Pick of the Month - October 2025

Welcome to October'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! 

Trustee of the Month - Dr Virginia Tandy OBE, Brighter Sound

Brighter Sound is a music development organisation, rooted in Manchester and open to the world. With a small and brilliant team alongside a great network of freelancers, it has been creating transformative experiences for young creatives, emerging artists and up and coming music professionals for the last 25 years. Pioneering new ways of exploring creative potential, it offers space to take risks, connect, collaborate and build skills and confidence. An ACE NPO, it works strategically with Manchester City Council, the Combined Authority and colleagues in the North of England to both promote creative talent and foster opportunity. We spoke to Dr Virginia Tandy OBE, the Chair of the Board at Brighter Sound.  

Virginia shared a little bit about her work and how she got to where she is today:  

"I became Chair of Brighter Sound in 2020 because I admired their work. Back in 2015, my son got a place on a Brighter Sound residency, and I saw the incredible impact it had on him as a musician and as a person. I have always worked in arts and heritage, having had leadership roles in both arts organisations and local government experiencing some great successes and working through serious challenges. I am fascinated by organisations, how people work together to get things done and make a difference and how that can go wrong or get knocked off track and how we learn and recover. I have held governance roles in national and regional organisations throughout my career.

As Chair of Brighter Sound, I see my role as a sounding board for the CEO and the senior Team, and as the person who keeps the governance agenda on track."

We asked Virginia how she fosters a positive culture on her board: 

"As the chair, I try to make the best use of the skills and abilities of the people around the table. I get to know the trustees and what each trustee can offer. Working with Kate Lowes, the CEO, we try to frame the board meetings in ways that encourage constructive dialogue and decision making about Brighter Sound’s successes and challenges. We hold most of our meetings online but meet in person at least once a year.

Board meetings represent a huge amount of time and effort, so I do what I can to make them useful, enjoyable and informative for both staff and trustees. I try not to get stuck on broadcast with endless reports about past activity and I make sure there is plenty of opportunity for dialogue about the future, so trustees can build their knowledge and make useful contributions. Choose your trustees carefully and you can have access to brilliant in-house consultants who know your organisation really well." 

Virginia shared some advice for aspiring leaders: 

"If you are a CEO or an aspiring CEO, join a board to see what it’s like on the other side of the table. It is brilliant personal development. You will observe a range of behaviours and relationships that will help you develop your own skills and choose the ways you want to work. "

Finally, Virginia discussed what she’s passionate about seeing change in the sector:  

"From my experience, it is the small organisations that are the most agile and dynamic. However, they are also the most overstretched and under resourced. I would like to see more recognition of their critical role in the arts ecology and more understanding from funders of their limited capacity for administration and reporting."

To read more about the work at Brighter Sound, visit the website here. 

Charity Leader of the Month - Samuel Davies, Men Who Talk

Men Who Talk is a men's mental health charity, focussed on creating social spaces for men to connect. It strongly believes in the power of conversation in improving mental health. Focussing on online spaces, the groups allow men from across the UK to talk openly about what's on their mind. There's no pressure, no judgement and no fees, just good old chat. We spoke to Samuel Davies, the founder and current Director of Men Who Talk.

Samuel shared a little bit about his work and mission:  

"Our mission is to achieve positive mental health for all men in the UK. We don't just want men to survive; we want them to thrive! Prevention is the key, and we hope our services will continue to provide innovative spaces for men to feel seen and heard."

We asked Samuel how he got to where he is today and what his role involves: 

“As the founder of the charity, it feels somewhat surreal to see how far the charity has come. As someone who is deeply passionate about men's mental health, it's been such a pleasure to see MWT grow and develop, and most importantly help provide support and a community to hundreds of men.

Originally my role was a "jack of all trades" sort of role. With minimal volunteers and no staff, I took on the responsibility for every daily operational task. I'm glad to say that many of these tasks have now been shared with individuals far more qualified than myself in certain areas!

Now my role is more strategic and blends the complexities of being both a leader and a founder more. I get to enjoy the daily operational tasks still, which involves a lot of learning new skills, whilst also getting to enjoy co-creating and delivering our ambitious vision and strategy.” 

Samuel shared some advice for aspiring leaders: 

"As a founder, my advice to prospective founders and subsequent leaders would be: don't be afraid to make mistakes and use them as exciting learning opportunities. Also, don't be afraid to seek help and expertise for areas you may not be confident in. As leaders, the temptation is often to try and cover every area of the charity, something which is impossible even for highly experienced leaders. The best leaders know their limits and help empower others to take on responsibility.

Finally, I would say to any founder or leader in the charity sector: charities are a marathon not a sprint. Good, well designed and collaborative services take time to build, just the same as good, efficient and well-run charities take time to build. I continue to learn patience in my leadership, focussing on our core services, our "brand", and what we collectively want our mission to be."

Finally, Samuel discussed what he's passionate about seeing change in the sector:  

“For me, I'm hugely passionate about seeing a heavier focus on preventative mental health services, especially for men. So many of our services are currently designed only to support men when they're already in crisis, with very little effort to try to prevent them ever reaching that stage in the first place. Truly preventative mental health care requires seeing mental health as a public health issue, and working across education, public health and various other sectors to work on addressing the core issues that drive men towards poor mental health. We're making a start on this at MWT, however I'm desperately aware that this shift is more than just a policy or service shift, it's a cultural one."

To hear more about the work at Men Who Talk, visit the website here.

Social Entrepreneur of the Month - Juliet Diener, icandance

icandance is a creative, therapeutic community that caters for the needs of children and young people and their families with lived experience of disabilities. The benefits of dance are universal, but they are especially powerful for young people with disabilities. Dance offers opportunities to experience the wonder of creativity, the freedom of expression and the joy of social connection. It improves physical fitness, develops gross motor skills, relieves stress and anxiety, and encourages imagination. Dance offers those with disabilities an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings without words, and helps them to build friendships, grow in confidence, and gain new skills. We spoke to Juliet, Founder and CEO of Icandance.

Juliet shared a little bit about her work and mission:  

"As CEO and founder of icandance, I lead a London-based charity that empowers disabled children and young people through dance. Our mission is to create inclusive spaces where every young person is seen, heard, and celebrated for who they are. We use dance as a therapeutic and creative tool to build confidence, connection, and joy."

We asked Juliet how she got to where she is today and what her role involves: 

“I founded icandance in 2006, driven by a belief that dance should be accessible to all. The journey has been one of continuous learning - navigating challenges, making tough decisions, and growing alongside a dedicated team. As CEO, I shape the vision, lead strategic development, and ensure our values are reflected in every aspect of our work. It’s a role that demands both heart and resilience.” 

Juliet shared some advice for prospective leaders: 

"Lead with purpose and humility. Listen deeply, trust your team, and stay rooted in your mission. Challenges will come, but they’re opportunities to grow. Be open to learning and don’t be afraid to make bold decisions when needed. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers - it’s about creating space for others to thrive."

Finally, Juliet discussed what she's passionate about seeing change in the sector:  

“I’m passionate about greater inclusion in the dance sector. Disabled young people have so much to offer society, and it’s time we truly see and celebrate that. Dance can be a powerful form of activism - challenging perceptions and advocating for equity. At Icandance, we believe dance is an opportunity to share the stories of the disabled community and celebrate what disabled young people contribute to society. Everybody CAN dance, and we’re committed to making that a reality."

To hear more about the work at icandance, visit the website here.

Fellow of the Month - Dr Victor Fung - Pavilion Dance South West

Dr. Victor Fung is the Artistic Director & Joint CEO of Pavilion Dance South West in Bournemouth, an organisation dedicated to a world in which dance is celebrated as an integral part of life. The seaside creative hub with a 200-seat theatre and dance studios is home to various dancing communities. As a cultural enabler and award-winning dance artist, Victor has worked in the arts and cultural sector internationally across four continents. His experience in programming, curation, choreography, research, education, coaching and performance has led him to his mission of empowering marginalised voices and creating positive impact together with communities. Victor is the Chair of One Dance UK, the national support organisation for dance. He is a Clore Fellow, RSA Fellow, and School for Social Entrepreneurs Fellow. 

Victor shared a little bit about his work, how he got to his current position and what the role involves:  

"Prior to joining Pavilion Dance South West in 2022, I ran my own transnational dance company and had a freelance portfolio career as a dance artist. My current role as Artistic Director & Joint CEO of Pavilion Dance involves overseeing all our artistic programmes and managing a creative team to deliver our work. I work alongside our Executive Director & Joint CEO on income generation and fundraising. As an organisation, we take a devolved approach to fundraising where the Joint CEOs are responsible for strategic and major funding bids to Trusts and Foundations and Producers are responsible for project-based bids."

Given the context of the UK right now, we asked Victor what the key opportunities for his organisation are: 

“Aside from being a dance house producing and presenting some of the most exciting contemporary dance works from the UK and internationally, Pavilion Dance is recognised as an arts charity with a strong socially engaged ethos. We are passionate about creating social impact and have been supported by Trusts and Foundations to deliver work for a wide range of communities in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Creative health and supporting young talents are areas that we are keen on further developing in the coming years and could open up new opportunities and partnerships for us.” 

Thinking about the year ahead, we asked Victor what he is most looking forward to as part of the Fellowship Programme: 

"I'm keen to learn from the other fellows and to hear about their individual contexts."

Finally, Victor discussed what he's passionate about seeing change in the sector:  

“I would like to see the arts being more valued by those in power and in wider society. The embodied joy of dancing is something that I would like everyone to be able to experience as part of their lives. In terms of change in our sector, I would like to see better working conditions for our freelance workforce and for them to be recognised for the contribution they make as an essential part of the arts ecology."

To hear more about the work at Pavilion Dance South West, visit the website here.