Louisa Mitchell MBE

Student.com Woman in Education Award

As CEO of AllChild, a charity which supports communities in underserved neighbourhoods across the UK helping children and young people build the social, emotional and academic skills they need to thrive, Louisa is continuing her passionate and long-standing commitment to tackling inequality and improving life chances for young people.

I worked in finance in Asia for a long time, where I saw very different sides of life. After that I moved into the environmental space, and then via the charity space to doing work in policy, particularly focusing on inequality. So when it was staring me in the face in my own community in West London, I felt not only was it was time for action, but that we really needed to do things differently. All the skills I had amassed in finance, journalism and policy enabled me and the team I work with to bring about the innovative model we created. I’m so proud of it and them, and getting this award reflects the dedication of so many people who’ve been, and are still involved. The children and their families who we work with every day and who work so hard to achieve better outcomes in life. And my incredible team and all of our amazing partners. I’m thrilled for all of them because we’ve done something different and challenging and innovative with a truly collective effort behind it.

Who are the women who have inspired you?

First and foremost, my two daughters both of whom have had to overcome extraordinary challenges in their lives. They’re are now in their early 20s and have grown into incredibly strong and brilliant women who are also so supportive of my work and AllChild. I’m lucky enough to meet brilliant women all the time, but one of my biggest influences was a lady called Tessa Tennant. She was my first chair in the NGO world, and she laid the foundations the environmental and social governance movement. She was really bold and radical and she taught me that if you feel passionately about your mission and you really commit to it, anything is possible.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I’m really tall, and I spent a lot of time when I was younger worrying about how big I was. So I would say, stop worrying about the things you can’t control. Worry about the things you can influence. Also, no one’s thinking about that as much as you. Actually, no one’s thinking about you as much as you!
Also if I had trusted my gut instead of listening to the voices around me, I wouldn’t have made some of the more questionable decisions I made in life. So I’d say to myself: have the confidence to go with what you think is right or best, and don’t pay attention to the noise.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

There were so many things I could have said in answer to this, but I asked my girls and they said “obviously it’s your toaster” and actually I think they’re probably right! I love toast, it’s quick, reliable, delicious and you can top it with anything. It’s unquestionably my favourite thing to eat.

What about you would surprise people to know?

Again I bow to my daughters who told me I really ought to admit that I have an irrational fear of pub quizzes and motorway driving. So if anyone was ever to ask me to do a quiz 40 minutes up the M1, there’s no chance I’d say yes!