Sounddelivery Media

04/06/2026

Elsy Gomez Campos has an illustrious career spanning over 25 years as a pharmacist, working in both the NHS and the independent sector. Elsy is passionate about uplifting people in all aspects of life.

She has become a leading voice on racism within the pharmacy industry and is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. All of which led her to found the UK Black Pharmacist Association.

The association aims to create solutions to the current inequalities faced by Black pharmacists in the UK. UBPA believes that the quality of patient care in wider society would be better if all pharmacists were allowed to reach their full potential, independent of colour, nationality, or ethnicity.

We’re so pleased to have Elsy’s expertise on board with the 2026 Spokesperson Leadership Programme. Keep up to date with the group's progress by signing up for our newsletter. Link in Bio.

03/06/2026

"I am delighted to have been accepted onto the Spokesperson Leadership Programme. As CEO of the IRU, I have always believed that the voices of those most affected by injustice must be heard in the rooms where decisions are made."

Majid Iqbal is the CEO of the Islamophobia Response Unit - IRU, which is the only charity run by Muslims in England and Wales dedicated to providing free legal advice and support to people who've experienced Islamophobia.

With 25 years of experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, Majid uses his skills as a negotiator and strategic leader to establish new partnerships, help those in need, and drive systemic change at the government level. We’re so glad to have Majid on board this year’s Spokesperson Leadership Programme!

Help support the IRU by finding out more - https://www.theiru.org.uk/

02/06/2026

Continuing our series highlighting our 2026 spokespeople, we introduce you to Oksana Kalala. Oksana is the Founder and Managing Director of New Arrivals Support CIC, and is passionate about supporting refugee, asylum seekers and newly arrived migrant families in London.

"I am truly honoured to be selected for the Spokesperson Leadership Programme. I hope this opportunity will help me grow into a stronger public voice for refugee and migrant communities."

She founded the organisation in response to an urgent community need following the war in Ukraine. Through her passionate leadership, New Arrivals Support CIC has grown from strength to strength. It provides a range of services, including wellbeing, advocacy, and support.

Oksana and her team are passionate about equality and ensuring the voices of refugees and migrants are heard in public and policy spaces.

Get involved by visiting https://www.nascic.org.uk/

28/05/2026

"I am beyond excited and honoured to be given this opportunity."

Hope Lightowler is incredibly passionate about social care and disability rights. Her main goal is to make the world a fairer place and make sure it works better for people with disabilities, like her three siblings. Hope is disabled, but she went undiagnosed for many years until becoming very unwell.

She is an ambassador for Shared Lives Plus Community, which is a way of providing care and support in family homes and begins with relationships, not services.

They aim to help build communities where everyone lives a full life regardless of the support that they need.

Find out more about their missions and ethos below.
https://sharedlivesplus.org.uk/

27/05/2026

"I’m really pleased to be selected for the programme. It’s a great opportunity to strengthen how I communicate the experiences and challenges facing Muslim communities and to help ensure those voices are better represented in wider conversations around sport, inclusion and inequality."

One of our 2026 spokespeople, Asma Ajaz-Ali, has recently become the interim CEO of Muslim Sports Foundation, where she works to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity communities in the UK.

With more than 30 years of experience in sport, strategic leadership and education, she has a strong focus on supporting those facing social and cultural barriers to activity.

Find out how you can support Asma and the Muslim Sports Foundation here - https://muslimsportsfoundation.org.uk/

26/05/2026

As we continue to share more about the 2026 spokespeople taking part in our leadership programme. Today we’re focusing on Ellie Palma-Cass.

“I’m over the moon about being selected for the programme. It’s an opportunity that I do not take for granted. I will give it my all and hope to make a good contribution in being part of this group. I’m so excited and feel privileged and very grateful.”

Ellie is the founder and CEO of multi-award-winning su***de prevention organisation EPiC HOPE CIC. With a varied background in charity management and international children's work, she's also a Churchill Fellow of 2025 and an author, speaker, and campaigner, who is passionate about turning pain into purpose.

Check out https://www.epichope.org.uk to find out how to support and get involved with su***de prevention.

21/05/2026

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing more about the 2026 spokespeople taking part in our leadership programme. Find out about their causes, the communities they represent and the change they want to see.

"I’m incredibly honoured to be selected for the programme and to be part of a community of individuals committed to driving positive change. I’m excited for the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and continue developing my impact."

Amy Thompson is a founder, advocate, and storyteller dedicated to transforming disability representation.

Following the launch of But you don’t look ill to challenge the stigma of invisible conditions, she established MS Together, a national charity providing vital support to young people with MS across the UK and Ireland.
With over ten years of expertise in community-building and advocacy, Amy is focused on shifting power and ensuring that lived experience is at the very heart of the social sector.

Visit https://mstogether.org/ for more.

18/05/2026

Become a sponsor to help us empower more voices and foster impactful learning experiences!

Our CEO Monica Tyler has written a blog about how you can help shape our upcoming festival.

In 2025, we brought together charity leaders, campaigners, experts, grant managers, and grassroots advocates from across the UK to connect, share, and learn.

Want to learn more about how you can get involved?
Read more -

The Festival of Learning is a nationwide movement and we're looking for sponsors to help put lived experience on the map.

14/05/2026

Today, we are officially welcoming 14 new leaders into our 2026 Spokesperson Leadership Programme. These leaders are already experts in their fields, from navigating the care system to fighting for housing justice.

Our programme is all about shifting power and amplifying voices. We’re ensuring that the people leading the conversations are the ones with the expertise to create change in their communities. As we introduce you to the individual changemakers, be sure to follow them to show your support and keep up with their updates!

Hope Lightowler is an Ambassador at Shared Lives Plus, who help adults who need support with families who care for them by welcoming them into their homes and families.

Ellie Palma-Cass of EPiC HOPE CIC, which focuses on community-led su***de prevention, bridge outreach, trauma, and neurodivergence.

Asma Ajaz-Ali of Muslim Sports Foundation, MSF’s ethos is to promote faith inclusion across all levels of sport, increase Muslim women’s participation in sport, and foster greater community engagement through sport.

Majid Iqbal, CEO of Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU), combats Islamophobia in the workplace and other employment settings and addresses institutional discrimination.

Amy Thompson, Head of MS Together, which centres on young adult disability, multiple sclerosis, chronic illness, and lived experience leadership.

Oksana Kalala, CEO of New Arrivals Support CIC aids refugees and displaced communities, focusing on migration and safeguarding.

Said Mir Ahmad Seerat of Welcome House Hull, offers refugee support, community integration, volunteer training, and media advocacy.

Salma Mohamed MSc MBACP leads the Somali Mental Health Network, which provides support to the Somali community, focusing on issues such as intergenerational trauma and migration.

Daisy Ashe, Exec Director of Reach Out And Recover (ROAR) Kent CIC works in the complex landscape of addiction and recovery. The organisation is actively working to reduce associated stigma.

Kristine Reilly-Blake, who leads family advocacy for Kidstruction C.I.C, draws on her personal experience of the negative impacts of unhealthy housing to support and assist others.

Indra Nauth, Deputy Chief Executive at Action for Race Equality, champions race equality and closes disparity gaps.

Elsy Gomez Campos MBA MSc FRPharmS of the UK Black Pharmacist Association (UKBPA), tackles the issues of racism and the underrepresentation of Black women in pharmacy.

Deborah Jones, Resolute Women's Support Services, supports survivors with trauma recovery and post-separation abuse.

Claire Simmons of Friends of Isaac’s Food. The Bank actively tackles critical issues such as food insecurity, child poverty and the overarching cost-of-living crisis.

Find out more on our website
https://www.sounddelivery.org.uk/2026/05/meet-the-2026-spokesperson-leadership-programme-cohort/

11/05/2026

In his blog, Dr. Allan Njanji, PhD, a graduate of our Spokesperson Network, challenges the traditional ways refugee stories are told.

He explores how the media often reduces people to either victims or threats, overlooking the profound strength and dignity found in survival. Allan advocates for a move toward authentic storytelling, rooted in consent and co-creation, that replaces pity with genuine solidarity.

In a climate of rising anti-refugee rhetoric, the need for unfiltered, expert lived-experience voices has never been more urgent. We are proud to support leaders like Allan who are reclaiming their narratives and ensuring that the public sees the full truth of their journeys.

Read the full piece here: https://www.sounddelivery.org.uk/2025/10/reclaiming-the-narrative-why-refugee-voices-must-be-at-the-heart-of-media-storytelling/

During the period that I was an asylum seeker, I realised how powerful the media was in shaping how people like me were seen. The stories told about refugees often shape how the public reacts, how policies are made, and even how welcome we feel in our communities. Dr Allan Njanji, Refugee Advocate a...