We are exceptionally proud to have four Advisory Boards shaping the strategy at Let’s Talk About Loss and helping us improve everything we do. Find out more about them here.
The Accessibility Advisory Board was born out of a conversation between two Hosts, who both cared deeply about improving the accessibility of Let’s Talk About Loss. From the first meeting in February 2021, the Board has ensured that all Zoom meet ups have captions enabled for D/deaf or hard of hearing attendees, that all Hosts know to book wheelchair accessible venues for in-person meet ups, and that Let’s Talk About Loss policy is clear that support workers or friends can attend meet ups where this is helpful for attendees.
The Accessibility Advisory Board is chaired by Jessi Parrott. If you’d like to join the Board or hear more about their work, please email hello@letstalkaboutloss.org.
Our Racial Equity Advisory Board started in June 2021 and meets four times a year. They are particularly keen to ensure that all Let’s Talk About Loss spaces – be that meet ups, our online blog, events and campaigns, are diverse and inclusive. Grief can be felt differently across different cultures and the Racial Equity Advisory Board is committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome and safe to share their experience. We are currently working on creating a calendar of events that includes important days from religions and cultures that Let’s Talk About Loss should mark externally.
The Racial Equity Advisory Board is chaired by Teni Charles. If you’d like to join the Board or hear more about their work, please email hello@letstalkaboutloss.org.
The LGBTQ+ Advisory Board is just getting up and running. The group will focus on ensuring that LGBTQ+ attendees feel they can bring their whole self to the meet up, and feel safe and supported across Let’s Talk About Loss.
The LGBTQ+ Advisory Board is chaired by Lisa Smith. If you’d like to join the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board or hear more about their work, please email hello@letstalkaboutloss.org.
As a small charity, Let’s Talk About Loss relies on the generous support of many volunteers. The Executive Advisory Board is an opportunity to recognise the support of people with specific skills and experience who are helping to grow and improve the charity.
We welcome applicants to join our Executive Advisory Board at any time. If you think you have skills or experience that can help grow and develop Let’s Talk About Loss, we’d love to hear from you. To get in touch, please email hello@letstalkaboutloss.org.
Victoria started campaigning for bereavement support for young people in higher education in 2018 after losing her dad to a Brain tumour at 20 years old. She realised the lack of services and funding behind bereavement as she struggled to get support from her university. After doing radio and tv interviews and conducting key research she influenced the Scottish Government to invest £20 million into support services at colleges and universities. After realising not only her strength in relating to other people going through loss but also that she had natural skills in public speaking and a deep drive to create meaningful work, she has spent the last 6 years supporting various charities and initiatives targeted at grief and cancer care.
From 2019-2021 she was the lead health and wellbeing ambassador for Heriot-Watt University, executing the most successful and highest raising Movember campaign targeted at improving mens mental health. During this time she acted as a STEM ambassador sharing her passion for women in engineering and advocating for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds at schools across the country.
In 2021 Victoria started in a Young Ambassador role for the Brain Tumour Charity, where she held influential engagement sessions in Westminster and Holyrood with MPs, pioneered social media campaigns, advised on the grief support provided by the charity and pushed on the new 2030 strategy for the charity as part of the Strategy Steering Committee and Formation group. Her main passion always lay in connecting with others as she supported fundraising and awareness events and campaigns speaking across social media, tv and radio or at live events to hundreds of audience members or going to small support groups and finding out about peoples experience. After her role ended in 2023, Victoria wanted to get stuck back into her true passion: advocating for grief support for young people. She also found that this passion empowered her to learn to live a fulfilling life with peace since her loss.
Professionally, Victoria is on an engineering and technical leadership development programme within one of the largest consumer product manufacturers in the world and is a key figure in implementing their wellbeing and inclusion and diversity strategy. Victoria is also big on adrenaline activities and can often be found rock climbing and hiking across the world, playing competitive basketball, sea swimming and running! She loves to travel and immerse herself in different cultures and explore diverse natures and landscapes.
