Roots + Wings Collective

Katie is a highly adaptable project manager, grant writer and organisational development consultant. She has 15 years’ experience in the international women's rights, peacebuilding and development sector, as well as with community-based organisations in the UK.

Having worked in senior management roles at Women for Women International, Conciliation Resources and CARE International, Katie has led complex programmes in more than 12 countries globally, delivered a wide variety of successful grant applications, and developed organisational policies, systems and strategies.

As co-founder of a community-led baby bank in South-East London, Katie also has a particular passion for small charities.

Joey is a Senior Specialist in Grants Fundraising, Bid Writing and Women's Rights.

She is a passionate advocate for women’s power and gender equality as well as a fundraiser and business development leader, with over 15 years’ experience in designing fundraising strategies; managing grant cycles from prospecting through proposal writing and reporting; and designing and writing complex technical proposals with a high success rate.

Joey ‘s thematic expertise includes women’s rights and power; gender and equality; women in armed conflict; women, peace and security; social inequality; and development.

Izzy is a hugely talented copy-writer and communications specialist.

She has worked for over a decade in the international development sector, and has a particular passion for women’s rights.

Izzy has a comprehensive understanding and diverse experience of fundraising, marketing and communications within an NGO setting and advanced expertise in developing a brand tone of voice.

Brita is an author, public speaker and transformational coach. She uses her 25 years of experience of working with women all around the world to facilitate transformation and impact

Brita works with organisations and businesses to create working cultures that are value-led, inclusive, in-powering, innovative and sustainable. She is passionate about promoting alternative models of ‘leadership’ as a response to the urgent problems facing our society and world.

Brita is an advocate and promoter of women’s power, women’s rights and equality.

Mary-Laine is the Founder and Managing Director of Faltrego – a women-led video agency specialising in visual storytelling for charities and not-for-profits.

Previously, Mary-Laine worked in broadcast television. She later moved on to work in social video, and then became a video producer for a medical trade union.

Mary-Laine has an academic background science, with a Bachelor’s in Human Sciences and a Master’s in Science Media Production. As such, she champions effective science communication and specialises in working with health-based charities. Mary-Laine has been a judge for the Bristol Science Film Festival for the past three years.

Meryl brings over 15 years experience of working at the heart of some of the biggest and most-well loved fundraising campaigns at Comic Relief (working on Red Nose Day and Sport Relief) and Cancer Research UK. She is an experienced strategic fundraiser with an extensive background in broadcast fundraising, celebrity challenges, prize draws and mass public fundraising campaigns.

More recently through the Roots + Wings Collective Meryl has taken on a new project working as Foundation Director for the Kerslake Robshaw Foundation.

“It has been a delight to start work with Kerslake Robshaw Foundation, I help to ensure the Foundation is a well-run and sustainable organisation, it’s a privilege to join an organisation in its infancy and to help it grow. The Foundation and I simply wouldn’t have found each other if it wasn’t down to the Roots + Wings Collective. The wider knowledge and support of the Roots + Wings Collective has meant access to a network of experts.”

Rebecca specialises in charity leadership, resource mobilisation, strategy development, partnership building, grant making and philanthropy.

She has over 20 years’ experience, including as UK Executive Director of Global Fund for Women, along with Comic Relief and Save the Children. She’s an expert in creating impactful and influential collaborations with high net-worth individuals, institutions, trusts, and foundations, as well as the private sector to support a vibrant and robust civil society ecosystem.

She’s passionate about navigating complexity, forging connections, and helping amazing people do amazing things.

Miranda has worked in the NFP sector for over 16 years, starting her career at DFID (now FCDO). She is an international programming expert in the development and humanitarian sectors.

Miranda brings a breath of knowledge from direct project and programme implementation for portfolios up to £7m, grant and donor management through to strategic level direction and leadership.

Miranda has held leadership roles at Amref Health Africa where she was Director of Programmes and then CEO, Merlin, and Global Action. She also has an impressive record of successful senior interim leadership roles in organisations like Shelterbox and Women for Women International.

Julia is an inspirational fundraiser with an impressive track record of securing transformational multi-million pound, multi-year gifts for organisations.

Julia has worked in the not-for-profit sector for 20 years, with over a decade at Director and CEO level, for organisations including Amref Health Africa, mothers2mothers, Sense and Women for Women International.

Her particular expertise is in leading Philanthropy and Programmatic Grants teams to work collaboratively rather than in silo, to achieve greater impact and success for the organisation's mission. She is also an expert at relationship building and using the power of connections to raise major gifts from globally significant strategic funders.

Jenny is a highly strategic and thoughtful PR Consultant with over 25 years’ experience devising and delivering world class results driven PR campaigns for people, brands and NGOs.

Jenny has exceptional credentials with wide ranging expertise in Advocacy, Arts, Charity, Consumer, Culture, Film, Health and Retail PR.

A specialist in storytelling and expertise in media (new and traditional) and stakeholder relations, Jenny is known for game-changing PR campaigns establishing start-ups, individuals and NGOs as leaders in their sector; significantly increasing profile, revenue and funding for clients.

Tessa has 15 years’ fundraising experience, starting fresh out of university as an intern for Oxfam International.

She has been a major gifts fundraiser in both international development and higher education organisations, and for five years she was Director of Fundraising for Kiln Theatre. She is currently Interim Director of Fundraising for Leicester’s Curve Theatre and fundraising coordinator of a small charity providing summer holidays for young people with learning disabilities.

Tessa’s experience is in individual giving at all levels, trust and foundation fundraising, capital project fundraising, and fundraising strategy. She believes fundamentally that an organisation’s values can and should be lived out in the way that it raises funds.

Kim is the Founder and Creative Director of Figgydoo – a purpose-led design studio with a passion for people.

She has worked in the branding and event design space for over 15 years, mainly collaborating with charities, not-for-profits and good social causes.

Previously, Kim managed and led a design team at a global not-for-profit, designed her first commercial logo at the age of 11 and used to design Geri Halliwell’s personal stationery.

Kim is the Design Lead for KindFest, the world’s first digital festival celebrating kindness.