Our People

Co-Founders

Lisa Hilder MBE is a pioneering social entrepreneur and advocate for women’s housing, equality, and financial empowerment. She co-founded Winner, the Preston Road Women’s Centre in Hull — a nationally recognised model of community-led support for women — which has used innovative social investment to acquire more than 160 safe homes for women and children fleeing abuse, and Affordable Justice, the UK’s first non-profit family law firm for domestic abuse survivors. Lisa sits on Better Society Capital’s Investment Committee, helping to steer £650 million of social purpose funding. She co-designed the financial model that became the blueprint for the Social and Sustainable Housing Fund and leads the Rosmerta initiative, directing social investment into women’s organisations.

Alongside her work in the women’s sector, Lisa has built a distinguished career within the NHS, leading major service redesigns, pioneering remote care and social prescribing models, and winning national recognition for excellence in equality, diversity and inclusion. In recognition of her leadership and innovation, Lisa received the Third Sector Volunteer of the Year Award (2017) and was appointed MBE in 2024 for services to women and social investment.

Dr Becky Rogerson MBE has over 20 years’ experience as a CEO in the violence against women and girls sector. She led My Sisters Place in Middlesbrough — one of the UK’s first ‘One Stop Shop’ services for survivors of domestic abuse — gaining national recognition as a centre of excellence. Under her leadership, the charity won the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy National Award for Commitment to Best Practice and the Big Lottery Charity of the Year Award. Becky pioneered innovative approaches such as court video links and responses to complex MARAC cases, served on the Women’s Aid Federation of England Board, and her research contributed to the creation of the Drive Project.

A Churchill Fellow and member of the Future Governance Forum’s Social Insights Panel, Becky served as a Commissioner for the Barking & Dagenham Domestic Abuse Commission. Recognised with an MBE in 2020 for services to victims of abuse and an Honorary Doctorate from Durham University in 2025, she is known for transforming struggling organisations and pioneering services for children and perpetrators. Becky has a background in the probation service and served for 10 years as a magistrate in the criminal courts.

Fiona Sheil is an independent researcher, facilitator and strategist. Her background is in government and voluntary sector collaboration. Fiona previously ran the 2,000+ cross-sector Public Service Delivery Network at NCVO, where she designed national capacity building programmes for Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice, and the Arts Council.

Headhunted into NPC and then into social investment at Bates Wells, Fiona went on to be the lead strategic commissioner for a London council. She has published extensively including with The King’s Fund, a cost-benefit calculator for Southall Black Sisters, Safety4Sisters and Latin American Women’s Rights Service, and the Local Government Association’s upcoming guide to commissioning and procuring the voluntary sector, Purposeful Collaboration. She brings over 25 years as a volunteer and feminist activist.

Our Advisors

Sarah Lesniewski is a communications strategist, social changemaker, and non-practising lawyer. She has worked in research, policy, advocacy, and campaigns in the UK and Canada, and across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, including roles with the Women’s Budget Group, NCVO, City & Guilds, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and 10 Downing Street. Sarah serves on the board of an arts charity, and is also the creator and producer of Disco Descendants, a daytime family rave in Toronto.        

Rosie McLeod is a social research and evaluation specialist with over 20 years’ experience across the social and public sectors. She is former Head of Data and Learning at NPC, and previously led major studies for government departments (DWP, MoJ, DH and DfE) at research firm Verian. Alongside her technical expertise, Rosie is an experienced trainer and facilitator, helping organisations build capacity to use evidence and centre the voices of the people they serve.

Dr Liza Thompson trained as an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) in 2010 before becoming Chief Executive of SATEDA, a domestic abuse service in Kent. She holds a PhD in Law on relational autonomy and domestic abuse, and now chairs Domestic Homicide and Safeguarding Reviews across the UK, with more than 30 completed to date. Liza has developed a national tool and training to strengthen mediation safety and provides consultancy and governance support across the domestic abuse sector.

More to follow…