Who we are

Equal to the Occasion's approach is rooted in our direct experience of working within the voluntary and public sectors. The two Directors - Helen Wollaston and Lisa Smith, have complementary experience and skills which are summarised below. For larger projects, we work with an extensive network of consultants who bring specialist expertise and additional capacity as required.

Helen Wollaston

Helen founded Equal to the Occasion in 2007, after 20 years experience in the voluntary and public sectors at local, regional and national levels. Her career spans local government, voluntary sector infrastructure and non-departmental public bodies, which means she has a wide range of contacts and a good understanding of different sectors. She combines consultancy with non-executive roles, as Chair of Platform 51, a charity working with women and girls across England and Wales and as Non Executive Director of South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Helen has a strong track record of developing and delivering innovative projects, often in partnership with diverse communities. She has an Advanced Diploma in Public Relations, a postgraduate diploma in Information Studies and a Certificate in Management in the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector.

Helen also works as an associate with Infrastruct Ltd and as a consultant partner with Equality Works.

Lisa Smith

Lisa Smith joined Equal to the Occasion in February 2011. From 2009–2011 she was a senior civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions, reponsible for project delivery in the Pension, Disability and Carers Service. She brings 11 years experience at the Big Lottery Fund/Community Fund where she was responsible for the development of grant making processes and programmes. Prior to this, she worked in the third sector, predominantly with social enterprises. Lisa is a trustee of Solace, a charity providing counselling services to refugees and asylum seekers in West Yorkshire.

Lisa has particular strengths in project management, business development and planning, strategic analysis and problem solving. She is a qualified Prince 2 and Managing Successful Programmes practitioner and has an MBA.