Farrah Ekeroth | EY
As Employer Brand Lead at EY, Farrah is responsible for the development and execution of EY’s talent attraction strategy across 18 countries.
In this role, she develops creative campaigns and communications strategies to attract, engage and retain exceptional talent. This has included programs to attract more early female talent to financial services and encourage young women to consider a career in technology.
Outside of her core role, Farrah is also Co-Chair of the EY Women’s Network. The EY Women’s Network is EY’s largest diversity and inclusion community with 3,200+ members across 25 UK locations. The network seeks to empower women to thrive in their careers at EY and enhance the firm’s culture through gender diversity and inclusion.
Farrah regularly speaks at industry events on topics such as gender equality, attracting diverse talent and empowering Gen Z in the workplace. Having lived and worked in multiple countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, she has a truly global mindset and thrives on working with different cultures and perspectives.
Anisa Aksar | Capdesk
With experience in working for firms ranging from 20,000 people globally to 25 people, my career in Talent Management is ever evolving.
Having had a poor experience with HR 10 years ago at one of my very first jobs in retail whilst studying, it became my mission to prove, not just to myself but also, to others that HR isn't just someone behind a screen policing employees or a threat to those that dare to be honest.
Most recently, I've developed and lead the People function in scaling from 45 to 100 people in 18 months which included developing forward thinking people practices and strategy, employee benefits, mental health, wellbeing, inclusivity, coaching, performance enablement and cultivating a culture to nurture employees and allow them to do the best work of their careers.
Bukola Bayo-Yusuf | Excellerate Black Futures
My love affair with HR started in my final year of an Accounting and Management degree when I realised that I in fact did not want to become an accountant much to the dismay of my mum who wanted me to walk in my father’s footsteps.
HR was the elective module in my final year and I absolutely fell in love with it and went on to do a Masters and haven’t looked back since!
Today, I am a results driven Global Performance Partner focused on defining and developing the performance vision and strategy for a global company with over 89,000 employees. A critical part of my role is focused on developing an internal communications strategy in order to embed key messages as well as helping senior leaders enact performance management solutions in order to enhance colleagues’ and thus business performance.
I also have a strong track record in various facets of HR from large global matrixed institutions including Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, Reward, Diversity & Inclusion, Strategic HR Business Partnering and Leadership Development.
I am passionate about early careers and have won several awards for recruiting diverse graduate talent including the ‘Recruiting Diverse Talent’ award from Race for Opportunity in 2014. It is from this passion that the Excellerate Black Futures initiative was born which focuses on enhancing the narrative around young black talent via a group talent programme and educational scale up events.
A family renowned foodie, I enjoy travelling with my husband and three children to experience new cuisines and in my (very little) spare time I lead a 6 week pre-marital guidance course for couples.
Adanna Anomneze-Collins | Cardiff University
Adanna is a Londoner and penultimate year medical student at Cardiff University who is currently intercalating in BSc Population Medicine.
In 2019, she chaired the British Medical Association’s (BMA) UK Medical Students Conference where progressive motions were passed, and the conference committed to strategic policies aimed at improving medical education and clinical practice. Adanna advocated for some of these policies to be incorporated into wider BMA policy to ensure that they were not overlooked, and she developed and implemented a fair selection process for the conference places. As conference chair, she was also a member of the BMA's Medical Students Executive subcommittee which represents over 40,000 UK medical students to address concerns in areas such as equality and inclusion, education and welfare.
At Cardiff University, Adanna has represented her peers on Staff Student Panel meetings and held active roles within multiple societies. She is a Widening Participation Ambassador who inspires students from underrepresented backgrounds to apply to higher education. She encourages current and prospective medical students to take up leadership roles via running workshops and being a panellist at national charity and university events.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Adanna became the Advocacy Lead for a charity called MedSupplyDrive UK, where she advocated for improved personal protective equipment provision, produced educational content about the pandemic and ran virtual work experience sessions for young people in partnership with Speaker for Schools. In addition, she is a board member at Studio 306 Collective, a community interest company in London which facilitates improved mental health wellbeing via creativity.
In 2020, she received the Dean of Medical Education’s Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Professionalism, for consistent support and leadership of activities improving the student experience. More recently, she was ranked 2nd place in the 2020-21 edition of the Future Leaders Magazine. She is also a scholar on the Healthcare Leadership Academy Programme.
Adanna has been identified as a future leader because of her desire to make a positive difference in her community and the world. She enjoys being involved in improving healthcare and using her voice as a catalyst for positive change.
Ellie Rayner | The Maternity Collective
I am a qualified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist working full time for the NHS in Devon, Antenatal and Hypnobirthing Teacher and founder of The Maternity Collective.
After obtaining my Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Exeter, I have worked across multiple hospitals within the South-West and have achieved my full Membership Qualification to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG). I have specialist interests in antenatal care and the safe management of labour and birth and have recently been selected to undertake a 1-year secondment to NHS Resolution to work as part of the Early Notification Team dealing with maternity litigation claims. I am passionate about clinical education and have achieved a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education from Cardiff University and have been recognised for my teaching ability as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). I am also a Federation of Antenatal Educators Accredited Instructor (FEDANT) and am the UK’s only practicing Obstetrician who also teaches Hypnobirthing. I have previously undertaken a South-West regional Health Services Improvement Fellowship, working on projects aimed at developing new services and care models within maternity care. As part of this fellowship, I achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Services Improvement with Distinction from the University of Exeter and was awarded the Dean Commendation for my work.
I am passionate about combining my knowledge and experience in Obstetrics, Medical Education and Health Services Improvement and have launched a company focused on this, The Maternity Collective, of which I am the sole Director. I have developed a range of high quality, expert-led antenatal and birth education programs that allow expectant parents to feel empowered to make informed choices right for them and completely prepared for every eventuality. Our innovative and unique course is designed to ensure all methods of birth are supported and that parents receive the most up to date, accurate and evidence-based information available to them from a range of different experts. Our course is accessible both in groups and online and during the Covid-19 pandemic when NHS classes were cancelled and parents had limited antenatal support, I offered our courses for free, to ensure as many parents were supported as possible. To date, The Maternity Collective classes have now been undertaken by more than 4500 expectant parents with fantastic feedback and countless positive pregnancy and birth experiences. I have continued to innovate and have now developed new courses and a new range of Positive Pregnancy and Birth Affirmation Cards that support and promote both physical and emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and am donating a percentage of the profits of these products to charity.
Sarah Raitt | Defence Primary Healthcare
Sarah is an Army GP, currently serving as the Senior Medical Officer for Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) in Central London.
Leading a mixed military and civilian team of doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals, delivering healthcare to a diverse military and civilian population in Central London.
Sarah took over her current role in London just 6 weeks before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. London GPs and their teams have been at the forefront of the COVID response over the past year and have continued to provide services throughout each wave of the pandemic. From early outbreak management, moving swiftly to adopt telephone and online consultations, to setting up and running community pulse oximetry, so patients can be safely monitored at home, plus many other new ways of safely delivering healthcare during the pandemic. Sarah has led a Primary Care team to respond magnificently in support of the NHS, by rapidly deploying staff into NHS roles, and mobilising military and civilian DPHC staff from across London to support the National COVID-19 Vaccination campaign.
As an Army GP, Sarah has developed considerable experience leading healthcare teams through change and working under pressure. While deployed overseas these have often been in resource poor, high risk and remote settings.
Oyiza Momoh | GSK
Oyiza is an advocate for the development of others and access to opportunities.
During her Neuroscience degree, she contributed to a peer-reviewed paper on the relationship between depression and stroke, hoping to increase awareness and understanding of a topic that she believes affects many but is not discussed enough. She volunteered as a First Aider in Scotland for 5 years before helping to expand the charity, First Aid Africa, and co-founding its Glasgow chapter. Again, helping to train communities, healthcare workers and government authorities in skills that can save lives.
In her professional career, Oyiza is Clinical Data Manager at GSK, working to develop medicines for patients with unmet clinical needs. She recently published on the importance of inclusion and diversity in clinical trials, hoping to promote discussion within patient advocacy groups. She also leads the Women's Leadership Initiative for GSK's Global HQ (GSK House), providing development opportunities for women, shining a spotlight on inequality and driving forward our ambition of gender parity. Oyiza is a keen STEM Ambassador, leading a network of STEM Ambassadors at GSK House and contributing heavily to GSK's UK STEM strategy.
She is passionate about coaching and mentoring, having benefited personally and professionally from the kindness offered by others.
Ore Odubiyi | BME Medics
Ore Odubiyi is currently a 4th year Medicine MB ChB undergraduate at the University of Bristol, having completed an intercalated degree in Global Health BSc (Hons) in 2019.
During this time, Ore founded BME Medics, an organisation launched in 2018 committed to the improvement of diversity and inclusion within healthcare, alongside some colleagues. The organisation continues to expand to oversee multiple university campus societies. She tackles the lack of ethnic diversity in medical student cohorts through curating widening participation programmes, from a bespoke annual conference encouraging secondary school students from BAME communities to aspire to become doctors, to providing help to prospective BAME medical students in their medical school applications. She also addresses the disproportionate health outcomes seen in various minority ethnic groups and delivers teaching on racial bias in healthcare to medical students and medical professionals. She has also had the privilege to present to key stakeholders in the health sector. Ore raises awareness of health issues impacting various BAME communities from personal platforms, to national press (The Mail on Sunday, LBC Radio, RT UK, The Guardian). Additionally, her commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion has led to her being appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Bristol, governing and shaping key strategy for years to come.
Monique Wheatle | African Caribbean Medical Mentors (ACMM)
Monique Wheatle is a student doctor in her penultimate year of study at the University of Birmingham.
Prior to studying medicine, she achieved a first class degree in Biomedical science, during which she co-founded African Caribbean Medical Mentors (ACMM). ACMM is a charity dedicated to realising the potential of current and future doctors and dentists from African and Caribbean descent. As CEO, she runs a core team of 17 volunteers, supported by a wider network of over 700 individuals . She has also been involved in a number of research initiatives, namely the 'mindset project' which aims to improve the learning experience of first year students who study in Birmingham, and through her dissertation which centred around improving patient participation in clinical trials. She has volunteered throughout her studies, including medical volunteering in Nicaragua, conducting triage and delivering medication to rural communities, and has delivered engaging sessions for children on dialysis at Birminghams Children Hospital. She is a podcast host of 'Generation Medicine', a podcast which discusses topical issues in medicine and hosts inspirational guests who are making an impact in the medical community. She supports upcoming students through part-time tuition and running mock interviews for students, and is a mentor for a number of students who currently study Biomedical Science through an internal society.
Uyiosa Ogunbor | Medsimple
Uyiosa Ogunbor is an award-winning final year medical student who regards herself as a med-entrepreneur.
From a young age, Uyiosa knew she wanted to become a doctor but was oblivious to arduous journey ahead as the first doctor-to-be in her family. Around the same time, her experience of financial instability sparked an interest in financial literacy, problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
Her journey into medical school coupled with her interest in entrepreneurship led to the curation of Medsimple. Medsimple is a training and resource provider for students pursuing a career in Medicine. It provides the solution to the inequality of resources and inexperience in schools with aspiring medics through its e-learning platform and workshops. Medsimple has impacted hundreds of students, collaborated with schools and higher education institutions.
Uyiosa is passionate about empowering the younger generation to pursue their dreams. She is currently a mentor on the ‘Ignite programme’, an initiative providing support and up to £10,000 bursaries to students from under-represented backgrounds. As a member of the Medicine: Ask The Expert Team, Uyiosa delivers talks to aspiring medical students. Uyiosa was previously an interviewer on behalf of the Faculty of Medicine.
She is currently an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur due to her interest in entrepreneurship and problem-solving.
In 2020, Uyiosa was awarded the prestigious Akindolie Medical Scholarship and named the top 150 most outstanding African & African Caribbean Students (2021). She has been awarded a letter of commendation by both the Dean (Faculty of Medicine) and Associate Dean (Education). Her work has led to features including BBC and Santander.