Women and Girls' Rights, Humanitarian, and Climate Justice | Helen McEachern, CARE International UK

“It felt like a real sweet-spot for me. Women and girls’ rights, humanitarian and climate justice.”

Enjoy this short conversation with Helen McEachern, CEO of CARE International UK. It was recorded a few weeks after the Spring Statement which confirmed the ODA budget was being cut to fund defence spending.

“We can’t keep everyone happy all the time, but we can be compassionate and understanding and kind.”

Helen’s a former advertising/marketing/agency creative who loved the work but had issues with selling products for sketchy clients (e.g. companies working on nuclear weapons) and didn’t hold back from telling her bosses.

So she bailed for fundraising and international development, and here we are. She’s held roles at Greenpeace, Action Aid, and was the chief exec of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women before joining CARE in 2023.

“What’s stressing me out, and what was feeding a potential reaching of burnout, was that all I things I had worked for - most of my adult life, and as a teenager working on that justice piece - they don’t seem to be getting better at the moment. They seem to be going the wrong way - women’s rights, climate justice, democracy…”

In this conversation, hear Helen explore:

Her brush with burnout.

How she retains storytelling skills when dry budgets and board reports are pressing on her shoulders.

The need for humour within serious work.

Whether she’s drawn to difficult things, and her thinking on problem solving.

Why you shouldn’t overprep a speech.

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