Our board is made up of a diverse, powerhouse of women, read more about our mission, values and the diversity that make our ItsHer family below!
OONAGH MCDONNELL
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
I describe myself as a creative and a serial career changer, not always by design. Women of my generation often found that equality was just an ideology sold on a notion that the equal pay act meant equal opportunity. Of course, it didn’t, and it doesn’t today, so like a lot of women being a mother and carer became a priority for a period of time and I simply got on with it.
Becoming a full-blown feminist wasn’t a conscious decision either, it grew from sense of injustice that I wasn’t being afforded the opportunities that white men were and are still able to pursue. In the 80’s and 90’s very few industries supported flexible working arrangements so like a lot of creatives I became self-employed. It took years to re-establish myself in the design sector and adjust to the massive changes in technology, there were no training programmes on offer and certainly no returner programmes.
My most powerful experience of marginalisation came after returning from working overseas armed with a CV packed with experience, but even after exhaustive efforts, connecting with recruiters and organisations I still had no real offers of work, ageism was officially added to the list of barriers. Once again, I became self-employed, transferred skills and worked on film and documentary and that was the real turning point. It won’t be a big surprise to women but the film and broadcasting industry is totally dominated by the ‘Pale, Male, Stale Club’ and as a result the content produced under-represents all other groups and that of course includes women. So ItsHerstory was born but not without the incredible support from Manchester based women’s groups running empowering courses enabling women to start-up businesses.
ItsHerstory cic totally reflects my values and aspirations highlighting everyday stories about women and the challenges they face, I believe in inclusivity and that means we all have a duty to enable equal representation from women of colour and women with disabilities.
SAM GRIFFITHS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
My Story
I’ve been Creative Director for ItsHer for over five years, helping to shape the brand from the inside out, from its visual identity and design to social media, campaigns, creative direction and, more recently, the development of creative workshops and experiences.
Creativity has been my world for over 30 years. I’ve worked across the creative industry as a graphic designer, brand designer and Creative Director, working with businesses, organisations and charities to turn ideas into brands and communications that connect with real people.
For the past six years, I’ve also run my own creative agency, Miss’Chief Creative, where I bring together branding, graphic design, photography, social content, creative thinking and workshops. My approach has always been about doing things a little differently, bringing personality, playfulness and human connection into the work rather than simply making things look good.
I also have ADHD, and understanding my own differently wired brain has added another dimension to my creative work. It’s helped me recognise just how powerful creativity can be as a tool for communication, confidence, self-expression and understanding ourselves better.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve brought more of this lived experience into my work with ItsHer, helping to develop creative workshops that give people the freedom to think differently, explore ideas, connect and have conversations that might not always happen in more traditional settings.
For me, creativity has never just been about design. It’s about ideas, people, curiosity and finding different ways to make people feel something and that’s a huge part of what I bring to ItsHer.
JULES SMITH
MARKETING DIRECTOR
My story
I am the Marketing Director supporting It'sHer, bringing over 25 years of senior marketing and brand leadership to the organisation.
I've built brand and marketing strategies for some of the UK's best-known names. At Coca-Cola, over 250 campaigns across the drinks portfolio. At Hallmark, retail marketing that won new business with Disney, Primark, B&Q, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. At Iceland, the brand's biggest rebrand in 45 years, while growing The Food Warehouse into Britain's fastest-growing supermarket to 140 stores and 23 million incremental customers. At Individual Restaurants, brand strategy for 30+ restaurants, delivering the strongest campaign in company history despite COVID challenges.
That’s the through-line. But numbers were never the whole point.
My approach has stayed the same: the most successful brand and marketing strategy starts with a story, one that connects with people on an emotional level and that's what people buy into. I stay acutely aware of trends, data, competitors and behaviour, but always believed you have to tread your own path, let people understand and trust you, and soon you're not just breaking new ground, you’re leading the way.
Why ItsHer
After more than two decades delivering at that level, I was made redundant. For the first time in my career, I wasn't sure where to go next. Application after application went unanswered, or simply ghosted, and it became clear that age was working against me. But I wasn’t alone: women over 50 are now the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the UK, making up one in four female business owners, many driven to start their own path after facing exactly the same wall.
That experience is why It'sHer matters to me. It'sHer isn't another women's network. It's a community of women actively investing in each other's growth, professionally and personally. I founded Red Jasper on the belief that growing organisations deserve the same strategic thinking as the brands I led before and I’m bringing that same conviction to It'sHer, helping Oonagh and the team reach the female entrepreneurs who need a seat at this table just as much as I once did.
KIKI JACOBSEN-KHAN
CO-FOUNDER
I am a well-travelled American illustrator with a passion for animals, particularly little white dogs. It was after the sudden loss of my first husband that I took a teaching position in the Middle East, the experience healed my soul and I once again found love and converted to Islam.
RUVIMBO BLISS MUNODAAWAFA DIRECTOR
My name is Ruvimbo Bliss Munodawafa. I am a writer & performing artist. I was born in Zimbabwe but grew up in England in the City of Liverpool. Growing up in a country that is vastly different from my origins has in many ways shaped my identify and contributed towards my yearning to understand the uniqueness and significant of my existence & the impact it has had on my creativity and development as an individual.
Through my journey of self-discovery: I’ve learned that as a black African woman it is important for me to use my creativity as a platform to speak, express and live my truth. Creativity allows the freedom to express the truths that resides deep within our souls. I am very fortunate that I am multitalented. I am a phenomenal dancer, actress, articulate writer, and an outstanding spoken word artist. I believe that although we may not be heard & often silenced in other areas of our lives through our talents, we can write our own narratives and present them in the most authentic way. The time is now. To stand out is something not to be feared, it is expected when embarking on the journey of becoming the best versions of yourself.
“I’ve learned that as a black, African woman it is important for me to use my creativity as a platform to speak, express and live my truth.”
NATASHA TANOH DIRECTOR
“My life has been rooted in the multiculturalism of Manchester, even after traveling across Europe,
to Asia and Africa I definitely call Manchester my home, I think it’s one of the coolest cities in the world.”
My Name is Natasha Tanoh, I was born and bred in Stockport, Greater Manchester to a British mother of Irish heritage and a Ghanaian father with Lebanese heritage. For 27 years, my life has been rooted in the multiculturism of Manchester, even after traveling across Europe, to Asia and Africa I definitely call Manchester my home I think it’s one of the coolest cities in the world.
PAULETTE SENIOR
DIRECTOR
I was born and raised in Stockport of mixed Caribbean and British heritage, I experienced blatant and subtle racism as I grew up and I think I took that experience with me when I became a foster carer. I entered the sector at a time when there was a shortage of foster carers representing the black community and even today there are still too few of us to provide culturally relevant home care for children. As a single parent I have grown used to labels and prejudice and I can see the challenges that my foster children face and will continue to face throughout their lives.
The work I do reveals that there is always a complex story behind a child entering care it’s often rooted in poverty, drugs and domestic abuse, so often the mother has reached a point that everything has broken down and she has nothing left to give. The fathers are rarely present in the child’s life and yet they are not judged with the same harshness. We live in a society that expects that the woman should be the best of mothers even when she has been beaten emotionally, physically and financially, I don’t judge because I know the challenges that I faced as a single parent.
Being on the ItsHerstory cic board enables me to mentor and remind women to care for themselves because we can’t pour from an empty cup, we are human, we make mistakes we shouldn’t let that stop us from taking the lead in society. We are long way off equality, women of colour are not often given opportunities to become board members but it’s very important that we are visible in these roles, especially for the next generation, we need to raise them up...”you can’t be what you don’t see”