"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.”

“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.

“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.

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.

We are delighted to announce that Jo Bangoura has joined Howami as our Non-Executive Director (NED). With extensive expertise in digital transformation, healthcare innovation, and change management, Jo brings a wealth of strategic leadership and transferable skills from her current role as Director for Programmes & Digital Transformation at Innovate Healthcare Services—supporting our vision to transform menstrual and mental wellbeing for young people, families, and wider society. Her appointment comes at a pivotal time as Howami enters its pre-Seed Round of Funding. Jo's expertise in systems leadership, operational scaling, and evidence-based decision-making—combined with her proven ability to manage complex systems, foster partnerships, and implement innovative solutions—positions her uniquely to help drive Howami’s vision. Her professional experience to date means she is primed to advise on methods to ensure our digital solution meets the needs of partnerships within schools and trusts while also delivering meaningful support to young people, educators, and families alike. Additionally, her insights will help ensure the platform is ready to scale quickly. Key Skills We’ll Be Utilising Digital Transformation: Scaling systems and optimising technology to deliver impactful solutions. Change Management & Innovation: Driving cultures of improvement and forward-thinking strategies. B2B Strategy Development: Implementing solutions that align with the needs of healthcare and educational organisations. Partnership Building: Providing guidance in developing meaningful collaborations with stakeholders in public sectors of healthcare and education. Operational Scaling: Supporting Howami’s strategy and timeline milestones for sustainable growth as we expand. Evidence-Based Insights: Measuring and refining our impact to ensure continued success. We are so excited for what’s ahead. Welcome aboard, Jo!

Strategy Execution, Regulatory & Legislative Compliance, Operational formalities, E-suite Design & Delivery, Engagement & Relationship building.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.