Stephanie Hill

Stephanie is the Founding Director of Happy Headwork and Happy Headwork Community as well as being a freelance consultant in Disaster Management & Sustainable Development. Her career of over twenty years’ has enabled her to work internationally with United Nations Agencies and International Non-Governmental Organisations, as well as Charities, NHS organisations and Local Government in the UK. Over the past few years she has also created a Community Interest Company which provides subsidised and funded mental health programmes to individuals in the community.

The drive for both the mental health and disaster management & sustainable development aspects of Steph's work are founded in a combination of her own personal experience as a survivor of the 2004 Tsunami and an international career.

In 2004 Steph was a Psychology graduate working in South East Asia when the Boxing Day Tsunami hit; tragically killing her partner and leaving her family and her with life-threatening injuries. On returning to the UK to heal from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder she was offered the choice of anti-depressants and a waiting-time of “at least” 18-months for counselling support. Frustrated by the powerlessness she felt in not having the support she needed, Steph decided to play a proactive role in her own healing journey through studying different therapeutic approaches including: Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Neurolinguistic Programming and Hypnotherapy. She was eventually able to overcome the debilitating symptoms of PTSD and emotionally thrive, inspiring her to help others with their mental health. Simultaneously, Steph completed an MSc in Disaster Management & Sustainable Development.

Steph went on to work internationally with INGO's, then UK based Health & Social Care charities before becoming self employed in 2016, and then building her business into a team of experts. She continues to follow her passions in her work through three businesses:

Happy Headwork: A team specialising in staff wellbeing, particularly in the care giving sectors.

Happy Headwork Community C.I.C: The Happy Headwork Team supporting community mental health through training and nature-based programmes and coaching.

Freelance Consultant: Where she continues to work with organisations across the not-for-profit sector on topics such as: Disaster Management, Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, Gender and Gender Based Violence, Soft Skills and Team Management as a Learning & Development and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) expert.