Zoe Sinclair
Co-Founder
Zoe is one of the founders of This Can Happen. She is also the founder of Employees Matter, the largest provider of employee engagement seminars and webinars in the UK.
Dr Michael Brady
National Advisor for LGBT Health
NHS England
Dr Brady was appointed as the National Advisor for LGBT Health at NHS England in April 2019. In this role Dr Brady works across NHS England and NHS Improvement, with the Government Equalities Office and a wide range of stakeholders, partner organisations and the LGBT community to address health inequalities for LGBT individuals and improve experience in the NHS. Michael is also an HIV and Sexual Health consultant at Kings College Hospital in London and the Medical Director of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is currently a very hot topic. This panel will understand if and how inclusivity and wellbeing intersect, and highlight whether inclusion can be a driving force for supporting employee mental health in the workplace.
Arti Kashyap-Aynsley
Global Head of Wellbeing and Inclusion
Arti Kashyap-Aynsley is a commercially-minded leader in wellbeing, inclusion, and cultural transformation. Starting her career as a Chartered Accountant in Professional Services, she built deep expertise in finance and large-scale business change before shifting her focus to people, purpose, and culture. As Global Head of Wellbeing & Inclusion at Ocado Group, Arti partners with senior leaders to embed inclusion, fairness, and wellbeing into business strategy—linking culture to performance and long-term growth. Known for her empathy, credibility, and strategic mindset, she brings a grounded yet impactful approach to driving change. Arti also serves as an Advisor, Non-Executive Director, and certified life coach, supporting organisations and individuals to lead with integrity and care.
Dr Julie Humphreys
Head of Diversity and Inclusion
Dr Julie Humphreys is the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Markel International, a leading global speciality insurer. In her role, Julie is responsible for the strategic and operational delivery of Markel's D&I vision, values and goals across Europe, Asia Pacific and Canada. As a valued voice in D&I, Julie is also the co-founder and co-host of 'D&I Spy', an award winning bi-weekly podcast that explores the diverse and inclusive aspects of life and work through candid conversations with business leaders, entertainers and sports people. Julie holds a doctorate with expertise in retaining women with caring responsibilities in the UK Financial Services sector, a Masters degree in Strategic Human Resource Management, and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD).
Emily Warren
Director, Global Well-being Lead
Emily is Avanade's first Global Well-being Lead and is responsible for developing and implementing Avanade's Well-being strategy across 26 countries and 17k+ employees. She has over 20 years’ experience working with clients in the technology consulting sector to find innovative and practical solutions to complex challenges. Her personal experience with burnout led her to establish Avanade's first cohort of mental health allies and began her move into HR 5 years ago. A strong advocate for mental health and the importance of sharing stories, she has been recognized externally for her efforts. Her own journey has made her a thought leader and driving force behind Avanade's commitment to well-being, making it a strategic company priority, and a focus for all its employees worldwide.
David Stone
Managing Partner
David Stone is Managing Partner at inQUEST, a global consultancy committed to creating workplaces that work better for everyone by strengthening team and organizational cultures. David’s broad experience as an attorney, consultant, mediator, and facilitator enables his clients to connect authentically, align strategically, and move forward together towards improved performance. At the core of David’s approach is the commitment to engage in the hard work of deeply understanding ourselves and one another and to use this knowledge to change behaviors and enhance practices, processes and strategies within teams and organizations. David currently serves on the Dispute Resolution Section Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association and on the Advisory Editorial Board for This Can Happen. David has been recognized as Trainer of the Year for his work with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Chicago, where he also founded and served as the executive vice-president of the Chicago Jewish Day School.
Amber Sorrell
Head of DEI and Employer Brand
Amber is an award-winning inclusion, belonging and wellbeing specialist with over a decade of experience across various sectors, including the Civil Service, NHS, and FTSE 100 companies. She has successfully led numerous staff network groups, provided briefings to government bodies on inclusion and belonging matters, and held senior inclusion, belonging and wellbeing positions at both national and global levels. This extensive background has given her a deep understanding of the unique needs of organisations in relation to inclusion and wellbeing and how to leverage it as a core driver of business success. Currently, Amber serves as the Head of Inclusion, Belonging and Employer Brand at Haleon, the world’s first truly global, standalone consumer health company.
In this session, we will place a spotlight on trauma, highlighting what it is, how it impacts mental wellbeing at work, and how employers can best support their staff in this space. The discussion will showcase learnings from within Blue Light Services specifically, sharing cross-sector learnings for corporate workplaces.
Dr Carolina Campodonico
Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Carolina is a former paramedic with a career dedicated to understanding and improving mental health support in emergency professions. She completed her PhD on trauma and resilience in psychosis at the University of Manchester in 2021 and joined the University of Central Lancashire as a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology in the same year. She is now a Senior Lecturer, combining teaching, supervision, and applied research to enhance mental health support for frontline workers.
Businesses who proactively plan for mental wellbeing for one, two or even three years ahead are setting themselves up for success, but given the turbulent times that we live in, how can these strategies also be reactive to employee needs? In this 1:1 conversation, we will understand how businesses can proactively plan to support their staff, whilst building in ‘reactive flex’ to support their wellbeing in times of political and economic instability.
Dr Amanda Bunten
Global Head of Employee Health And Wellbeing
Becky Thoseby
Head of Workplace Wellbeing
Becky Thoseby owns the wellbeing offer for employees at the Ministry of Justice. Her primary focus is creating a culture of wellbeing in the organisation. Recent work includes:
- Running an organisation’s first employee wellbeing survey, a diagnostic tool to target interventions where they are most needed;
- Designing and delivering training for senior leaders, focused on developing self-awareness and behaviour change;
- Changing the picture painted of a high performer to recognise that colleagues with wellbeing issues can still be high performers if the issue is managed well;
- Providing coaching to individual senior managers to address wellbeing issues arising in their areas;
- Designing and delivering training for line managers on how to make wellbeing an integral part of their management approach.
Becky also practices as a wellbeing coach, both privately and as part of her role, and has delivered mindfulness sessions across the Civil Service.
According to a recent study, 40% of adults with chronic pain have clinical symptoms of depression or anxiety (JAMA Network Open). This panel will shine a spotlight on chronic health challenges in the workplace, raising awareness about why these employees might need support with their mental wellbeing, and how employers can manage the peaks and troughs of their employees’ health over time.
Jody Rudd Wilson
Head of Creative
Auspicious Enterprising & Co
Jody Wilson, MBA is a lived expert on mental health in the workplace. Jody is diagnosed bipolar and been working the last 25 years in the global energy sector from start-ups to Fortune 500s. She is a wife, Mum of three and corporate mental health advocate, sharing decades of illness severity throughout her life and career spanning Canada, the US and the UK. Jody is a Canadian residing in London, UK, currently working on her manuscript, “Above & Below Average Jo.dy: Normalizing Bipolar”.
Kenna Pritchard
Audit Transformation Manager
Kenna has worked at PwC for nearly seven years since leaving University. During her time at PwC alongside her day-to-day work and studying for her professional qualification she has been actively involved in wellbeing initiatives within her teams including talks around mental health to raise awareness and fundraising for mental health charities. Kenna was diagnosed with Depression and Anxiety at 19 during her second year of university following mental health struggles for a number of months. Since then she has managed this through medication and therapy. Although this is a continued struggle that she manages everyday her own experience has helped drive her to raise awareness and be open about her struggles in the hope of it helping others to do the same.
Benjamin Murray
Digital Learning Business Partner
Benjamin Murray is an experienced Learning & Development professional, coach, and Mental Health First Aider with over 20 years of experience across industries including Financial Services, Healthcare, Utilities, eCommerce and Retail. He is T.A.P. Certified, holds an ITOL Diploma in Organisational Learning & Instructional Design, and is an Associate Member of the CIPD. Living with a chronic health condition, Benjamin brings a deep personal understanding to his work and is passionate about creating psychologically safe, inclusive workplaces where people can grow, lead, and thrive. As a panel speaker at This Can Happen and other industry events, he shares honest, human-centred insights into well-being, resilience, and leadership
Coercive control is a form of abuse that can involve threats, humiliation and intimidation – and cases are on the rise. ONS recently reported 43,774 offences of coercive control in the UK, an increase from 33,954 in 2021. In this session, we will look at what manipulation and coercive control entails, the huge mental wellbeing toll it can leave upon victims – and how workplaces can recognise warning signs to offer support to their staff.
Kathryn Benwell
EIDA Ambassador
Katy is lucky to be alive. She was a managing director at one of the largest investment banks in the world but that didn't stop her being a victim of domestic abuse. Katy is passionate about sharing her story to help others and raise awareness about the blight of domestic abuse on our society.
This session will focus on fertility and mental wellbeing in the workplace, sharing insights from our most recent research.
Kathryn Courtenay-Evans
Insight & Strategy Director
Kathryn oversees This Can Happen's new initiative - Research & Insights, which is helping companies to measure and benchmark the success of their mental health strategies.
Becky Kearns
Co-Founder
Becky's personal experience of early menopause, infertility, miscarriage, multiple IVF cycles and then egg donation have led her to become a fertility writer, speaker, campaigner and patient advocate as ‘DefiningMum’. She is the Founder of Paths to Parenthub, a virtual support platform for those needing to use donor conception to build their family and host of The Redefining Parenthood Podcast. Her personal experience, combined with 12 years as a HR professional, has led her to Co-Found Fertility Matters at Work, a Community Interest Company on a mission to raise awareness and educate about the need for better support for those undergoing fertility struggles and loss in the workplace. Through her experiences she's found a passion in helping others on a difficult path to parenthood and is a true believer in the power of storytelling when it comes to breaking down taboos. Becky is passionate about opening up conversations and changing the support available for fertility in the workplace, helping them to become fertility friendly.
In 2022/23, 37% of women and 30% of men reported high levels of anxiety in the UK (Mental Health Foundation). Despite the prevalence of anxiety across the workforce, employees living with anxiety or panic attacks often feel concerned to share their lived experience and get the support that they need. This panel aims to tackle this stigma, sharing powerful lived experience of anxiety and panic attacks to provide real-life examples of how employees are impacted in the workplace, and how their employers can step in and step up here.
John Stacey
Marketing Manager - Stagecoach; Founder - The Everyman Talks
John is human, a father, a husband, a veteran marketer, a trained counsellor, a public speaker, workshop facilitator, and a charity trustee. Having found a path to self-awareness, self-acceptance and growth, due to health struggles of his own, John embarked on a journey working with Fathers, Men, Young People, Communities, Businesses, and Educators, via many guises. An award-winning founder of non-profits, John now works Stagecoach in the East Midlands, and has founded The Everyman Talks to try and support businesses, groups, communities and humans, with opening their mind to a better path. His rollercoaster of experiences of his own mental health steer all of his work, as his niches is built in keeping all outputs relatable, connecting, and de-stigmatising.
New research suggests that 98% of Gen Z employees are battling the symptoms of burnout (Cigna), whilst another report shows that almost a third of staff aged 55+ having taken time off sick with poor mental health in the past year (Unmind). Mental wellbeing is universal, and this panel will spotlight a variety of perspectives to show the mental health challenges impacting the workforce across all ages, and highlight how businesses can offer nuanced support to meet their needs.
Rachel Stern
Coach
Rachel is a parent of two boys and an advocate for a better understanding, and support of working parents. She is a Trustee of The Parent Village charity, a certified coach and has completed training in Parental Burnout Diagnostic & Treatment with the Training Institute for Psychology & Health. Professionally she has held roles spanning market research, marketing, and brand & business strategy. She experienced both occupational and Parental Burnout back in 2022 and since has been on a mission to raise awareness of Parental Burnout, reduce the taboo, and support parents and their employers with the tools to help prevent parental burnout or recover from it.
Sarah Steel
Director
Sarah is the Director of Financial Wellbeing for Better with Money, experienced financial professional and Fellow of the Pension Management Institute. Having previously worked for many years as a benefit consultant, she understands the value of good quality education when helping people make informed decisions about their financial future. She is regularly featured in trade press for her knowledge and views on financial wellbeing. Her mission is to help people to manage their money effectively to reduce money stress.
Louise Lyons-Appiah
Consultant and Public Speaker
Louise Lyons-Appiah is a passionate advocate for mental health, personal development, and equality. As co-founder of Synkora Consulting, the first youth-led EDI consultancy, and BreatheUni, a student wellbeing initiative, she empowers individuals and organisations to foster inclusivity and resilience. She has collaborated with The Foreign Office, Superdrug, Mental Health First Aid England, and HSBC, delivering impactful talks on identity, race, and mental health. As a Young Changemaker, she has worked with The Centre for Mental Health, The Diana Award, UK Youth, and Beyond, using her lived experience to lead social action to address systemic inequalities in mental health
Rebecca Louise Galustian
Cognitive Behavioural Therapist
Rebecca is an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) and has twenty years experience working as an individual and group therapist in a range of settings including within schools, the NHS, private psychiatric units, forensic services and rehabilitation centres. Alongside working as a therapist Rebecca was also a lecturer and supervisor at Goldsmith’s University of London where she taught on the MSc in Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. For a number of years Rebecca had a clinic in the City of London and Marylebone and she now runs her practice online meaning she has an international group of people seeking her expertise.
Rebecca also has an interest in psychological coaching and draws on the principles of positive psychology and Functional Imagery Training (FIT) to help individuals optimise their performance both personally and or professionally. Rebecca is one of a small number of practitioners within the UK to be qualified in FIT.
As well as seeing private patients Rebecca works with many corporate organisations across the City and further afield delivering training, seminars and webinars on a range of psychology topics including managing stress, coping with perfectionism, developing resilience, Positive Psychology and enhancing performance using FIT.
Rebecca has extensive experience in the treatment of many general psychiatry conditions including OCD, eating disorders, depression, anxiety and addictions as well as significant experience in psychological coaching for performance.
As the world looks back at the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, we can also see this as the time that employee mental wellbeing truly became a priority for businesses around the world. Now, five years on – what does a mental health strategy look like in 2025, how has this evolved and what should it contain? This panel will take a deep dive into this, looking at elements like strategic priorities for workplace mental wellbeing this year, and how to continuously drive impact and engagement with this in fresh ways.
Toni Graves
Global Head of Reward and Wellbeing
Toni is an experienced HR professional with 20+ years in professional services. She trained as an accountant at PwC, working with global clients across multiple sectors. After 10 years in client facing roles she moved into human resources and went on to shape and drive the firm's reward strategy. As part of the HR leadership team, she was also responsible for employee relations and global projects. She joined A&O in 2016 as Global Head of Reward and also became the firm's first Head of Wellbeing. Throughout her career Toni has worked with senior leaders to create people strategies that drive change and improve performance across many aspects of the people agenda including diversity, resourcing, performance management and wellbeing in the workplace - a topic she is passionate about.
Melanie Hetherington
Chief People Officer
Mel is the Chief People Officer at NatWest Cushon, a fintech specialising in green workplace pensions and financial wellbeing. She is also a Board Advisor to Chapter 2, supporting scalable talent acquisition. With extensive experience in start-ups, private equity and venture capital, Mel has built HR functions, led M&A and driven transformation for commercial success. Outside of work for her mental wellbeing she enjoys walking her Old English Sheepdog, Cotters.
Zoe Sinclair
Co-Founder
Zoe is one of the founders of This Can Happen. She is also the founder of Employees Matter, the largest provider of employee engagement seminars and webinars in the UK.
