Our Team

The day to day is done by me, Laura Shimili Mears Marketer, Photographer and Event Organiser with help from our amazing interns. 

Strategic direction is guided by the Board of Advisors – see our members below.

Laura Shimili Mears

Marketer, Photographer and Network Host

Strategic Board

Meet our board members, Louisa Robinson

Louisa Browne 

Project Manager

Louisa has over 12 years of experience as a highly skilled administrator offering PA/EA skills to those in the Educational and Corporate sectors as an employee, working closely with Senior Leadership teams at UCL and Directors at a Branding Design agency. Self-employed since 2021 as a solopreneur in the Events and Project Management space, and Co-Founder of a vibrant VA company Libra VA Services, she has built an impressive career portfolio servicing the operational and strategic needs of creatives, educators and CEOs of small businesses predominantly in the Real Estate sector. Founder of Learning Languages with Lou where she tutors English, French and Italian 1:1 and in small groups online. She is currently studying for the Agile Project Management qualification (Practitioner) and is looking to niche in servicing clients in high-level organisation and large-scale tasks using this pedagogical method. 

Louisa can advise and support other business owners on all areas of professional services from the initial business set-up, setting up systems and processes to support onward growth and scalability as well as advising founders on how to manage their time efficiently whilst juggling multiple ventures and possibly being a working parent/carer!

louisarobinson93@hotmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisarobs/


Meet our board members, Ranji Thangiah

Tooting Mama

Ranji Thangiah, aka Tooting Mama, is a British Sri Lankan food writer, photographer, and podcaster with a passion for telling stories through food. 

With a 25-year corporate career in communications, she brings a refined lens to her craft, blending narrative and visuals seamlessly. 

She has recently established a digital platform on the  Substack in which she shares her curated recipes, stunning photography, and engaging podcasts which have been downloaded over 1000 times. 

She is the co-founder of the Sri Lankan Culture Collective which held its first sell-out boutique festival to promote modern Sri Lankan culture through food, fashion, comedy and music.

Her work has been featured in leading publications such as the Metro and BBC Travel, and her photography has global recognition, including high commendation from the World Food Photography Awards.

Ranji can help and advise business owners on building a narrative to share engaging stories to attract and retain customers and clients through newsletters and podcasts.



Meet our board members, Nudrat Chagtai

Nudrat Chagtai 

Nudrat Chagtai is a Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Health Coach with a unique background that bridges the corporate and wellness worlds. With over 20 years of experience in investment banking, Nudrat managed operations and IT departments, and drove transformational change projects. Over the years, she has supported and mentored individuals and now continues to do this for her Alumni network.

Inspired by her own health transformation through diet and lifestyle changes, Nudrat transitioned to nutritional therapy to help others on their wellness journey. She now provides personalised nutrition and lifestyle advice, tailored to individual needs. She believes in a food first approach and values the importance of simplicity when it comes to health. With a special focus on supporting midlife women struggling with hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, and metabolic health, she also runs Group Programmes and Workshops and her aim is to establish a community-based group providing health and wellbeing support in the community.

Nourish by Nudrat

nudrat@nourishbynudrat.com


Meet our board members, James Walters

James Walters

The Digital Brand Studio

James is a business and digital strategist and user experience consultant with over 15 years of experience helping businesses grow by working with them to join their strategy and user experience dots.

He works with businesses to help them develop a business strategy is clear and reflects their goals, and to create a digital strategy that aligns with them, before helping them to create a website or app that their customers will find engaging and easy to use.

james@thescreengrocer.co.uk

thedigitalbrand.studio