Chronic Illness and Leadership Focus Night
Join us for an empowering evening at the Chronic Illness and Leadership Focus Night!
Thu 23 Apr 2026 | 7:30 PM – 9:15 PM Online via Zoom
Prepare to be inspired as we explore leadership through lived experience with an incredible line-up:
Aneeta Prem MBE JP — human rights campaigner & CEO of TNA UK
Kay Morgan-Gurr — Co-founder, Additional Needs Alliance & disability inclusion advocate
Content also from Laura Benn and Samara Noblett
See bios below
Whether you lead organisations, communities or teams, this night is about leading with gentle compassion and integrity.
Be part of a conversation that celebrates shared experience, collective insight and community Be part of a conversation that honours shared experience, collective insight and community.
Join Amy Summerfield- CEO Kyria Network and Lisa Leonce- Kyria Diversity and Inclusion Director via Zoom for an inspiring and informative night on Chronic Illness and Leadership.
Aneeta Prem MBE JP is a London based human rights campaigner, author and magistrate, born and raised in the East End within the sound of Bow Bells, with family heritage from Himachal Pradesh.
She is the founder of Freedom Charity, established in 2009 to protect children and vulnerable people at risk of forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and dishonour-based abuse. Aneeta is known for turning safeguarding into practical tools that schools and frontline professionals can use quickly, safely, and with confidence.
In the 2023 New Year Honours, Aneeta was awarded an MBE for services in safeguarding, signposting and rescuing victims and potential victims of dishonour-based abuse, forced marriage and FGM through Freedom Charity. She sits as a magistrate in East London, across adult, youth and family jurisdictions, with a clear focus on early risk, credible disclosure, and what happens when protection arrives too late.
Aneeta created Freedom’s Red Triangle badge, a visible symbol of solidarity against FGM and a way to prompt real conversations, not polite silence. She also developed the Not in My Name campaign, engaging boys and young men as part of the solution. Her work is grounded in the principle that “culture” is never a defence for violence, and that prevention must start before a child is trapped by fear or family pressure.
She is the author of the safeguarding novels But It’s Not Fair and Cut Flowers. Freedom Charity states it has donated over 100,000 copies through schools and safeguarding settings, using story to help children recognise coercion, understand consent, and seek help.
Alongside her safeguarding work, Aneeta is CEO of the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK (TNA UK) and a trustee of The Neurological Alliance, advocating nationally for people living with severe neurological pain and facial pain.
Kay Morgan-Gurr Pondering Platypus- Training & Consultancy.(Supporting inclusion, belonging & faith formation for every age & ability) Co-founder of the Additional Needs Alliance, and has been in ministry based work for nearly 30 years.
Before that, she was a children's nurse specialising in additional needs and disability. As well as her work with the Additional Needs Alliance Kay advises many faith based organisations on being disability inclusive and also serves on the Evangelical Alliance Council.Kay is married to Steve and has two grown up stepsons.She is a visually impaired wheelchair user who loves to knit and crochet
Laura Benn https://laurabenn.com/about/ is a Hertfordshire-based poet and ADHD parent who loves to weave the tangled threads of life into words that make others feel seen, heard, and valued. Drawing on her own neurodivergence, lived experience of severe ME/CFS and journey as a carer, her writing offers a voice to the complexities of chronic health and neurodivergent families.
Samara Noblett is a writer with lived experience of chronic illness who vulnerably explores the heart journey of suffering, faith, and mind-body healing, inviting others to encounter hope and a deeper connection with God in the midst of life’s challenges. https://catchingthewind.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips
Only content from our contributors will be recorded, edited and released for you to watch back later (i.e. no breakout or group chats will be recorded).