Meet the team.

Our amazing staff and volunteers.

The New Normal is so very proud of all our wonderful staff and volunteers, and the incredible impact that they have on, not only our own TNN community, but the world at large.

These people dedicate their time, energy, and passion to make a positive difference in the lives of others, and it does not go unnoticed. We’re pleased to introduce you to some of these amazing people!

CO-FOUNDERS.

The New Normal was founded when Ben and Jack, two friends who had both lost their fathers, wanted to share and expand their conversations around grief with others who were experiencing loss. 

In May 2018, they hosted the first Good Grief peer support meeting in central London. Since then, our meetings have grown in ways they could never have imagined. From Steve May and Dave Baxter, to a global charity that supports all people.

  • Benjamin May (he/him)

    CO-FOUNDER

    “Over the past 7 years my dads death has changed my life, and the lives of many others. No one could have known Jack Baxter and I would meet, or that we would go on to hold the first ever Good Grief meeting, which would then become The New Normal Charity. We started The New Normal Charity for the communality, for the community, because we were two friends who wanted to connect to others. Over the years The New Normal Charity has done exactly that, brought people together to connect, to share and to find a space where they can speak.”

  • Jack Baxter (he/him)

    CO-FOUNDER

    “Two years after the loss of my dad, Dave, I walked into Ben’s shop in London. He told me that his dad, Steve, was dying of a brain tumour. We continued to see each other away from the barber chair- nurturing a new friendship whilst always talking about our dads. In 2018, we launched our peer support group ‘Good Grief’, hoping to meet others who’d be willing to tell us about their people. Just five years on, The New Normal has gone global - connecting the world and all its communities in peer support..”

Ambassadors.

We are grateful to be working in partnership with a number of fantastic Ambassadors who help us raise awareness of our cause and strengthen the impact of our work.

  • Blake Auden Poetry (he/him)

    Blake Auden is a poet, artist and writer. His work focuses on mental health, loss, masculinity and grief, with a particular focus on how the future survives the past. Blake is a wonderful ambassador for mental wellbeing. He is connected to himself, and others, and his empathy runs deep which intrinsically ties him to his audiences with depth and beauty.

    Blake shares, "My work has always been focused on normalising open, frank discussion around mental health, and I think this makes TNN a perfect fit for me. I've been an admirer of their work and I'm honoured and privileged to act as an ambassador for the charity, and can't wait to see where the partnership will take us."


  • Amber Jeffrey (she/her)

    Amber is a grief mentor and host of The Grief Gang Podcast the show normalising grief. She has been a friend of The New Normal for many years, and has been pivotal in her work creating our Black and Brown Good Grief space. There is no one better suited to working alongside us, sharing our beliefs and driving forward our mission within the grief community.

    Amber shares, "I love being part of TNN. From beginning as an attendee, joining as a host and now an Ambassador, is something I'm really proud of. It's an incredible charity providing vital support for those who come through its doors.”

leadership team.

Our Leadership team oversees and manages the running of the Charity!

  • Benjamin May (he/him)

    GLOBAL LEAD & CO-FOUNDER

    “I am deeply passionate about supporting individuals as they navigate the complex journey of grief. I am committed to developing innovative programs and resources tailored to diverse cultural contexts. Together, we strive to create a more empathetic and inclusive world for individuals grappling with grief.”

  • Cassandra Geisel (she/her)

    CHAIR OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES

    “I believe in the power of peer support and storytelling. I believe that a problem shared is a problem halved. I believe in equity and working in a non-hierarchical way. All of these qualities, and more, sum up the amazing and innovative work done by The New Normal.”

  • Hollie Felton (she/her)

    OPERATIONAL LEAD

    “I am alive today due to the support and community I received from TNN after the death of my husband. I’m passionate about ensuring all people have access to free grief support, and I’m grateful to now have the opportunity to provide that same space for others on their own grief journeys.”

  • Jess Hulton (she/her)

    APAC OPERATIONAL LEAD

    “I found TNN when struggling after the death of my Dad and joined Good Grief. All I needed was someone to say “I was you, and I promise you things will become less painful in time and better memories will return’, for me, this is the value of peer support. Normal people using their own experiences to help each other. One year later, we launched Good Grief meetings in Hong Kong.”

Board of Trustees.

Our Trustees generously volunteer their time, skills and experience to help govern our charity. We would like to say a huge thank you to them all for their continued support and commitment to our mission!

  • Anna May (she/her)

    TRUSTEE

    “I hope I can help TNN grow and support more people at difficult moments. I value being part of conversations about the kind of world we want to build and practical ways we can make this happen.”

  • Cassandra Geisel (she/her)

    CHAIR

    “I believe in the power of peer support and storytelling. I believe in equity and working in a non-hierarchical way. All of these qualities, and more, sum up the amazing and innovative work done by TNN. It's a privilege to witness and support from my role as Chair.”

  • Fole Fowowe (she/her)

    TRUSTEE

    “I lost my mother at the age of 16, and was blown away by the empathy and understanding accessing TNN. My goal is to ensure that my involvement helps to make a meaningful impact in the lives of those who, like me, have faced grief and loss.”

  • Georgie O’Kell (they/them)

    TRUSTEE

    “I collaborated with TNN on setting up peer to peer support within my LGBTQ and trans community communities. I support so that TNN can continue to provide vital free support services for diverse communities around the world.”

  • Mark Atkinson (he/him)

    EXECUTIVE TRUSTEE

    “I supported TNN from, and attended, the first ever Good Grief meetings. I’m on my own journey of recovery from mental health problems and am glad I can bring that perspective to the nascent organization.”

  • Sarah Kennedy-Fallon (she/her)

    TRUSTEE & SECRETARY

    “I unexpectedly lost my mum in 2017, and my grief saw me turn to the comfort of strangers and TNN who gave me hope that life would continue. I'm thrilled to be a Trustee and to support the amazing work of the team.”

“I’m very proud of everybody involved, from volunteers to attendees, for making TNN what it is today and for the continued commitment to provide free mental health support to all.”
— Jack, Co-Founder

VOLUNTEERS.

We’re very happy to introduce some of our operational volunteers who support the day to day running of the Charity!

  • EMber (she/her)

    Finance Assitant

  • FRANK (he/him)

    Social Media Volunteer

  • HARRIET (SHE/HER)

    Volunteer Co-Ordinator

  • lia (she/her)

    Social Media Voluteer

  • MOLLY (she/her)

    Host Liaison Officer

  • Sam (She/her)

    Host Liaison Officer

MEETING HOSTS.

We would love you to meet some of our fantastic volunteers who host our diverse range of peer support meetings!

  • ALICE (she/her)

    GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • AMBER (she/her)

    GOOD GRIEF HOST AMERICAS

  • Anna (they/them)

    QUEER GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • ANNA (SHE/HER)

    STUDENT GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • BEN (he/him)

    GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • CLAIRE (she/her)

    PARLER PANSER HOST

  • ELLEN (SHE/HER)

    QUEER GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • HOllie (she/her)

    PARTNER LOSS HOST

  • Jess (she/her)

    GOOD GRIEF HOST HONG KONG

  • LAUREN (SHE/HER)

    BLACK & BROWN GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • LEA (SHE/HER)

    PARLER PANSER HOST

  • LIAM (HE/HIM)

    BOYS TALK HOST

  • Lori (she/her)

    GOOD GRIEF HOST AMERICAS

  • MATT (he/him)

    BOYS TALK HOST

  • Paul (he/him)

    BOYS TALK HOST

  • ROBYN (she/they)

    BLACK & BROWN GOOD GRIEF HOST

  • Sam (She/her)

    CONNECT, REFLECT, CREATE HOST

  • Sam (She/her)

    HOST LIAISON OFFICER

  • SOPHIE (she/her)

    IT’S COMPLICATED HOST

  • Theo (he/him)

    STUDENT GOOD GRIEF HOST

“Being a volunteer with TNN is my way of giving back, knowing how hard grief can be. I started going to meetings when I first moved to London, and it got me through some really tough, lonely times. Now I can see all the extraordinary work that goes into it, and the incredible reach it has gained to support so many other adult grievers.”
— Lauren, Social Media Volunteer

Volunteer With TNN.

Volunteers are the life blood of our charity: we could not provide the support we do without them. 

We are very grateful to everyone who has dedicated their time, skills and experiences to help The New Normal grow into what it is today.

Do you have some free time and skills that you'd like to use to make a difference? 

We're always looking for empathetic and experienced persons to support the Charity’s operations

All roles are home-based and flexible. If you are passionate about building empathetic and supportive communities, and have the capacity, time and skills to support the Charity's mission, we'd love to hear from you!.

meeting hosts

We are always looking for people from all communities, experiences and identities to train as Meeting Facilitators for our grief and mental health peer support meetings.

We are particularly keen to hear from people interested in hosting in the following meetings:

  • Good Grief (in person and virtual)

  • Black & Brown Good Grief (virtual)

  • Queer Good Grief (virtual)

  • Partner Loss (virtual)

If you would like to get involved or for more information on the training process, please Contact Us.

If you are interested in holding space within your own community, whether for grief, mental health or something else, check out our Building Supportive Communities project.