Start Somewhere

We’re closing off 2021 with another incredible episode about health and wellbeing, this week with the fabulous Nicola Mendelsohn, who is the Vice President, Global Business Group at Meta. Nicola also is the chairperson of the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, which she founded in 2019 after herself being diagnosed three years prior.  Whilst trying to understand her own condition she connected with the 'Living with Follicular Lymphoma' Facebook Group. This gave her the insight, advice and support from a close-knit on-line community going through the same journeys. Over time, Nicola became more involved in the stories and experiences of the individuals in the group as well as her own treatment. This led her to develop relationships with leading clinicians and investigators in the field, who convinced her that by raising awareness and funds, so much more could be done to transform the lives of FL patients.In this episode, Nicola tells us about how her drive to help and support others throughout her life has been guided by her faith, the challenges she faced after receiving her FL diagnosis and why she remains hopeful for a cure. For more information about Follicular Lymphoma or to support Nicola in finding a cure, please head to https://www.theflf.org/ The ask: Head to the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation website to learn more about Follicular Lymphoma, spread the word and donate to stop this incurable disease. 

On this week’s episode of Start Somewhere, I’m delighted to speak to an amazing trailblazer in sustainability and female empowerment. Joining me is the incredible Natalie Deacon, Executive Director Corporate Affairs and Sustainability for the iconic beauty brand Avon. Natalie is also the President of the Avon Foundation for Women. In this episode, Natalie tells us the compelling story of Avon’s founder and champion of women, David H. McConnell. And Avon, through their foundation, have made it their mission to speak up about gender-based violence and empowerment of women. We also speak about the role of brands in guiding consumers to live more sustainably and the latest innovations in biotech that Avon is using to push the envelope on what is possible with natural ingredients.   The ask: It’s all about making small steps and small changes. Even if everyone listening to the podcast would recycle beauty product waste from their bathrooms, or would share one post on social media raising awareness about domestic violence, it would incrementally create an unstoppable movement for change. 

For this week on Start Somewhere, I’m thrilled to be joined by the wonderful Helen Cox, Global Environmental Reporting Lead for one of my favourite beauty brands, LUSH. Like myself, Helen is part of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition Steering Committee. Before joining Lush, Helen worked in financial services, specialising in international cosmetics retail, then shifted to the financial reporting process, with an interest in climate change. An avid sustainability advocate, she wants to make sustainability accessible to and actionable by all.In this episode, Helen tells us about her ‘full circle’ career path at LUSH, how LUSH has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability and purpose and why more beauty brands should be in coalition with one another. The ask: If we do nothing, nothing is going to change except get worse. If you want to do something, just go and do it. No action is too small. 

This week on Start Somewhere, I’m so overjoyed to be speaking to the incredible Inge Theron, who is the Founder & Creative Director of FaceGym. The already iconic FaceGym provides a signature workout for the face, consisting of warm up, cardio, sculpt and cool down, enhanced with powerful non-invasive machines to lift, sculpt and tone your facial muscles.In her Financial Times column ‘Chronicles of a Spa Junkie’, Inge gradually learned that the traditional approach to ageing was broken. When a face-lifting procedure left her house bound, Inge realised there must be a better way to age confidently. That’s how Face Gym was born. In this incredible episode, Inge tells us about how her boundless enthusiasm and determination landed her some of the most exciting jobs, what makes FaceGym’s approach so different and the power of manifesting your life’s vision. The ask: Be crystal clear about what it is you want to do. Don’t be put off by not having the skill set or the money. Close your eyes every day and see yourself where you want to be and manifest. Make sure the next place you put your foot is in the right direction. 

This week on Start Somewhere, I’m thrilled to be speaking to the trailblazing Jayn Sterland. Jayn is the Managing Director at Weleda UK, a world-leading manufacturer of holistic natural cosmetics which has been creating natural health and well-being products for 100 years. I also work with Jayn for the Sustainable Beauty Coalition. In this episode, Jayn tells us about her early upbringing working at her parent’s farm and how she later on moved from her initial career in textiles and fashion in pursuit of her purpose. We also speak about the incredible innovations that happen at Weleda, both its products and within the company itself, what collaborative leadership looks like and how the pandemic has enabled us to show up more authentically as ourselves in the workplace. The ask: We all have to consume less. Whatever you’re going to buy, buy less and buy better. Every organic thing you buy is an act of activism for the planet. Life is a journey of getting to know yourself. Try to understand how to be authentically you and (re)connect with your life’s purpose. 

We’re all familiar with the devastating impact of plastics in the oceans, but how does plastic affect our own health? This week on Start Somewhere, I sit down with the incredible Dr. Shanna Swan, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists who recently published her book ‘Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts’. If you would have told young Shanna, a child actress, that she would be spending more than 20 years studying how chemicals in plastics are causing our fertility to decline, she probably wouldn’t have believed it, but her work has been absolutely integral in the growing body of work sounding the alarm about the long-term negative effects on plastic on our environment - including our own bodies. In this episode, we dive deep into the science behind Shanna’s shocking discovery, why & where these harmful plastics can be found in our homes and how you can Start Somewhere to plastic-proof your life. The ask: In order to avoid these plastics, you’ll need to look at the world with a whole new set of glasses. There may be many things you might need to change about your lifestyle, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

This week on Start Somewhere Series 4 about sustainable and purpose-led beauty, health and wellness, I’m joined by my former colleague and friend Chris Davis from The Body Shop. Chris has been with The Body Shop since 2003 and currently heads up the company’s sustainability and activism strategy. It was together with Chris that I had the honour of working on a three-year campaign by The Body Shop to call on governments around the world to take urgent action to stop the trafficking and exploitation of children and young people. The petition, which attracted more than 7 million signatures in more than 50 countries, was one of the largest petitions ever to be presented to the United Nations.In this incredible episode, we hear about how standing up for other people has been part of Chris’s philosophy ever since his childhood, the work that makes The Body Shop a true activist brand and what it means for Chris to Start Somewhere. Ask: Find a mentor you look up to who can help you. Trust your instincts and speak up, even when it feels really hard to do. 

For the last episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an incredibly important voice in the indigenous movement, Lola Cabnal. She is a Mayan Q'eqchí woman from a rural community in the municipality of Livingston, Guatemala. Lola is a social worker and chairs the Council of Indigenous Women and Biodiversity in Guatemala. She works in the area of political advocacy for the Ak' Tenamit Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Indigenous Roundtable on Climate Change in Guatemala and in other advocacy spaces, such as the group promoting communal lands, among others.In this episode, Lola tells us about how she grew up in her native Guatemala, the sacrifices she had to make in pursuit of education and independence and how through ‘educating to conserve’, Lola is living her purpose of both empowering women and the natural world as one.Top tip: Amplify the voices of indigenous people and find ways to support indigenous movements directly Visit https://thegtfund.org/ and consider donating to the cause or sponsoring a student to receive education for a year. 

For the penultimate episode of the Start Somewhere COP26 Climate Emergency special, I’m beyond honoured to speak to the incredible internationally recognized climate expert Cassie Flynn. Cassie serves as the Strategic Advisor on Climate Change to UNDP’s Administrator, while also heading up the Climate Strategies and Policies team and Climate Promise. She is also the creator of mission 1.5 and the Peoples’ Climate Vote, which used gaming to become the world’s largest-ever survey on climate action. In this incredible episode, we speak about Cassie’s role in helping countries create and deliver on their ambitious climate pledges, how the climate crisis doesn’t care about borders and why smaller countries need to be heard.Top tip: You can bring what you got to this fight: you don’t need to be an expert. Check out the UNDP Climate Promise.