Season 3 | E11 Olivia Barker White on turning a gap year moment into a children's charity

Season 3 | E11 Olivia Barker White on turning a gap year moment into a children's charity

In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Olivia Barker White, co-founder and Chief Executive of Kids Club Kampala, an international children's charity now working across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Olivia traces her journey from an 18-year-old on a gap year in Uganda to running a 20-year-old organisation that has supported over 1.5 million people. She's candid about the discomfort of "voluntourism," the moment that turned a fun kids' football club into something much bigger, and why she believes small, agile charities are often better placed than large NGOs to respond to real need on the ground. Together, Adam and Olivia unpack: the ethics of gap years and international volunteering, the accidental, organic route into founding a charity, why a community-led partnership model (not a UK-charity-knows-best model) has been central to Kids Club Kampala's growth, how being small allowed the charity to pivot fast during COVID and feed thousands when larger NGOs pulled their staff out, and why donor stewardship and thanking supporters well has quietly driven two decades of growth. Olivia also reflects honestly on pride, burnout, boundaries, and learning that she isn't personally responsible for solving everything – and why looking after her own wellbeing is what keeps the charity sustainable for the long run. Takeaways * The ethics of gap years, volunteering and avoiding "white saviourism" * How Kids Club Kampala started organically from a gap year friendship, with no strategy or plan * The moment that shifted focus from fun and games to child protection and basic needs * Why a genuine, equal partnership model with local teams is central to impact * How being a small charity enabled a fast pivot to emergency food relief during COVID * The value of excellent donor stewardship in sustaining long-term growth * Learning to set boundaries and protect wellbeing as a charity leader Chapters * 00:00 Introduction and quick-fire questions * 04:35 Olivia's route into the charity sector * 07:12 Gap year in Uganda and the founding of Kids Club Kampala * 17:03 The return trip and the moment that changed everything * 23:44 Registering as a charity and building the UK–Uganda partnership * 28:03 Why small charities can be more adaptable than large NGOs * 31:02 Pivoting to emergency food relief during COVID * 32:15 Olivia's personal journey to becoming full-time Chief Executive * 37:36 The power of donor stewardship * 39:56 Kids Club Kampala today: education, family strengthening and child protection * 42:06 Reflecting on impact, pride and sustaining yourself for the long run #podcast #charity #careers #internationaldevelopment #nonprofitleadership #charitychangemakers

Season 3 | Ep 10 Ru Watkins on why he chose to save Hamelin instead of close it

In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Ru Watkins, Chief Executive of Hamelin, a learning disability and autism charity growing rapidly across Essex and East Anglia. Ru brings a career unlike most in the sector. After 23 years in the British Army, he moved into corporate roles with BT and others before a phone call from a headhunter changed his direction entirely. That call led him to Noah's Ark Children's Hospice in North London, a struggling organisation with something worth saving. It was the first of what would become a defining theme across his leadership career: walking into complexity, listening hard, and building something better. His arrival at Hamelin tells that story at its most vivid. He was called in to close the charity down. Instead, he walked the sites, listened to families, and went back to the board with a different proposition entirely: invest and grow. Four and a quarter years later, Hamelin supports nearly 1,750 people and families, has moved from 100% statutory reliance to 60% self-generated income, and holds significant reserves. In this conversation, Adam and Ru explore: * How a chance phone call took Ru from corporate burnout to charity leadership * What 23 years in the military actually teaches you about listening, chaos, and getting things done * Why Ru walked into Hamelin's board interview and told them not to close it * The Klingon Cloak of Care and what it costs people with learning disabilities and autism * Why community building is the most important thing charities can do right now * The danger of chief executives confusing their ambition with organisational readiness * What chief exec loneliness really looks like and how Ru manages it * Why letting a support worker leave to train as a nurse is a mark of success, not failure * How Hamelin is getting young adults with learning disabilities into employment Ru is direct, self-aware, and genuinely funny. This is a conversation about what bold, values-led leadership looks like in practice, not in theory. Find out more about Hamelin: www.hamelin.org.uk [http://www.hamelin.org.uk]

Season 3 | Ep 9 Rushab Shah on fixing charity's data problem with an F1 mindset

What does Formula One have to teach the charity sector about impact? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Rushab Shah, founder and CEO of OneHive, a tech for good organisation helping youth charities streamline their admin and scale their impact. Rushab's route to the sector is anything but conventional. After studying mechanical engineering at Warwick, he worked in the F1 supply chain, drove test cars around tracks for a living, and led digital strategy for a business decarbonising maritime transport across the Shetland Islands. Running a youth club for disabled young people throughout university kept the mission close. When the engineering career reached its ceiling, he looked at the charity sector with an engineer's eye and spotted something striking: charities spend enormous time delivering programmes and then enormous time analysing what happened. By which point, it's too late to change anything. In Formula One, you know what the lap time will be by the end of the first corner. What if youth charities could work the same way? That question became OneHive, now supporting around 30,000 young people across 18 youth-focused organisations, with a county council investing to roll the platform across 10 charities simultaneously. Adam and Rushab explore: * Why charities are measuring impact too late, and what real-time data actually changes on the ground * How a shared interest in Thomas Tank Engine taught Rushab more about inclusion than any disability training * The "say yes to everything" approach that built a career in five years and a startup from scratch * Why small and medium charities are currently beating large ones at adopting tech * The tension between failing fast and working with vulnerable young people * The honest lesson on when to pitch and when to shut up and listen A candid, practical conversation about what genuine sector transformation looks like when someone builds it from the ground up. Find out more about OneHive at onehive.ai [http://onehive.ai] Chapters [00:00] Introduction and quickfire questions [05:00] A 17-year-old hosting a residential for young people with disabilities [08:30] From F1 data to the charity sector, and what the gap revealed [13:00] Building a career by saying yes to everything [16:15] How TutorHive became OneHive [21:20] What OneHive looks like today, 30,000 beneficiaries and growing [24:00] Real-time safeguarding, the Joe example [29:00] Sceptics, screen time and why tech is the solution but not the answer [34:20] The THRIVE framework and plans for Manchester and beyond [38:00] The personal cost of always saying yes [40:45] The hardest leadership lesson: knowing when to stop pitching #CharityChangemakers #TechForGood #CharitySector #YouthWork #SocialImpact #NonprofitLeadership #DataForGood #DigitalTransformation

Season 3 | Ep 8 Callum Dixon on leading before you're ready and finding where you belong

In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Callum Dixon, Director of Service Delivery and Member Support at Citizens Advice, for a candid and reflective conversation about a career built on stepping into the unknown. Callum's journey started with a semi-dismissal at a law firm drinks reception that inadvertently pointed him toward Citizens Advice as a volunteer. From there he moved through Shelter, higher education, a chief executive role at 25, a merger, a housing association, and eventually home to the national Citizens Advice organisation, where he has held four different leadership roles in five years. Together Adam and Callum explore: * Being told you're too young for a job, and taking it anyway * What gorilla-glueing carpet while writing a National Lottery bid teaches you about small charity leadership * The loneliness of the chief executive role and why peer community matters * Leading a merger and the strategic lessons around stakeholder management * How federated organisations teach soft power over positional authority * What becoming an adoptive parent changed about Callum's leadership style * Why the version of yourself you were 10 years ago shouldn't be recognisable * The importance of slowing down in a sector driven by passion and urgency Callum also talks openly about the complexity of Citizens Advice as a federated charity, the postcode lottery of advice funding across England and Wales, and the ongoing work to shift power dynamics through co-design with their member network. To find out more about Citizens Advice, volunteer, or access advice, visit: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk] If you enjoyed the episode, please like, share and leave a review. Your support helps more charity leaders and changemakers discover the show. Takeaways * Stepping into a role before you feel ready is often how the most valuable learning happens * Building a peer community is essential for chief executives navigating isolation at the top * Parenthood can fundamentally shift how you understand and exercise leadership * Federated organisations require influence and relationship skills more than positional authority * Slowing down is a leadership discipline, not a weakness Chapters * 00:00 Introduction and career journey * 08:50 Becoming a chief executive at 25 * 15:00 Peer support, board relationships and early leadership lessons * 19:00 Merger, housing association and the road to Citizens Advice * 22:00 Career development, visibility and backing yourself * 26:00 Parenthood and evolving leadership style * 33:00 How Citizens Advice works and what it delivers * 38:41 How to get involved with Citizens Advice

Season 3 | E7 Jess Camburn-Rahmani on building charities and leading with humility

Adam is joined by Jess Camburn-Rahmani, Chief Executive of Cerebra, a UK charity supporting children and families living with brain conditions. Jess takes us on a fascinating career journey from a VSO placement with an indigenous communities NGO in Uganda, to community development in Swansea, to building Elrha (a humanitarian innovation organisation) from a single grant into a 40-staff organisation with over £40 million of lifetime funding, before making a significant move into the disability sector. This is a conversation full of hard-won wisdom: about what it really means to lead without being the expert, how to build an organisation that isn't dependent on its founder, and why the relationship between a CEO and their board is one of the most undervalued assets in the charity sector. Together, Adam and Jess explore: * How a VSO placement in Uganda shaped a career built on humility and listening * Building Elrha from a £250k project grant into a global humanitarian research and innovation organisation * Leading through personal loss and learning to know when it's time to move on * The 18-month wobble many working parents experience and why having a brilliant board chair can make all the difference * Why calling your charity "a family" might actually be doing your team a disservice * The dangers of founder syndrome and how to leave an organisation at the right time * What drew Jess to Cerebra and the growth journey she's leading there now * Why every CEO has imposter syndrome and why that's actually a good thing * The leadership mantra she's carried with her: give credit when things go well, take accountability when they don't Takeaways * Career journey and international development * Building organisations from the ground up * Founder transitions and succession * Board and trustee relationships * Leading dispersed and remote teams * Parenting and leadership * Imposter syndrome * Organisational culture About Cerebra Cerebra supports children and families across the UK living with brain conditions, from neurodivergent conditions through to rare diseases and birth injuries. All services are free of charge. Find out more at cerebra.org.uk [http://cerebra.org.uk] and listen to their podcast, The Calm and the Complicated, on all major podcast platforms. Chapters * [00:00] Introduction and quickfire questions * [04:38] How Jess found her way into the charity sector * [06:27] Reflections on VSO and the ethics of international development * [08:41] Community development in Swansea and the role of Save the Children * [12:42] The origins of Elrha, from a grant project to a global organisation * [16:36] Leadership lessons from building something from scratch * [19:35] The importance of a brilliant board relationship * [21:43] Knowing when to move on and the guilt of leaving * [26:13] Cerebra, what the charity does and why Jess was drawn to it * [32:58] Leadership qualities that take organisations on growth journeys * [34:42] Building culture across a dispersed team * [39:48] Advice to your earlier self, nuggets of leadership wisdom #CharityLeadership #NonProfitLeadership #CharityChangemakers #HumanitarianSector #CharityCareers #DisabilitySector #Podcast #LeadershipLessons #ThirdSector #CharitySector #BoardGovernance #SocialImpact #PurposeDriven #OrganisationalGrowth