over-asserting ourselves. I wouldn’t expect anyone starting anything new to be storming around straight away, but I would suggest we let our outward facing courage and conviction build and to not hold it back as it arises. If you’re holding back, potential supporters and collaborators will hold back too!"
Finally, Jack discussed what he's passionate about seeing change in the sector:
“Inevitably we must yap about youth involvement in nature recovery. It’s not just a nice-to-have but is an essential part of doing the work properly. We need the next generation to feel connected to nature and to be up-skilled, energised and ready to protect it. Young people want to do this, and we need them to do this - it’s just a matter of making more space for them and giving them as much agency as possible."
To hear more about the work at Youngwilders, visit their website.
Trustee of the Month – Joanna Latimer, London Arts and Health
London Arts and Health support artists, creative practitioners and health professionals across the whole of London and beyond. It promotes excellence and engagement in the field of Creative Health, extending the reach of the arts to communities and individuals who would otherwise be excluded. We spoke to Joanna about her role as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Joanna shared a little bit about her work and mission:
“I stepped into the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees at London Arts and Health (LAH) at what turned out to be a pivotal moment. The executive director had just resigned, several board members had stepped down, and we were facing a deadline for the next tranche of core funding from Arts Council England.
I knew health inequalities were escalating, and that I believed deeply in the power of art and creativity to enhance health and wellbeing — for individuals, communities and wider society — but I was also stepping into a sector I didn’t know intimately. My background, first in nursing and later as an academic sociologist, was rooted in large institutions with established policies, systems, and resources. LAH was a small, ambitious charity with a huge remit and a very small budget."
We asked Joanna how she got to where she is today and what her role involves:
“I had to learn fast. I listened, read widely, reached out and threw myself into the Creative Health sector. I knew that getting the right people in place was vital, but equally important to me was creating the conditions where those people - our brilliant newly appointed team and the new board - could feel supported, nurtured and valued.
From the start, I strived for a cooperative and collaborative way of working. I didn’t want hierarchy - I wanted something dynamic, responsive and sustainable. That meant shifting how we thought about leadership and decision-making. And together we have built a culture based on care and mutual respect. This was only possible because of the serendipity of working alongside extraordinary people: Anna Woolf, now our CEO, Richard Ings, our ACE relationship manager, and the incredibly generous and thoughtful individuals who sit on our board."
Joanna shared some advice for prospective leaders:
“What I’ve learned - and what I’d say to anyone taking on a role like this - is that being Chair means holding a particular kind of space. You are accountable, yes, but you are not the manager. You have to honour the fragility of small charity and creative work, which is so often under-resourced and over-stretched. Give your team space and autonomy but be present. Be available, informed, generous and reflective. Sometimes you’ll need to guide, sometimes to inspire, and other times just to help pick up the pieces when things get tough.
It’s been a privilege to be part of LAH’s journey. Together, we’ve grown into the leading support organisation for Creative Health in London and, increasingly, beyond. We’ve done this by working closely with our members - mainly creative health practitioners - as well as community organisations, universities, health boards and local authorities. We’ve developed a distinctive and innovative way of doing things that are rooted in justice, inclusion and care."
Finally, Joanna discussed what she’s passionate about seeing change in the sector:
“Looking ahead, my hope is that we can help more and more people realise that art, culture and creativity are not just nice to have — they are as essential to human and societal wellbeing as water, food, sleep, exercise and meaningful work."
To hear more about the work at London Arts and Health, visit their website.
