Tell us a bit about yourself and your areas of expertise

I’m a health PR specialist that’s been working in the sector for 15+ years and I’m based in Sheffield.

I run an award-winning health communications consultancy called Evergreen PR. We work with leading health organisations to deliver high-impact campaigns that improve and protect people’s health. During my career I’ve worked with Government agencies, royal colleges, universities, household name brands and innovative start-ups, for me it is all about the potential to impact on people’s lives.

My expertise is using high quality PR and communications to help health organisations to build their credibility and reputation in a way that delivers important business and health outcomes. In the last few months I’ve helped brilliant health organisations to break into new sectors, attract high value new customers, increase their website visibility, develop new strategic partnerships and gain political support for their causes. Last month our consultancy won two PRCA Dare Awards for our success in achieving organisational objectives with our campaigns.

I love working in health because of its importance to our lives. Fortunately, having worked in the sector for so long, I’ve been able to develop the knowledge, contacts and attributes that are needed to really help organisations to make a difference in this space. By creating impactful campaigns and connecting them with sources of influence - from key health journalists to important health institutions - I can help play a part in transforming people’s health and wellbeing. There aren’t many things that are more motivating than that.

What made you decide to become a mentor for the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator?

Being based in Sheffield myself and specialising in health, I was really excited when I first heard about the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator and I just knew I had to be involved. It’s brilliant to see my city supporting important health innovations from across the globe and using its expertise to help bring them to market.

I’m very focused on doing work that improves and protects people’s health and the Wellbeing Accelerator perfectly chimes with that. It feels like a great match and so it’s a real privilege to support it.

How are you supporting the startups/founders?

For me, being a mentor on the Wellbeing Accelerator is all about applying my experience to supporting the innovators to progress on their journey. I’ve worked with a number of them on an individual basis, offering advice on how they can sharpen their messaging, create an engaging and impactful brand narrative and communicate more effectively with their target audience. Storytelling is hugely important to building momentum around a brand and I’ve tried to help the innovators to see where their potential stories are and how they can make the most of them. One thing that has struck me is how open to ideas everyone is and how determined they are to use this opportunity with the Wellbeing Accelerator to take their company to the next level. I think that bodes really well for them and I look forward to seeing many of our innovators go on to greater success in the coming months and years.

How can we find out more about what you do?

You can find out more about me and my consultancy at https://evergreenpr.co.uk or by following me on Twitter at @leighevergreen.

About the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator

The AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator is a rolling programme running from April 2020 to March 2021 that supports startups, academics, and businesses working in wellbeing with mentoring, sector expertise and specialist facilities. 

In phase 1 of the programme, from April to July 2020 we recruited 3 cohorts of 5 startups to the programme. In the second phase, from September, we will recruit a further 9 startups to the programme across 2 cohorts: one in September and one in November.

The Wellbeing Accelerator at the AWRC is one of 20 University Enterprise Zones (UEZs), launched with a £20 million investment delivered by Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation. The Accelerator's aim is to increase the likelihood of, and reduce the timescales for, innovations to be brought to market through a period of intensive testing and development.

The AWRC, which forms the centrepiece of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of the population through innovations that help people move. Its mission is to prevent and treat chronic disease through co-designed research into physical activity – whilst also attracting new jobs and investment to the region.

If you are a start-up working on a wellbeing innovation and want to apply to be on the AWRC Wellbeing Accelerator programme please apply here: application form.