Ten charity digital people you should know about

Here at Lightful, we’re all about sharing best practice. Whether it’s giving charities access to the best technology at an affordable price or helping to upskill people through our guides, webinars and training. As part of our commitment to the sector, we want to highlight ten people working in digital who we think should be on your radar – if they’re not already! This is the first in a three-part series.

Dan Papworth-Smyth

Having spent just over six years working in digital at Teenage Cancer Trust (Dan started as in intern), he’s now the Digital Engagement Manager at Breast Cancer Care. You’ll often find Dan speaking at events such as Fundraising Convention, where he shares insights into campaigns he’s worked on. When he’s not speaking, he’s blogging over on Medium, where he often blogs about upcoming tech and new social media features. Twitter: @Dansmythphoto

Howard Lake

Howard has been working in the sector since 1988 and held numerous fundraising positions before founding UK Fundraising in 1994, the world’s first web resource for professional charity fundraisers. Not only does Howard run the popular website but he’s also an author, trainer and advisor to the sector. Twitter: @HowardLake

Joe Freeman

Previously at Diabetes UK, Joe is now Assistant Director of Digital Engagement at Breast Cancer Now where he helps to bring their audience closer to the cause. Joe is a regular speaker at sector conferences and blogs over at Medium. He’s often quoted in sector press and is a fellow Admin over on the Third Sector PR & Comms Network Facebook group. Twitter: @JosephFreeman

Julie Dodd

I first came across Julie when I heard her present on her report, The New Reality, and I’ve been a fan ever since. The New Reality looks at how digital technology will deliver the next step-change in social impact, through interviews with 50 digital leaders. Julie is now the Director of Digital Transformation and Communication at Parkinson’s UK. Twitter: @JulieDodd

Lara Burns

As the Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Age UK, Lara is in charge of leading digital change and disruption at the charity. She recently presented at Fundraising Convention where she shared some of the exciting work that the charity is doing in terms of using digital for service delivery. They’ve been working with our friends over at CAST to produce an app, called Steps, for frontline staff to use when they visit older people in their homes. The app helps them capture and record information to then create action plans. Twitter: @LaraBurns

Leanne Griffin

Leanne is a Service Designer at Cancer Research UK, working on digital transformation. She shares her knowledge over on Medium as well as on the charity’s Technology Blog. Leanne is really active over on Twitter and will happily discuss all things digital as well as Gareth Southgate’s leadership skills. Twitter: @leeannemgriff

Madeleine Sugden

Madeleine was instrumental in setting up Knowhow Nonprofit, which is aimed at providing information and guidance to charities. Madeleine is now a freelance Digital Impact Consultant, working with charities to maximise their digital content and improve their processes. She shares her wealth of knowledge over on her blog as well as curates a monthly Digital Round-up which features loads of links to very interesting, informative and topical digital reads. Twitter: @Madlinsudn

Matt Collins

Matt, aka Charity Chap, is someone you definitely need to be following. Particularly if you’d like to learn how to optimise landing pages, supercharge your email and make the most of your Adwords account. Matt’s agency, Platypus Digital, runs a free digital training course for charities. Matt is also a co-founder of the Social CEO Awards with Zoe Amar. Twitter: @charitychap

Yasmin Georgiou

Yasmin is Head of Digital Engagement at children’s charity GOSH where she leads a talented team. One of their standout campaigns, for me, was their One Day at GOSH film. They shot it in just 24 hours and it was supported by case studies and a 24-hour social campaign, all underpinned by interactive web design. Yasmin is a firm believer in upskilling the sector and shares her knowledge by speaking at events and as a volunteer Communications Advisor to The Mlambe Project. Twitter: @yasgeorgiou

Zoe Amar

Zoe doesn’t really need an introduction but I’ll give her one anyway! After working in-house for a technology charity, Zoe left to start up Zoe Amar Communications. Since then she has become a true influencer in the sector, having written for publications such as Third Sector and the Guardian Voluntary Network as well as co-authoring the Charity Digital Skills Report. Zoe is the independent Chair for the Charity Digital Code of Practice (which we’re championing) where she is working with a number of organisations in the sector to create a framework for charities of any size to use to improve their use and understanding of digital. Twitter: @zoeamar

Which digital experts do you think we should know about? Tweet us at @Lightful.