The Return to Work One

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website womentalkingaboutlearning.comYou can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi.Or you can email us via [email protected] Episode: Grief is an inevitable part of life, yet it remains one of the most challenging topics to discuss, especially in the workplace. This episode considers many different forms of grief—just a heads-up, this is not a usual type of episode and is, you'll notice, a bit longer than the norm.Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.comKavita Brown is owner and learning director for LDG Training. She's a highly experienced independent trainer, facilitator and L&D consultant, having worked across various sectors. Kavita has significant experience in people roles across learning and development, HR, recruitment and organisational design. She's passionate about empowering change, transformation and growth in a fun, creative and inspiring way. linkedin.com/in/kavita-brown-9943a332Anita Guru is founder of The Mind Coach. She's an experienced mindset coach, psychotherapeutic counsellor and motivational speaker with a background in occupational psychology. She has nearly two decades of learning, leadership and organisational development experience at organisations such as Deloitte, Centrica and Coca-Cola. Anita supports organisations to raise awareness and support employees navigating grief. Committed to shattering stigma due to personal experiences, she actively raises awareness on issues linked to mental health and women's health. She has featured in Vogue, The Mail on Sunday, The Telegraph, The Times and on BBC Radio London. linkedin.com/feed anitagurumindcoach.comLisa Sharp is a senior learning consultant who designs practical, human-centred solutions that help organisations turn strategy into meaningful behavioural change. With more than 15 years of experience across industries, she has led onboarding, leadership development and change initiatives within complex, regulated environments. linkedin.com/in/lisa-sharp-a2088583 solvdtogether.comSarah-Jane Bellion is the leadership capability manager at Center Parcs UK & Ireland. Previously she spent over 12 years at Marks & Spencer, most recently partnering with their retail operations team. She designs learning experiences that spark curiosity, build confidence and make a lasting impact, helping people to see themselves and their world a little differently. Sarah-Jane's work sits at the intersection of people development, performance and creativity. Her own experience of grief has deepened her understanding of resilience and what it truly means to grow. She believes impactful learning happens through honest conversation, vulnerability and connection. linkedin.com/in/sarah-jane-bellion instagram.com/sjbellion

Contact & Support: Women Talking About Learning: womentalkingaboutlearning.com Podcast Learning Festival: www.podcastlearningfest.live Support us: Ko-Fi Email: [email protected] Episode: Returning to work is rarely just a logistics problem. It's a confidence problem, an identity problem, and for many women, a systemic problem that organisations still haven't taken seriously enough.Clair Madeley and Jo Edgar speak from experience: as practitioners and as women who've navigated the return themselves. This is a conversation about what actually makes coming back harder than it needs to be and what genuine support looks like.Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuests: Clair Madeley is a Technology Trainer and Learning Specialist who has navigated her own career transitions. She knows firsthand what it's like to manage confidence dips, identity shifts, and the practical realities of stepping back into work. linkedin.com/in/clair-madeley-175b8522Jo Edgar is a Freelance Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer with over 20 years in learning and development. She specialises in coaching women returning to work after career breaks — whether through maternity leave, caring responsibilities, redundancy, or life taking a different turn. [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/jo-edgar-15b692151Resources: How to cope with mum guilt | Emma's Diary Back to the office: not what women need | NOON Caregiver Leave in the UK | Contend Legal Flexible Work Arrangements | Benepass Flexible Work Arrangements | Women in Research 10 ways flexible working attracts senior women | Timewise Investing in Women Return Ready Week Survey Results Challenges facing women in post-study jobs post-pandemic | HEPI Employers' return to office plans 2025 | CIPD Getting Back to Work | IES Office Return Varies Across Sectors | British Chambers of Commerce Gender Differences in Loneliness Returning to work after a break | South London Partnership Returner toolkit | GOV.UK Women, work and caring | IES Women in AI (#WAI) Women Are Avoiding AI. Will Their Careers Suffer? | HBS Working Knowledge WISE Campaign Top 3 barriers women face returning to work | IEP Social Innovation Analysis on Women Back to Work Women's health: a quarter shamed into returning early | FemTech World Half of mothers have negative experiences returning after maternity leave. AI and gender equality | UN WomenThank you for listening.

Contact & Support: Women Talking About Learning: womentalkingaboutlearning.com Podcast Learning Festival: www.podcastlearningfest.live Support us: Ko-Fi Email: [email protected] Episode: Identity is not fixed. It shifts with experience, loss, diagnosis, place, and time. Susan Fitzell, Meghan Waldron, Niki Hobson, and Aiko Sato reflect on what it means to understand that fluidity — and what becomes possible when we stop trying to hold a self that no longer fits.This is a conversation about who we are, who we've been, and who we're still becoming.Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuests: Susan Fitzell is a speaker and educator whose work centres on learning and human potential. Diagnosed with neurodivergence alongside her child, her lived experience shapes her practice across dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and auditory processing. susanfitzell.com | linkedin.com/in/susanfitzellMeghan Waldron spent nearly two decades in K-12 education before moving into university advising. She works with women leaders through Women in Change USA, using writing and reflection to help people find and trust their own voice. linkedin.com/in/meghan-waldron-ed-d-11b213255 | facebook.com/rvawrites | smartsolutionsva.com | womeninchange.co.uk/wic-usaNiki Hobson is a Learning Specialist at the BBC with experience across private, public, and voluntary sectors. She also trains practitioners in smartphone videography — helping people tell their own stories, in their own way. linkedin.com/in/nikihobson | focusndevelop.comAiko Sato works with people and organisations on how learning, culture, and behaviour evolve together. Her work sits in the space between insight and practice — interested in how meaning is made, shared, and carried into everyday action. linkedin.com/in/aiko-sato-717441156 | substack.com/@aikocecile

Contact & Support: Women Talking About Learning: womentalkingaboutlearning.com Podcast Learning Festival: www.podcastlearningfest.live Support us: Ko-Fi Email: [email protected] Episode: Why does being on camera feel so uncomfortable, and what actually helps? Liù Batchelor and Sarah Pocklington share practical approaches to video presence, drawing on decades of experience as coaches, facilitators and performers. The conversation covers self-view fatigue, the gendered dynamics of video calls, lighting, and how to move past the cringe. This is about showing up on screen without the overthinking or the "I hate how I look" narrative.Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuests:Liù Batchelor is a video and presenter coach, former TV presenter, videographer and TEDx producer. Her approach is "video without the cringe", helping service professionals get started with video and be themselves on camera. linkedin.com/in/liubatchelor youtube.com/@LiuBatchelor instagram.com/liu_batchelor facebook.com/LiuBatchelorTVSarah Pocklington is on a mission to help everyone, especially women, show up on camera without the cringe, overthinking or the "I hate how I look" narrative. A speaker, facilitator and coach with 30 years' experience in learning and development, she blends confidence and clarity with a no-nonsense approach to help business owners and teams build connection and real presence on camera. linkedin.com/in/sarah-pocklington-coachonaboat www.coachonaboat.co.ukThank you for listening.

Contact Women Talking About Learning Website: https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Email: [email protected] Support us: https://ko-fi.com/womentalkingaboutlearning Twitter/X: @WTAL_Podcast Podcast Learning Festival: https://www.podcastlearningfest.live (London, 26th February 2026)This episode explores hybrid working and its impact on learning, collaboration and organizational culture. How do we manage change when teams are distributed? What happens to relationships when work becomes flexible? How can we be intentional about connection in hybrid environments? You will hear from three women researching, designing and implementing approaches to make hybrid work actually work.Full episode resources All the articles, research and organizational guidance mentioned in this episode are listed on our website. 👉https://womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuestsSara Estevez Cores Researcher in the Strategy & Entrepreneurship group at UCL School of Management, focusing on the future of work, particularly the impact of flexible work arrangements on collaboration practices and the influence of workspace design and social norms on organizational behavior. LaCaixa Scholarship recipient (2019). Previously worked as external and in-house leadership consultant in the US and UK.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saracores/Valerie Merrill Training consultant with 30+ years' experience designing, delivering and managing learning programs for public and private sector clients. Built her reputation through referral and recommendation, dedicated to customized, impactful training solutions.Website: https://www.merrillconsultants.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merrillvalerie/Podcast: https://thesecretsoflearninganddevelopment.buzzsprout.com/Irma Aleshe With 25+ years expertise across HR management, healthcare and business leadership, Irma delivers transformational coaching empowering professionals and executives to unlock potential in career and wellbeing. Founder of AIINIIA | Nurture Culture, delivering programs focused on enhancing workspace performance and productivity based on effective relational connectivity as the transaction edge in all interaction.Website: www.aiiniia.co.ukLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/irma-i-aleshe-71b568214Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone who would value it.

Contact & Support: Women Talking About Learning: womentalkingaboutlearning.com Podcast Learning Festival: www.podcastlearningfest.live Support us: Ko-Fi Email: [email protected] Episode: When everything falls apart—work, health, loss—how do we keep going? Kirsty Lewis, Edeje Onwude, and Stella Collins share honest reflections on grief, resilience, and what it means to rebuild when life demands it. This episode is a conversation about loss, letting go, and the weight of carrying on when you'd rather not.Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuests:Kirsty Lewis is the founder of the School of Facilitation, designing workshops that create purpose, ownership, and engagement. She convenes freelance facilitators through the SOF collective and supports organisations to evolve their learning practice. www.schooloffacilitation.com linkedin.com/in/kirsty-schooloffacilitationEdeje Onwude (Ei-dei-jei) is a Nigerian-born, UK-based communications leader whose career spans brand, culture, and organisational change. For over 10 years she built brand work for global organisations including Coca-Cola and Reckitt. Her focus has shifted to ensuring what organisations say aligns with the lived experience of employees and stakeholders. She brings a candid perspective on career identity, letting go, and evolving when the work that once defined you no longer fits. linkedin.com/in/edejeonwudeStella Collins is an internationally acclaimed learning strategist transforming workplace performance through neuroscience, AI, data, and technology. She's spent 30 years making complex ideas accessible and actionable. Author of Neuroscience for Learning and Development, her LinkedIn Learning programme has over 56,000 learners. She's founded three businesses, lived in four countries, and advocates for learning that matters: "In a world of constant change we have to move from knowing to doing." linkedin.com/in/stellacollinslearningrevolution www.stellacollins.comThank you for listening.

You can contact Women Talking About Learning at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com. Details of the Podcast Learning Festival are at https://www.podcastlearningfest.live. Support the podcast at https://ko-fi.com/womentalkingaboutlearning. Email us at [email protected] episode looks at learning, leadership and wellbeing in the charity and third sector. It explores emotionally demanding work, culture, compassion fatigue and why so many people are reaching breaking point. We reflect on what it means to build learning in environments shaped by care, constraint and constant change. What supports people properly. What quietly drains them. What needs to be done differently.Our guests work inside these realities. They design learning where resources are tight, emotions run high and values matter. They bring lived experience of leading teams, supporting staff and holding organisations together under pressure.Kerry Gabriel O’Sullivan Kerry is a learning and organisational development leader with more than 15 years’ experience in the charity sector, working in animal welfare. They have led national learning strategies and helped shape culture in complex environments. Their work focuses on inclusive, values led culture, leadership development and building resilient teams. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-gabriel-o-sullivan/Edwina Daniels Edwina is an experienced learning and development leader in the charity sector. She specialises in accessible and inclusive learning that drives engagement and impact. Her career includes senior roles at Samaritans and the RSPCA, leading strategic learning and cultural change. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwina-daniels-9a7995354/Suz Taylor Suz is a learning and development manager with around 20 years’ experience. She has spent the last four years at St Peter’s Hospice, building leadership capability and learning culture, following a long career in the corporate sector. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suz-taylor-271857102/Emma Withnell Emma is a learning and development professional with more than 15 years’ experience across the NHS, education and social housing. She is a qualified coach specialising in neurodiversity and supporting women to build confidence and recognise their strengths. LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/emma-withnell-tap-mdip-43490681Full episode resources All articles, research and links mentioned are listed on our website. https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com/episodes/[episode-slug]Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone who would value it.

Contact Women Talking About Learning Website: https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Email: [email protected] Support us: https://ko-fi.com/womentalkingaboutlearning Twitter/X: @WTAL_PodcastThis episode explores networking from women's perspectives. How we build connections. What makes networking different for women. How communities can create opportunities and combat professional isolation. You will hear from three women who are building networks, supporting peers and creating spaces for genuine connection.Full episode resources All the articles, research and community links mentioned in this episode are listed on our website. 👉https://womentalkingaboutlearning.comGuestsSharon Green Professional interim, qualified coach and consultant at Chiara Consultancy, running projects focused on people change, technology and experience. Sharon has worked across NHS, Department of Health, not-for-profit bodies, private banking, financial services, games, media and marketing. Her #payitforward passion project is the HR Interim Networking Group, a global LinkedIn community providing peer support for people professionals working as interims, coaches, consultants and freelancers.LinkedIn: Sharon GreenTwitter/Bluesky/Instagram: SharonGChiaraHelen Marshall Head of Learning at THRIVE, leading their content design team and working with customers to integrate content into the flow of work. With 8 years vendor-side experience, Helen previously started an Art History PhD before accidentally falling into digital learning. She believes change always starts with you.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helearning/Women In Community: https://womenin.community/Rhonda Martin Works across talent development, mentoring, coaching and inclusive leadership. She designs mentoring, coaching and senior leadership programmes, supports capability building and trains sales teams. Subject matter expert in diversity and inclusion, particularly gender diversity. Serves on City Women Network board as Chair for Corporate Relationships. Previously chaired mentoring for Women in Telecommunications.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonda-martin-0251579/Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone who would value it.

The Learning Podcast Festival takes place in London on 26 February 2026. Details are at https://podcastlearningfest.live.You can contact Women Talking About Learning at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com. Support us at https://ko-fi.com/womentalkingaboutlearning. Email us at [email protected] episode looks at how learning design is shifting in an AI driven world. New tools appear every week. Old assumptions keep moving. We explore what this means for people who build learning. What stays useful. What needs to stop. What comes next.Our guests work with content at scale and see the changes ahead.Gaenor Aitken Gaenor has more than 25 years in learning and development. She works in global shipping with a focus on systems training and large scale content. She is interested in how AI and short form video will change future learning work. LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/gaenor-aitkenKaren Cureton Karen is a social media specialist after a long career in sales and marketing. She helps organisations use platforms with confidence and keeps her approach simple and practical. Website: https://curetonconsulting.co.uk LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/karencuretontrainingKathryn (Katie) Swandale Katie is Senior Learning and Development Partner at Immediate. She has experience across teaching, apprenticeships and CIPD qualification design. Her work focuses on inclusive learning and has been recognised with collaboration and transformation awards. LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kathryn-swandale Company: https://linkedin.com/company/immediatemediaLaura Giles Laura is Head of Learning at Desq. She designs digital learning for global brands and uses behavioural science, UX and storytelling in her work. Her time building MOOCs at the University of Sheffield shaped her evidence based approach. Website: https://desq.co.uk LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/laura-giles-learning-designerFull episode resources All links and references are listed on our website.https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com/2025/11/25/the-more-content-one/Thanks for listening.

Contact Women Talking About Learning Website: https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Email: [email protected] Support us: https://ko-fi.com/womentalkingaboutlearning Twitter/X: @WTAL_PodcastThis episode looks at women’s voices. How they are heard. How they are silenced. What happens when we choose to amplify them. It is about confidence, power, bias and allyship. You will hear from two women using learning, science and leadership to shift systems and create impact.Full episode resources All the articles, research and book links mentioned in this episode are listed on our website. 👉https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com/?p=5045GuestsAynsley Szczesniak Founder and CEO of Speak Out Sisterhood, a nonprofit helping young professional women in STEM become agents of social change. Aynsley is a third-year Honors Carolina scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, studying Biology, Chemistry and Entrepreneurship on the pre-medical track. She writes for the Association of Women in Science magazine, sits on the Carolina Women’s Center Advisory Board and leads the Student Success in STEM Task Force. A proactive STEMinist and aspiring physician in women’s health, she is passionate about education, collaboration and social entrepreneurship. • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aynsley-szczesniak/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aynsleyszczesniak/ • Speak Out Sisterhood: https://www.speakoutsisterhood.orgAlison Shea A fourth-generation educator who leads global learning and development for a tech start-up. Alison’s background spans financial services, organisational transformation and diversity, equity and inclusion. She has also worked in consulting and learning product development, designing award-winning workshops and speaking at international conferences. With an MEd in curriculum and instructional technology, Alison is passionate about mentoring and giving back to future learning professionals. • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonmshea/Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone who would value it.