CEO and Menstrual Lead
Nikki Berridge
"There is a huge social awakening around the ‘hot’ topic of Menstrual Health. But in the real world, we still have a long way to go. I am extremely dedicated and passionate about this topic and the project’s "reach" potential". Nikki has been working with Mental & physical Wellbeing through her work as a Therapist for the past 20 years. In the past 5 years specifically absorbing everything & anything to do with the Menstrual Cycle. Having co-written the Howami charting book in 2020 she has run numerous workshops with a variety of age groups from 10-12 year olds from menarche (the first Bleed), right through to post-menopause. She recently qualified as a Menstruality Mentor with the “Red School” who have paved the way for psychological and emotional impact of the menstrual cycle. “Having a tween daughter and through our work to date, I have witnessed first hand the effect of social-media in our lives and of attention-seeking technology on the psychology of young GenZ's. I am thoroughly committed to creating this application that, I believe, will have an enormous impact. By supporting the growth of both ‘emotional intelligence’ and the ‘well-being’ of the future generations of menstruating people.”
COO and Mindfulness Lead
Kate Penning
“The chance to provide a radical, playful, online space for young people to become mindful of themselves in relation to their menstrual cycle fills me with so much joy! I am also super excited to be working within a team of people who want to be in a business with emotional intelligence at the forefront of communication and operations. I Originally teamed with Nikki to develop the Howami book and workshops , but quickly became strongly driven to share the ‘wider view lens’ that is possible with ‘Whole Cycle Awareness’. I have become increasingly passionate about it’s potential for creating both great shifts, and long term positive Social Impact for such a large proportion of the world”. Kate is an Actor, Mindfulness practitioner, Yoga teacher and Menstrual educator and has worked in the wellness field for 14 years. She graduated with a diploma in Acting from ALRA (Academy of Live and Recorded Arts), before completing her yoga training with Dru. In later years, Kate then went on to complete further yoga training for Kids and Gen Z, then her Mindfulness Training with ‘Mindfulness Now’ in Oxford and most recently, she trained with Jane Bennett with Celebration day for Girls. As a Mindfulness specialist she uses all of these disciplines when teaching young people, but also informs every aspect of the App development & the functioning of the Howami Team.
CTO and Product Design Manager
Dan Berridge
“I am devoting all of my time to this project as I believe our young people need a well designed and enjoyable Apps that function as their ground-point for their uniqueness as menstruating people. I have an almost evangelical belief that tech needs to be beautiful in look and function. Having joined this project from a different creative field, I’m unafraid to look at existing paradigms with confidence that it can be done better!” Dan is a successful Soundtrack composer and Brunel University Business graduate. Whilst watching Nikki and Kate develop the Howami book and workshops, he has recently been moved by the potential of Howami as an Application. As a father of a teenage daughter he has been led by a passion to improve the lives of young people through tech. Dan is used to working creatively on large scale projects and is a fervent believer in the power of positive-use technology that improves lives rather than feeding from its user’s attention.
Personal Assistant to CEO
Clare Timmington
After working in the healthcare industry for over 8 years now in varying capacities I reached a point in my life where I was looking to make a more deliberate choice about the career I wanted to pursue. This is when I found Howami. Being able to bring both my personal and professional skills and experience to aid in their mission to create necessary change for future generations has been so rewarding. I have already learnt so much from being part of the team and look forward to playing my part in making an such a positive impact to the well-being of so many.
Youth Advocate heading up the Youth Collective
Siona Hemming
I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) at 13 and have struggled with my periods since I started them at 11. This struggle with my periods was noticeable throughout school and university and I believe it is important to help young people to become empowered by their periods and advocate for themselves when things are not right; this all starts by learning that you are normal! Everyone with a uterus should be afforded the opportunity to connect with themselves and learn about their body and their mind. I am super grateful to be a part of the Howami team and cannot wait to see what change the future holds for young menstruators.
Social Enterprise Advisor
Dr Loren Treisman
“In both my personal and professional life, I have come to realise that authentic connection is what gives us meaning and joy and this must start with ourselves. Our modern world is increasingly pulling us in the opposite direction. I’m excited to be part of Howami as its vision is to deepen our connection to ourselves. I believe this is the first step in enabling us to bring our unique gifts to the world. I know that if I was able to access an App like Howami in my teens, I could have started on this path so much earlier and I’m excited to open this door for others.” Loren’s whole career has reflected her passion to create a fairer, more compassionate world. She’s currently the CEO of the Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Foundation, providing grants to promote social justice and protect human rights. She’s held a range of leadership positions in the charity sector including as CEO of L’Arche and Executive Director of Indigo Trust, supporting the use of digital technologies to achieve social outcomes. Loren’s experience spans across a wide range of sectors and she has a particular interest in social innovation, having supported hundreds of small to medium charities and social enterprises to scale their impact. She has provided strategic consultancy to a wide range of organisations including Comic Relief, World Health Organisation and Oxford Insights. She holds a PhD from Cambridge University, was recognised as one of 2014’s Powerful Women to Watch in the Huffington Post and regularly writes in the international Press. Loren is a solo mother of twin 5-year-old sons and a committed meditator who has run mindfulness and meditation retreats and workshops. She spends most of her weekends travelling in her campervan and her heart sings when she’s in nature.
Language & Research Advisor
Dr Terra Sprague
“Working with the Howami team and project is really invigorating because it brings together multiple strands of my academic and non-academic work. It contributes to the development of a greatly needed step change to whole-cycle awareness in menstruality with young people. Core to this is returning our attention to the importance of cycles and how they can help us remember our relationship with Mother Nature.” From co-producing social science research to writing about reweaving the thread of menstrual blood back into the Earth’s ecology, Terra’s work focuses on the Human-Earth connection. As Language and Research Advisor, Terra supports Howami to draw upon current research in menstruality and wellbeing, serving as liaison between the team and academic research community. Together, Terra and the Howami team are developing ethical practices of participatory inquiry to support the app development, and identifying reciprocal ways in which Howami can inform future academic research.
App Development Advisor
Simon Deeley
“When I heard Nikki describe the Howami project, I knew she was on to something. An app helping with a need so central to the well-being of so many young people can only benefit from the passion and energy of such a heart-centred team. Seeing them in action confirmed that I needed to help where I could. The team’s drive is palpable, their creativity is phenomenal. It’s a joy to work on the Howami project.” Simon has 20 years experience in tech and software engineering. Having worked with numerous startups and built several teams from scratch, Simon knows what it takes for a team to come together and thrive. Simon’s experience has taught him the necessity of user-centred design and helping creators set ego aside to follow an open-minded Lean approach to product creation. His passion is to harness the dark-arts used to create growth-hacking, attention-mining apps and use them for social good. Simon has a teenage daughter, so has a window into the Howami world. He firmly believes that harnessing creativity and intuition through a beautiful, creative app can lead to enhanced well-being for her and other young people.
Mental Health and Psychology Advisor
Dr. Samantha Phillips
“As a woman and mother, I believe that it is so important that we bring what happens to menstruating people out of the shadows. Menstruation impacts everyone from the first bleed until the last, whether you personally or to those around you. Celebrating the power and impact of this process is such a radical shift from the past and is most welcome. I am delighted to be invited as an advisor.” Samantha has worked in mental health for over twenty years after studying psychology as an undergraduate at Cardiff University and staying to undertake a Ph.D. Following a few years as a Research Associate at Bristol University, Samantha trained in the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist and has since worked in adult mental health, physical health, and children’s mental health services. During her time as a practising psychologist, Samantha is passionate about sharing her psychological understanding and skills and is delighted to be a mental health advisor for this deeply important programme of work.
Inclusivity & Neuro Diversity Lead
Abi Den
“My work centres around bodies and health in the broadest sense. My focus is on creating more space in the field of menstruality for all experiences of people who menstruate to be visible. I have witnessed many times how the intimacy we create in relation to ourselves through acknowledging our cyclical nature is really at the heart of knowing our place in the wider web of relational life. It's a true honour to be part of bringing this beautiful app into the world." Abi’s back ground is as a nutritional Therapist practicing functional medicine, teaching yoga and consent and embodiment work with teenagers and adults. She is a Leadership mentor with Red School and a menstruality coaching professional and we are delighted she has joined the advisory team for such an important aspect of our Work.
Gaming and Gen Z
Lauren White
“While traveling in New Zealand 4 years ago I attended a workshop about the menstrual cycle and was blown away by how little I really knew! I dream of a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn about the power and beauty within the menstrual cycle, and can live in line with their own unique rhythm.“ We are so excited to have Lauren among our Advisory team. She brings a strong skill set to Howami, including Marketing/Media & Business strategy, Tech proficiency and deep insight into practicing and educating on menstrual cycle awareness in the modern world. Lauren comes from a varied background of Customer service, Administrative & Strategic roles (from a Scottish Gin society to an off-road Lord of the Rings tour company!) She currently works in the core team at Red School who train the future leaders in the field of Menstruality, and whose work underpins much of the emotional/psychological aspects we are drawing inspiration from for the Howami App. She has developed an avid passion for this work and has also trained as a Menstruality Mentor through Red School's Menstruality Leadership Programme in 2021.
Team
People passionate about Menstruational Awareness