Think2Speak Founder Recognised as one of UK’s Most Inspiring and Influential Women

Think2Speak is celebrating the recognition of its founder Lizzie Jordan as one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise on NatWest’s inaugural Women in Social Enterprise 100 (WISE 100) list (http://www.wise100.co.uk).

A panel of industry leaders narrowed down the nominations to produce the final WISE100 List which was announced on at a celebratory event hosted by RBS in London. The initiative by the NatWest SE100 Index recognises the 100 most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and social innovation.

Lincolnshire Live feature: http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/i-became-mum-widow-diagnosed-629657

Lincolnshire Business feature: http://lincsbusiness.co/2017/10/lincolnshire-businesswoman-recognised-as-one-of-uks-most-influential-women/

Think2Speak, the social enterprise that Lizzie founded in 2015, offers course, training and literature that inspire confident communication skills in young people. The social enterprise works with schools and businesses across Lincolnshire and nationally.

“I’m just two years into my journey as a social entrepreneur, so to have been selected by industry experts to be on the WISE100 list is a wonderful surprise. But it is also a recognition by the panel that the work we do with young people is vital at a time of consistent and persistent cuts. We’ve already had great responses from the schools we work with, and now this recognition fuels my determination to reach out further and work with more and more schools and young people,” said Lizzie.

Lizzie became a mother, a widow and was diagnosed with HIV in an 18 month period 11 years ago, and recognised the demise of support services for both her son and the professionals involved in his life. Since her HIV diagnosis Lizzie has been internationally acclaimed for her HIV awareness work and she passionately advocates for conversation as prevention. Lizzie founded the social enterprise Think2Speak in 2015 to enable conversations, through training, advocacy, support and therapy services.

“We’ve already helped to change the lives of many children and young people. But there’s still more work to be done,” said Lizzie.

In the UK, 40% of social enterprises are led by women, in comparison with just 6% of the companies on the FTSE100. The social sector outperforms other sectors when it comes to gender equality and as such is uniquely positioned to drive forwards a campaign for gender equality that speaks both to social enterprise and corporate bodies.