A day in the life of.... Lisa Mooney the YPWD Chair of Trustees

Lisa Mooney is YPWD's new Chair of Trustees. She recently spent some time answering our questions so we could find out a little bit more about her.  We'd like to thank Lisa for taking the time to do this and of course welcome her as the Charity's new Chair.

Could you tell us about how you became involved in the charity, why that happened and why you want to volunteer your time in this way?

It was at the start of 2020 and I’d decided I wanted to get involved with a charity so I went along to a charity recruitment event at Wokingham Town Hall.  YPWD were looking for a trustee with HR experience so I was particularly interested in getting involved so I could put my professional skills to use.  When I learnt more about YPWD, and that they were providing something that in the past had simply not existed, I was really excited about getting involved.

What does the Chair of Trustees do?

That’s a very good question, ask me again in 6 months time!  I’ve only been the Chair for a couple of weeks and one thing I know is I have big shoes to fill taking over from Kathy.  Part of the role is to chair our bi-monthly Trustee meetings and also to work with the Director and other Trustees to help guide the future of the charity.  The last year has been a strange one as my first Trustee Meeting was just before lockdown and I haven’t seen anyone face to face since!  Whilst I’ve met all our staff and joined some of the workshops on Zoom I’m looking forward to meeting everyone face to face when we can.

What is your favourite part of this voluntary role and what can we expect from you? 

A big part of what I love is knowing that what we’re doing is making a real difference to the life of those affected by young onset dementia.  As I have a background in Human Resources I’m also passionate about helping people to grow and develop so I hope that I can help to support an environment where people can grow and develop at work and feel recognised for the amazing work they do.

Would you be willing to share with our readers a little bit about what you do in your day job?

Of course!  I work as the Head of Talent and Development at Suntory GB&I who own Lucozade and Ribena.  It’s a varied role responsible for recruitment, talent management and learning and development.  My career has always been in Human Resources and I’ve worked across all areas of HR for a range of different businesses from travel and technology to telecoms.  

Of all the skills that you use in your day-to-day work, which skills would you say have been most useful in being a Trustee first and now the Chair?

I have quite a different background to most of the other trustees having worked in big corporates all my working life.  I hope this, along with my HR skills, brings a different perspective to things.  I was initially concerned that not having a medical or charity background might be an issue but I’ve realised that as trustees it’s good to have diversity as we all bring different things to the charity.  Regarding being a Chair, in my day job I spend a lot of time chairing meetings so this is something I’m quite used to as well as good listening skills.  I also enjoy problem solving and working with people to find better way to do things.

How would you describe the charity to someone who had never heard about it before?

I’d say it’s an incredible charity with such committed staff and trustees who really care about making a difference to the life of those affected by young onset dementia.  Our core focus is running workshops for those with young onset dementia and to give respite to carers.  We do really creative workshops from art to katakanuing to walking groups.  We’re open to trying new things and I’m so proud of the way the team has adapted during Covid-19 by taking our workshops online; it would have been easy to press pause but instead the team quickly adapted to a new way of working and the feedback has been so positive.  

Do you have a hobby, skill or interest that you’d be happy to share with us and that you think may surprise our readers?

I’m very interested in meditation and mindfulness.  I’ve been doing a meditation class for over 10 years now and I know it helps me to be more present and calm in my day to day life.

What is the most interesting place that you have visited in the world and why?

After university I spent a couple of years travelling and then lived in Australia for 10 years so I’ve been lucky enough to visit some amazing places.  It’s hard to pick a favourite but Ankor Wat in Cambodia was amazing as was climbing an Indonesian volcano at sunrise.

If you were in charge of the world for just one day what is the one thing you’d encourage everyone to do? 

Breathe deeply, be kind and get out in nature

Are you a Netflix, Prime, Disney+ or something else subscriber and why that particular service?

I’m not sure what I’d do without Amazon Prime!  Not for the TV but for the last minute things I periodically need to buy for my daughter when she tells me the day before she needs something for school the next day!

If you had the chance to give your younger self a piece of advice what would that be and why?

Don’t worry!  Things always work out in the end.  I spent too much of my younger life worrying about silly things and have now realised that everything is exactly as it should be even if it may not feel like it at the time.

Finally, the most important question – cat or dog?

Definitely a dog!  I grew up with cats but got a dog for the first time a year ago and absolutely love him.