Meet our Helpline Awards judges
Meet our Helpline Awards judges
We are excited to introduce you to the fantastic judges for this year’s Helpline Awards.
Each judge brings a wealth of experience and expertise, ensuring a fair and thoughtful selection process.
We are proud to have them involved and are looking forward to celebrating excellence within the helpline community.
Debbie Enever
Debbie is a graduate of the university of Manchester’s Creative Writing MA. Her debut work—Midowed: A Mother’s Grief — was long-listed for the Bridport Memoir Prize 2022. Midowed chronicles Debbie’s first year of grief after losing her son Dan in a road traffic accident. It also charts Dan’s life from birth to 15 and explores friendships, organ donation and finding unexpected love. At its heart, it celebrates the joyous bond between a mother and son.
In 2024 Debbie, alongside another bereaved mum, Tracy Edwards, launched the Bereaved Parents’ Club Podcast to share stories and offer support and hope to those navigating the devastating world of child loss. Stories and themes explored in the first series include being newly bereaved, loss by suicide, multiple losses, and the 'etiquette' of grief. A second series is scheduled for late 2024.
Debbie describes herself as a Northern nomad and currently lives in Sheffield with her partner. She works part-time as the Programme Administrator for Under the Stars, an arts and events charity for people with learning disabilities. For more about Debbie, her writing, and the podcast, please visit her website at www.debbieenever.com
Natasha Ferguson
As Chief Operating Officer, Natasha is taking the Taylor Bennett Foundation through change and transformation to position the 2024- 2027 growth strategy. With a focus on expanding their programme reach across the UK alongside developing new flagship partnerships to increase and diversify representation in new sectors and more, her broad skill set, will lead the implementation of the new strategy whilst overseeing the charity’s day-to-day operations.
Natasha is an international communications specialist with over 15 years of experience across industries in the consumer, corporate and not-for-profit sectors. As a former journalist, editor and EU strategic communications consultant, Natasha’s entrepreneurial expertise and experience across executive recruitment, talent management and career progression over the last six years underpins her drive for increasing diverse representation in the workplace.
Dr Shantanu Kundu
Dr. Shantanu Kundu is a prominent mental health activist, Chief Executive of the Be Free Campaign, and NHS clinical entrepreneur and innovation consultant. With an MSc in Acute, Critical, and Emergency Medicine, he has worked with the government to improve mental health initiatives and is an honorary lecturer in psychology at the University of Liverpool.
Dr. Kundu has been awarded the Diana Award and Point of Light Award from Prime Minister Johnson and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health. He has been highlighted by Dr. Alex George as a leading mental health activist during Mental Health Awareness Week.
As the founder of the Be Free Campaign, Dr. Kundu guides the charity in providing mental health education, counselling, and wellbeing programs across the UK. He is committed to driving innovation and improving mental health care in the country. His dedication to improving mental health and well-being has made him a respected and influential figure in the UK's mental health community.
Tahera Mayat
Tahera is known in the charity sector and beyond for hosting #CharityHour from February 2014 to February 2024. With a passion for communications, in the past decade, she enjoyed facilitating #CharityHour—a weekly themed Twitter/X chat that provided connections and learning. In August 2020, Helplines Partnership co-hosted a #CharityHour with Tahera on the work of helplines and accessing support when you are ready to talk.
Tahera is recognised in the charity sector and communications sector for championing the work of those doing good. She has presented at charity and communications sector events: CommsHero; I Wish I’d Thought of That (IWITOT); Pizza for Losers (sharing how failure leads to success); Chartered Institute of Fundraising Northern Fundraising Conference; Charity Meetup; and Leeds Charity Social. Her recent successes include being nominated for Charity Times International Women’s Day 2023 and having the #CharityHour Twitter/X account named one of the 20 charity accounts to follow by Charity Times in 2022.
In her day job, Tahera has a strong passion for Widening Participation and encourages under-represented groups to apply to Higher Education. Her experience included working on the Clearing helpline, so she knows the importance of being a reassurance presence on the phone.
The Helpline Awards close at 5pm on Monday 9 September 2024.