September 17, 2023 • 19 mins
Ever wanted to step outside your comfort zone and make a difference in society? You do not want to miss this episode. Join Simone Roche MBE as she chats with Lauren Rosegreen, a policy and influence manager at MAC, trustee of Greater Manchester Merge Charity, and a young professional juggling numerous roles, who believes in the power of an equal society.
Lauren's unconventional career path is a testament to her burning passion for social justice, and today, she invites us into her fascinating world. She shares the highs and lows of her journey, her unique coping mechanisms, and the rewarding experiences she's acquired in her numerous roles.
Listen to learn:
🎙 How to find your voice in intimidating spaces
🎙 The need for self-understandingÂ
🎙 Her experience as the youngest trustee of Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity,
🎙 How she navigates life in her twenties and her perspective on current social issues
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
The Northern Power Women Podcast for your career
and your life, no matter whatbusiness you're in.
Hello and welcome to theNorthern Power Women Podcast.
My name is Simone and this isour season that I look forward
to all year round, because thisis where I get to talk to our
winners and commended from theNorthern Power Women Awards 2023
, where I can catch up on whathas happened since the awards in
(00:43):
March, find out what it's liketo win an award to take home
with one of those lovelytrophies crafted by the
wonderful Gemma Truman, and thestories that lie around, because
we always like to unearth them.
It's never about one night on astage or one night in a
fabulous room with fabuloushumans.
It's always about what hashappened before, what has
happened since and what's goingto happen in the future.
(01:04):
So we always love to turn atrack that journey and this week
we've got the wonderful LaurenRoseg reen, who is the policy
and influence manager for MACCand was commended for the One to
Watch Award this year, back inManchester.
Lauren, welcome.
Can you believe?
Where has the time gone since?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
March.
I know it's gone so quickly.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And you have lots of roles, don't you?
You have so many differentroles.
You're a trustee of the GreaterManchester Merge Charity
Charity Director for JCI,Co-Chair of GM Homeless Action
Network.
Delibergrew Opsson CommitteeMember for GM for Women and
Volunteer Immigration Advisor.
Manchester Refuge SupportNetwork.
That is impressive and I don'twant to be typical and go.
(01:45):
Would you fit it all in?
But do you have a favouriteother role?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh, that's such a good question.
Do you know what?
They all give me something.
There's a very diplomaticanswer, but they all give me
something very different, whichis why I do them all.
I love being a trustee for theGreater Manchester Merge Charity
because I feel like I'm in aspace that I'm not in anywhere
else.
And then I love working withrefugees and asylum seekers as
(02:09):
well, because it's kind of thatfrontline experience.
Jci Manchester is really reallyfun.
It's a group of young people,it's a young professionals
network.
So the WhatsApp's alwayspopping off, there's lots going
on all the time.
So, yeah, I think everythingthat I'm involved in just gives
me something different.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And this ties in with the fact that you talk about
your career path.
Somebody talked about my careerpath being very diverse
yesterday and interesting, andyou talk about you've had a very
unconventional career path.
How have you approached it?
Do you set out to have anunconventional career or has it
just sort of manifested?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, I think so, just thinking back to when I was
at A level and didn't know whatI wanted to do, I knew I wanted
to go to university because, tobe honest, I just wanted to
leave my little village.
And I think I just googled top10 paid jobs and what degrees to
do and law came off and I waslike, do you know what I could
be a lawyer?
Like let's give it a go.
And then I also googled loveGoogle.
(03:09):
Top five party unis in the UKand Manchester was top.
So I decided to fly toManchester and then decided very
quickly that I didn't want tobecome a lawyer.
But I think the skills thatdoing a law degree gave me kind
of set me on a path of.
I was always really passionateabout kind of social injustices
(03:30):
and challenging that and makingit a different and like a
tangible impact.
And then, yeah, from there I'vedone all sorts.
I've done bits of marketing, Iran a social enterprise working
with people experiencinghomelessness and I've just kind
of winged it really.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
But I think that's great.
We have one of our volunteersworking with us, charlotte.
You know she studied law andthen you know she's she
graduated herself.
I'm not sure what to do it'slike, but you know it's okay
sometimes not to know.
You talked about not knowing it, a-levels and stuff.
It's okay for people listeningout there.
It's okay not to know if you'vejust graduated recently or
whatever it.
A bit it's.
(04:07):
It's all right, isn't it?
And actually, whatever you do,you can take bits of one thing
and sort of learn and put itinto practice in another, can't
you?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, and I think it actually terrifies me the
thought of doing one thingforever.
There's just so many things outthere to do, there's just so
much.
The world's so big and theopportunities are just all out
there.
So I love just kind of figuringout along the way and that's
why I think I've got a very kindof unconventional career path
and who knows what I'm going todo.
(04:36):
I have absolutely no idea andit's exciting.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I love that.
It's all about the adventure,isn't it?
And do you think everything youdo is stemmed by your purpose?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you know my purpose, I thinkI said before, but it's to kind
of champion voices that arenever heard, and I think
everything kind of comes back tothat.
It's to kind of engage withcommunities, engage with people
like marginalised individualsand make sure that they, their
voices, aren't just heard butare listened to and that they
(05:07):
can influence decisions that arekind of happening in society,
because that's the only way wecan make change, really make
change.
If we have everyone around thetable and everyone at the table
has an equal say, what's thebiggest reward you have through
your current role at Mac you arethe policy and influence
manager there.
Yeah, I think, to be honest, Iabsolutely love being a manager.
I really like line managing.
(05:29):
You know individuals who areabsolutely incredible and who
are making change, and you knowthat fills me with such sense of
pride because I can supportthem on their development
journey.
So I really, really love that.
And then, in terms of the workthat I'm doing, I love just
being a trusted voice.
So Mac is really well positionedwhere we can walk into a room
(05:53):
full of counsellors or we couldwalk into a room full of
voluntary sector organisationsand we are a trusted voice and I
feel like I can make a reallybig impact, because for so many
years I had so much to say but Iwasn't necessarily listened to
or I wasn't really the personthat would be the go-to.
But being at Mac, it's like OK,I have that influence and
(06:14):
therefore I can bring peoplewith me and I can.
I'm that person that peoplewill look to for an answer and I
can say, actually, I have noidea, but you need to speak to
XYZ.
So that's the thing that Ithink I enjoy the most.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And you talked about you know part in your career.
When you've gone into a roomand you know you think, well,
people aren't going to listen tome, how, what advice would you
give over there to you know, topeople out there to overcome?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
that, yeah, it's really hard.
It's really hard and you know,everybody has kind of different
intersections that will impactyou in different ways.
And for me, being young, femaleand mixed race probably the
three things that I feel when Iwalk into a room, because
there's never really people thatlook like me in those in those
rooms and I think what helped mewas to to realise why I was
(06:58):
there and I just have like a fewdifferent kind of coping
mechanisms, I guess, for whenI'm in those spaces.
So if it's over Zoom, I takeloads of notes, like that's just
my way of dealing with it.
So I take loads of notes and Inote down all the things I want
to say, because a lot of thetimes people kind of talk over
you.
It's quite hard to chip in,isn't it over Zoom?
So I take loads of notes andthen when they say does anyone
(07:18):
else have anything to say, I'mlike yes, I'm ready and I'll
list through and I'll just say,oh, when you mentioned that, I
actually thought this, this,this, so that's kind of been my
way of of, of kind of being ableto influence those spaces.
So I think my biggest advicewould be to understand yourself
first, realise that you do.
You know every single personhas a right to be in wherever
they're at.
So I think you've definitelygot something worth saying, and
(07:41):
then it's just figuring out howyou get that across, because you
might you don't have to be theloudest voice in the room.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
You just have to figure out your way of of
getting your point across, andI'm thinking about your role as
a you know you're the youngestever, am I right?
Trustee of Greater ManchesterMayor's Charity.
Were you approached, did youapply for that role, and why?
Why did you take that on it's,you know it's.
It adds I know it adds intoyour big sort of unconventional
(08:08):
career portfolio, but you knowthat's, that's.
That's an amazing, amazing role.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so I applied for it because I was I was
running Invisible Manchester atthe time so I was a sales and
business development managerthere, so working really closely
with people who were affectedby homelessness, and I was part
of the homelessness actionnetwork.
So I felt like I was very kindof in the networks in the
community and the GreaterManchester Mayor's Charity is
all about ending homelessness.
(08:34):
So I saw I saw her advertisedand I was like I think I would
really be able to kind of bringthe voice of people that I see
on a day-to-day basis into thisspace and into this room.
And I did a bit of researchinto who were the current
trustees and there were allthese like amazing names, all
these people that I'd heard ofyou know, like Tim Heatley,
(08:55):
capital and Central.
You know all these people and Ijust thought actually what I
can add here is that kind ofon-the-ground knowledge and the
voices of people that aren't inthose rooms.
And I'm always kind of carefulnot to speak for people.
But in my interview I just said, like you know, I can actually
ask.
I've got phone numbers ofpeople who've got lived
(09:17):
experience of homelessness, whowouldn't feel comfortable or
wouldn't want to come into thesespaces.
But I feel like a lot of thedecisions that we make, you need
to have a knowledge of thesector and of what's going on in
order to make those decisions.
So that's kind of why I wentfor it, because I felt really
strongly that we needed a voicelike mine in the room.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So it's interesting because you're using your voice
for good.
You know you've been speakingup, you're at the table, you're
speaking on behalf of peoplewhose voices are not represented
, and then you're also doingthis in your Roaring 20s blog
too.
Tell us about that and how theidentity of you like that sits
behind you.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah.
So I've always loved writing,ever since I was a little kid.
I've always loved writing, andduring lockdown, you know, we
all took up hobbies and I waslike, do you know what I want to
write a book.
And then I was like that'sreally intimidating.
Let's start with a blog.
And I'm always.
I'm such a storyteller, like myfriends.
If anyone's ever sad, just cometo me.
I can tell you a funny storyabout my life.
(10:16):
Like loads of just tragicallyhilarious things happen to me
and I'm very keen to kind ofshare them with people.
I just think it's hilarious.
So I decided to write a blogabout called the Roaring 20s,
which is all about my life beingin my 20s and all the different
adventures that I go on and allthe different things that
happen, and I thought that itwas a really good kind of
approach, because being in your20s it's really it's a weird
(10:39):
time.
People are having babies,people getting married, people
are quitting their jobs andgoing traveling, people are,
like, really excelling in theircareers, people are, you know,
losing jobs, and then everyoneall my friends are in very, very
different positions, and so Ithought it'd be really nice to
kind of document it and be likeit's all right to not really
know what you're doing.
It's fine to just kind of befiguring it out and it's been
(11:02):
really nice to kind of read backon some of the things that I
wrote about.
And it started off just to bequite fun and lighthearted.
But then I found that as I'vekind of grown into my late 20s,
some of the issues that aregoing on in society really
affected me and how I Act in mylife.
So then I started writing aboutthem.
So I did one about the BlackLives Matter movement and things
(11:23):
that really have impacted meand being 20 something I'm now
29.
So I need to rethink for nextyear, when I turn 30, what the
blog's gonna be called.
But yeah, it's been.
It really kind of helped toshape my identity and you know
how I find it really good tokind of when I've got loads of
thoughts in my head, how do Iput that down?
I just try and write a blogpost and get it all out on paper
(11:45):
, and it's really rewarding whenpeople message me and they say,
oh, your blog post really helpme, because that's how I was
feeling.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It's brilliant.
Honestly, I'm kind of it isjust one amazing thing and one
amazing interaction afteranother.
And you've also Created a bookclub, because you are really,
really passionate aboutconnecting people through
literature.
So tell us about the communitylevel look club.
You've created it.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Makes me laugh when people say community-led book
club because it's called readingbetween the wines.
We basically drink wine andread is great and so, yeah, me
and my best friend started itand, to be honest, it was
because, again, being in your20s, it's really hard to see
your friends.
Everyone's so busy Trying toconnect and get dates in the
diary.
You have to plan month to monthin advance.
(12:31):
So there's four of us and wewere like you know what let's?
Let's start a book club becausewe all love reading.
We once a month will save theday.
Every month, it's the thirdThursday of every month Put it
in the diary and then, even ifit's just the four of us, will
just meet, have a chat, you know, and and talk about book.
And we did it and we decided toput it out on Instagram.
And then the first one we did Ithink there were 15 people
(12:54):
there, which is amazing.
We're like all people haveturned up and and then the way
that it works is that Differentperson in the book club will
choose the book for thefollowing month and then, when
you've chosen the book, you leadthe kind of discussion, which
is a really nice kind ofcommunity feel and I think, if
anyone else kind of listening isthe type of person you organise
, is a lot of things like I am.
(13:14):
Sometimes it's nice to justturn up and just to get involved
and not have to lead or chairor be that.
So that's the kind of point ofit really was to bring together
lots of people who love readingand Give give different people
opportunity to choose variousbooks and to discuss it and many
a.
It's been absolutely incredible.
It's been going for like a yearand a half now and there's 70
(13:36):
people in the WhatsApp group.
We get loads, loads of peoplecome here, right.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And what's your current book?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
And we are.
It's just we've just had bookclub and it was open water by
Caleb Azuma Nelson.
I don't know if I've pronouncedthat correctly, but I would
recommend it amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
There we go.
Northern.
What Northern powerman bookclub affiliate recommend?
Recommend the Laura Rose GreenBook Club.
So, from community hero at theManchester Young talent awards
in 2021 to the winner of theultimate game changer in 2022,
to then this year being thecommended for want to watch, and
(14:17):
also At the Northern powermanawards and also on the Northern
power in future list.
What does receiving theseawards and accolades mean to you
?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, obviously it's amazing and Every you know,
every time that I've receivedsomething I've been in shock and
which you know.
I know a lot of people say thatbut genuinely I look at who's
Else's in the room and I'm justlike really, but I think for me
it's it's amazing.
And to receive the awards, Ithink the biggest thing is to be
able to amplify the work thatI'm doing.
(14:46):
You know how an opportunity totalk about the different
organizations that I'm involvedin and and to connect different
people together.
So there's been loads of peoplewho, for example, when I was
invisible Manchester, who wouldcome on our walking tours
because they'd seen me, I saw anawards and different places,
and I love the actual events aswell and just getting to know
(15:06):
people on the table, getting toknow All these incredible people
across, whether it's theNorthwest Manchester, whatever
it may be, and just doingAbsolutely amazing things.
And there's so many friendsthat I've got now that I've met
through being involved in thesekind of awards.
Before the Manchester YoungTalent Awards, I didn't even
know awards existed really.
(15:27):
I didn't.
I hadn't really thought aboutit because I've not kind of come
through a corporate pathway andI think in the corporate world.
They're a lot more kind ofregular and people know about
them and there's a ward season,like now I know there's like an
award season and I didn't have aclue and and it's only since
being in those spaces that Irealized how few people from the
voluntary sector are Recognizedand in those kind of more broad
(15:51):
awards.
You know ceremonies, and sothat's something that I am
really keen to kind of push morefor is especially with young
people who are doing absolutelyincredible things for
communities who might not knowhow to write an application to
be nominated or shortlisted.
I really try to encourage andsupport people and write
(16:13):
nominations for people becauseof the kind of opportunities
that it's given me.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And I think that's really important.
It's that whole pay it forward,isn't it, like you know.
So please do get stuck writingfor when our nominations open in
.
Our nominations open the wholemonth of September into October.
Please do do that and tell meabout what your next venture is.
It's a new not-for-profitorganisation, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, so I've been kind of for the last few years
learning about thenot-for-profit sector and I
would love to kind of start myown thing, and so I've been
really kind of learning at Macand all the stuff that I've
learned there about charitystructures and the different
types of structures that you canhave through my role at
(16:58):
Invisible Cities, where I wasrunning Invisible Manchester
social enterprise structure, andI really want to do something
to support refugees, asylumseekers, kind of sanctuary
seekers in Manchester, because Ijust think, with the climate
crisis and just with everythingthat's going on in the media,
it's just horrific.
(17:18):
And what I would love to do iscombine my passion for like the
arts and dancing and music withmy passion for supporting this
group of people and I'm justconscious of like connecting
with this community through thework that I'm doing at the
moment to make sure that youknow preaching what I kind of
talk about all the time, whichis getting those people with
those lived experience voicesinvolved from day one in kind of
(17:42):
creating a not-for-profitorganisation or, you know, a
for-profit organisation that'sfor social good.
So, yes, it's really reallyearly stages, but I am doing
that kind of groundwork andlearning from lots of different
people, people who runbusinesses, people who run
charities just to get a bit of asense of how I begin.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It's amazing.
It's amazing.
I can't, I can't.
I'm so overwhelmed byeverything that you're doing,
lauren.
It's absolutely outstanding andI look forward to kind of
watching your unconventionalcareer unfold and progress.
And I just want to thank you somuch for for taking the time to
chat with us on today's podcast.
Thank you so much for having me.
It was lovely.
(18:25):
Love to see you.
Oh, thanks, lamar.
Thank you so much and thank youall of you for listening out
there.
Remember these are our weeklyepisodes where we are chatting
to everyone who has beenrecognised as winner or
commended in this year'sNorthern Power Women Awards,
because we always talk about theawards being not for one night,
you know.
That's why we love to keep theconversation going and please do
subscribe so you don't miss anepisode and stay on top of
(18:48):
everything we're doing on ourdigital platform.
We are powernet.
Join all our socials at NorthPower Women on Twitter or X, I
think, because it is now andNorthern Power Women on all the
other ones If you would like tojoin us on this mission of
professional and personaldevelopment by us catching up
with kick-ass role models everysingle week.
Thank you so much.
(19:08):
My name is Simone.
This is the Northern PowerWomen podcast.
You've been listening to whatgoes on media production.
The Northern Power Women Podcast for your career
and your life, no matter whatbusiness you're in.
Hello and welcome to theNorthern Power Women Podcast.
My name is Simone and this isour season that I look forward
to all year round, because thisis where I get to talk to our
winners and commended from theNorthern Power Women Awards 2023
, where I can catch up on whathas happened since the awards in
(00:43):
March, find out what it's liketo win an award to take home
with one of those lovelytrophies crafted by the
wonderful Gemma Truman, and thestories that lie around, because
we always like to unearth them.
It's never about one night on astage or one night in a
fabulous room with fabuloushumans.
It's always about what hashappened before, what has
happened since and what's goingto happen in the future.
(01:04):
So we always love to turn atrack that journey and this week
we've got the wonderful LaurenRoseg reen, who is the policy
and influence manager for MACCand was commended for the One to
Watch Award this year, back inManchester.
Lauren, welcome.
Can you believe?
Where has the time gone since?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
March.
I know it's gone so quickly.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And you have lots of roles, don't you?
You have so many differentroles.
You're a trustee of the GreaterManchester Merge Charity
Charity Director for JCI,Co-Chair of GM Homeless Action
Network.
Delibergrew Opsson CommitteeMember for GM for Women and
Volunteer Immigration Advisor.
Manchester Refuge SupportNetwork.
That is impressive and I don'twant to be typical and go.
(01:45):
Would you fit it all in?
But do you have a favouriteother role?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh, that's such a good question.
Do you know what?
They all give me something.
There's a very diplomaticanswer, but they all give me
something very different, whichis why I do them all.
I love being a trustee for theGreater Manchester Merge Charity
because I feel like I'm in aspace that I'm not in anywhere
else.
And then I love working withrefugees and asylum seekers as
(02:09):
well, because it's kind of thatfrontline experience.
Jci Manchester is really reallyfun.
It's a group of young people,it's a young professionals
network.
So the WhatsApp's alwayspopping off, there's lots going
on all the time.
So, yeah, I think everythingthat I'm involved in just gives
me something different.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And this ties in with the fact that you talk about
your career path.
Somebody talked about my careerpath being very diverse
yesterday and interesting, andyou talk about you've had a very
unconventional career path.
How have you approached it?
Do you set out to have anunconventional career or has it
just sort of manifested?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, I think so, just thinking back to when I was
at A level and didn't know whatI wanted to do, I knew I wanted
to go to university because, tobe honest, I just wanted to
leave my little village.
And I think I just googled top10 paid jobs and what degrees to
do and law came off and I waslike, do you know what I could
be a lawyer?
Like let's give it a go.
And then I also googled loveGoogle.
(03:09):
Top five party unis in the UKand Manchester was top.
So I decided to fly toManchester and then decided very
quickly that I didn't want tobecome a lawyer.
But I think the skills thatdoing a law degree gave me kind
of set me on a path of.
I was always really passionateabout kind of social injustices
(03:30):
and challenging that and makingit a different and like a
tangible impact.
And then, yeah, from there I'vedone all sorts.
I've done bits of marketing, Iran a social enterprise working
with people experiencinghomelessness and I've just kind
of winged it really.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
But I think that's great.
We have one of our volunteersworking with us, charlotte.
You know she studied law andthen you know she's she
graduated herself.
I'm not sure what to do it'slike, but you know it's okay
sometimes not to know.
You talked about not knowing it, a-levels and stuff.
It's okay for people listeningout there.
It's okay not to know if you'vejust graduated recently or
whatever it.
A bit it's.
(04:07):
It's all right, isn't it?
And actually, whatever you do,you can take bits of one thing
and sort of learn and put itinto practice in another, can't
you?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, and I think it actually terrifies me the
thought of doing one thingforever.
There's just so many things outthere to do, there's just so
much.
The world's so big and theopportunities are just all out
there.
So I love just kind of figuringout along the way and that's
why I think I've got a very kindof unconventional career path
and who knows what I'm going todo.
(04:36):
I have absolutely no idea andit's exciting.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I love that.
It's all about the adventure,isn't it?
And do you think everything youdo is stemmed by your purpose?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So you know my purpose, I thinkI said before, but it's to kind
of champion voices that arenever heard, and I think
everything kind of comes back tothat.
It's to kind of engage withcommunities, engage with people
like marginalised individualsand make sure that they, their
voices, aren't just heard butare listened to and that they
(05:07):
can influence decisions that arekind of happening in society,
because that's the only way wecan make change, really make
change.
If we have everyone around thetable and everyone at the table
has an equal say, what's thebiggest reward you have through
your current role at Mac you arethe policy and influence
manager there.
Yeah, I think, to be honest, Iabsolutely love being a manager.
I really like line managing.
(05:29):
You know individuals who areabsolutely incredible and who
are making change, and you knowthat fills me with such sense of
pride because I can supportthem on their development
journey.
So I really, really love that.
And then, in terms of the workthat I'm doing, I love just
being a trusted voice.
So Mac is really well positionedwhere we can walk into a room
(05:53):
full of counsellors or we couldwalk into a room full of
voluntary sector organisationsand we are a trusted voice and I
feel like I can make a reallybig impact, because for so many
years I had so much to say but Iwasn't necessarily listened to
or I wasn't really the personthat would be the go-to.
But being at Mac, it's like OK,I have that influence and
(06:14):
therefore I can bring peoplewith me and I can.
I'm that person that peoplewill look to for an answer and I
can say, actually, I have noidea, but you need to speak to
XYZ.
So that's the thing that Ithink I enjoy the most.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And you talked about you know part in your career.
When you've gone into a roomand you know you think, well,
people aren't going to listen tome, how, what advice would you
give over there to you know, topeople out there to overcome?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
that, yeah, it's really hard.
It's really hard and you know,everybody has kind of different
intersections that will impactyou in different ways.
And for me, being young, femaleand mixed race probably the
three things that I feel when Iwalk into a room, because
there's never really people thatlook like me in those in those
rooms and I think what helped mewas to to realise why I was
(06:58):
there and I just have like a fewdifferent kind of coping
mechanisms, I guess, for whenI'm in those spaces.
So if it's over Zoom, I takeloads of notes, like that's just
my way of dealing with it.
So I take loads of notes and Inote down all the things I want
to say, because a lot of thetimes people kind of talk over
you.
It's quite hard to chip in,isn't it over Zoom?
So I take loads of notes andthen when they say does anyone
(07:18):
else have anything to say, I'mlike yes, I'm ready and I'll
list through and I'll just say,oh, when you mentioned that, I
actually thought this, this,this, so that's kind of been my
way of of, of kind of being ableto influence those spaces.
So I think my biggest advicewould be to understand yourself
first, realise that you do.
You know every single personhas a right to be in wherever
they're at.
So I think you've definitelygot something worth saying, and
(07:41):
then it's just figuring out howyou get that across, because you
might you don't have to be theloudest voice in the room.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
You just have to figure out your way of of
getting your point across, andI'm thinking about your role as
a you know you're the youngestever, am I right?
Trustee of Greater ManchesterMayor's Charity.
Were you approached, did youapply for that role, and why?
Why did you take that on it's,you know it's.
It adds I know it adds intoyour big sort of unconventional
(08:08):
career portfolio, but you knowthat's, that's.
That's an amazing, amazing role.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so I applied for it because I was I was
running Invisible Manchester atthe time so I was a sales and
business development managerthere, so working really closely
with people who were affectedby homelessness, and I was part
of the homelessness actionnetwork.
So I felt like I was very kindof in the networks in the
community and the GreaterManchester Mayor's Charity is
all about ending homelessness.
(08:34):
So I saw I saw her advertisedand I was like I think I would
really be able to kind of bringthe voice of people that I see
on a day-to-day basis into thisspace and into this room.
And I did a bit of researchinto who were the current
trustees and there were allthese like amazing names, all
these people that I'd heard ofyou know, like Tim Heatley,
(08:55):
capital and Central.
You know all these people and Ijust thought actually what I
can add here is that kind ofon-the-ground knowledge and the
voices of people that aren't inthose rooms.
And I'm always kind of carefulnot to speak for people.
But in my interview I just said, like you know, I can actually
ask.
I've got phone numbers ofpeople who've got lived
(09:17):
experience of homelessness, whowouldn't feel comfortable or
wouldn't want to come into thesespaces.
But I feel like a lot of thedecisions that we make, you need
to have a knowledge of thesector and of what's going on in
order to make those decisions.
So that's kind of why I wentfor it, because I felt really
strongly that we needed a voicelike mine in the room.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So it's interesting because you're using your voice
for good.
You know you've been speakingup, you're at the table, you're
speaking on behalf of peoplewhose voices are not represented
, and then you're also doingthis in your Roaring 20s blog
too.
Tell us about that and how theidentity of you like that sits
behind you.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah.
So I've always loved writing,ever since I was a little kid.
I've always loved writing, andduring lockdown, you know, we
all took up hobbies and I waslike, do you know what I want to
write a book.
And then I was like that'sreally intimidating.
Let's start with a blog.
And I'm always.
I'm such a storyteller, like myfriends.
If anyone's ever sad, just cometo me.
I can tell you a funny storyabout my life.
(10:16):
Like loads of just tragicallyhilarious things happen to me
and I'm very keen to kind ofshare them with people.
I just think it's hilarious.
So I decided to write a blogabout called the Roaring 20s,
which is all about my life beingin my 20s and all the different
adventures that I go on and allthe different things that
happen, and I thought that itwas a really good kind of
approach, because being in your20s it's really it's a weird
(10:39):
time.
People are having babies,people getting married, people
are quitting their jobs andgoing traveling, people are,
like, really excelling in theircareers, people are, you know,
losing jobs, and then everyoneall my friends are in very, very
different positions, and so Ithought it'd be really nice to
kind of document it and be likeit's all right to not really
know what you're doing.
It's fine to just kind of befiguring it out and it's been
(11:02):
really nice to kind of read backon some of the things that I
wrote about.
And it started off just to bequite fun and lighthearted.
But then I found that as I'vekind of grown into my late 20s,
some of the issues that aregoing on in society really
affected me and how I Act in mylife.
So then I started writing aboutthem.
So I did one about the BlackLives Matter movement and things
(11:23):
that really have impacted meand being 20 something I'm now
29.
So I need to rethink for nextyear, when I turn 30, what the
blog's gonna be called.
But yeah, it's been.
It really kind of helped toshape my identity and you know
how I find it really good tokind of when I've got loads of
thoughts in my head, how do Iput that down?
I just try and write a blogpost and get it all out on paper
(11:45):
, and it's really rewarding whenpeople message me and they say,
oh, your blog post really helpme, because that's how I was
feeling.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It's brilliant.
Honestly, I'm kind of it isjust one amazing thing and one
amazing interaction afteranother.
And you've also Created a bookclub, because you are really,
really passionate aboutconnecting people through
literature.
So tell us about the communitylevel look club.
You've created it.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Makes me laugh when people say community-led book
club because it's called readingbetween the wines.
We basically drink wine andread is great and so, yeah, me
and my best friend started itand, to be honest, it was
because, again, being in your20s, it's really hard to see
your friends.
Everyone's so busy Trying toconnect and get dates in the
diary.
You have to plan month to monthin advance.
(12:31):
So there's four of us and wewere like you know what let's?
Let's start a book club becausewe all love reading.
We once a month will save theday.
Every month, it's the thirdThursday of every month Put it
in the diary and then, even ifit's just the four of us, will
just meet, have a chat, you know, and and talk about book.
And we did it and we decided toput it out on Instagram.
And then the first one we did Ithink there were 15 people
(12:54):
there, which is amazing.
We're like all people haveturned up and and then the way
that it works is that Differentperson in the book club will
choose the book for thefollowing month and then, when
you've chosen the book, you leadthe kind of discussion, which
is a really nice kind ofcommunity feel and I think, if
anyone else kind of listening isthe type of person you organise
, is a lot of things like I am.
(13:14):
Sometimes it's nice to justturn up and just to get involved
and not have to lead or chairor be that.
So that's the kind of point ofit really was to bring together
lots of people who love readingand Give give different people
opportunity to choose variousbooks and to discuss it and many
a.
It's been absolutely incredible.
It's been going for like a yearand a half now and there's 70
(13:36):
people in the WhatsApp group.
We get loads, loads of peoplecome here, right.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And what's your current book?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
And we are.
It's just we've just had bookclub and it was open water by
Caleb Azuma Nelson.
I don't know if I've pronouncedthat correctly, but I would
recommend it amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
There we go.
Northern.
What Northern powerman bookclub affiliate recommend?
Recommend the Laura Rose GreenBook Club.
So, from community hero at theManchester Young talent awards
in 2021 to the winner of theultimate game changer in 2022,
to then this year being thecommended for want to watch, and
(14:17):
also At the Northern powermanawards and also on the Northern
power in future list.
What does receiving theseawards and accolades mean to you
?
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, obviously it's amazing and Every you know,
every time that I've receivedsomething I've been in shock and
which you know.
I know a lot of people say thatbut genuinely I look at who's
Else's in the room and I'm justlike really, but I think for me
it's it's amazing.
And to receive the awards, Ithink the biggest thing is to be
able to amplify the work thatI'm doing.
(14:46):
You know how an opportunity totalk about the different
organizations that I'm involvedin and and to connect different
people together.
So there's been loads of peoplewho, for example, when I was
invisible Manchester, who wouldcome on our walking tours
because they'd seen me, I saw anawards and different places,
and I love the actual events aswell and just getting to know
(15:06):
people on the table, getting toknow All these incredible people
across, whether it's theNorthwest Manchester, whatever
it may be, and just doingAbsolutely amazing things.
And there's so many friendsthat I've got now that I've met
through being involved in thesekind of awards.
Before the Manchester YoungTalent Awards, I didn't even
know awards existed really.
(15:27):
I didn't.
I hadn't really thought aboutit because I've not kind of come
through a corporate pathway andI think in the corporate world.
They're a lot more kind ofregular and people know about
them and there's a ward season,like now I know there's like an
award season and I didn't have aclue and and it's only since
being in those spaces that Irealized how few people from the
voluntary sector are Recognizedand in those kind of more broad
(15:51):
awards.
You know ceremonies, and sothat's something that I am
really keen to kind of push morefor is especially with young
people who are doing absolutelyincredible things for
communities who might not knowhow to write an application to
be nominated or shortlisted.
I really try to encourage andsupport people and write
(16:13):
nominations for people becauseof the kind of opportunities
that it's given me.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And I think that's really important.
It's that whole pay it forward,isn't it, like you know.
So please do get stuck writingfor when our nominations open in
.
Our nominations open the wholemonth of September into October.
Please do do that and tell meabout what your next venture is.
It's a new not-for-profitorganisation, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, so I've been kind of for the last few years
learning about thenot-for-profit sector and I
would love to kind of start myown thing, and so I've been
really kind of learning at Macand all the stuff that I've
learned there about charitystructures and the different
types of structures that you canhave through my role at
(16:58):
Invisible Cities, where I wasrunning Invisible Manchester
social enterprise structure, andI really want to do something
to support refugees, asylumseekers, kind of sanctuary
seekers in Manchester, because Ijust think, with the climate
crisis and just with everythingthat's going on in the media,
it's just horrific.
(17:18):
And what I would love to do iscombine my passion for like the
arts and dancing and music withmy passion for supporting this
group of people and I'm justconscious of like connecting
with this community through thework that I'm doing at the
moment to make sure that youknow preaching what I kind of
talk about all the time, whichis getting those people with
those lived experience voicesinvolved from day one in kind of
(17:42):
creating a not-for-profitorganisation or, you know, a
for-profit organisation that'sfor social good.
So, yes, it's really reallyearly stages, but I am doing
that kind of groundwork andlearning from lots of different
people, people who runbusinesses, people who run
charities just to get a bit of asense of how I begin.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
It's amazing.
It's amazing.
I can't, I can't.
I'm so overwhelmed byeverything that you're doing,
lauren.
It's absolutely outstanding andI look forward to kind of
watching your unconventionalcareer unfold and progress.
And I just want to thank you somuch for for taking the time to
chat with us on today's podcast.
Thank you so much for having me.
It was lovely.
(18:25):
Love to see you.
Oh, thanks, lamar.
Thank you so much and thank youall of you for listening out
there.
Remember these are our weeklyepisodes where we are chatting
to everyone who has beenrecognised as winner or
commended in this year'sNorthern Power Women Awards,
because we always talk about theawards being not for one night,
you know.
That's why we love to keep theconversation going and please do
subscribe so you don't miss anepisode and stay on top of
(18:48):
everything we're doing on ourdigital platform.
We are powernet.
Join all our socials at NorthPower Women on Twitter or X, I
think, because it is now andNorthern Power Women on all the
other ones If you would like tojoin us on this mission of
professional and personaldevelopment by us catching up
with kick-ass role models everysingle week.
Thank you so much.
(19:08):
My name is Simone.
This is the Northern PowerWomen podcast.
You've been listening to whatgoes on media production.
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