Leading For Impact: Aileen Edmunds on her first nine months as CEO at Longleigh
Posted on 18th June 2024
Nine months into her role as Longleigh’s new CEO, as we conclude our 2023/24 Financial year, we sit down with Aileen Edmunds to see how she’s found her first few months.
Tell us about your work before you joined Longleigh Foundation?
“I always knew I wanted to use my time and skills to try and make a difference, so have spent most of my career in the For Impact sector, from housing and homelessness to international development. In my last role, I helped create a Foundation for a Housing Association in Manchester – so I’m keen to bring that learning and experience to Longleigh and help us grow our impact.”
Why did you choose to join Longleigh Foundation?
“I was drawn to Longleigh because of the sheer scope of the work and the organisation’s potential. Delivering grants to individuals in crisis, wrap around support to prevent future crises through project grants, and tackling systemic issues through research grants, all while working with a small and passionate team – what’s not to love?”
Tell us about your achievements over the last nine months?
“Ah, you mean our achievements? Nothing is possible without a great team! It’s hard to choose – we’ve done so much, from clarifying our purpose with a theory of change, to revising our strategy, commissioning a governance review, to securing additional funding from new donors! What I’m most proud of though, is our team, who have been through a lot of change over the last year, but have continued to focus on making a difference and have prioritised getting our grants to the people who need us, with empathy and speed!”
How do you look after your wellbeing in such a busy role?
“At the end of every day I ask myself three questions:
1 – What have you done today that made someone else happy?
2 – What has someone else done today that made you happy?
3 – What are you most proud of?
No matter how challenging the day, no matter how many difficult decisions, these questions help me to reframe each day to focus on what really matters – empathy, kindness and making things better. If you’re ever stressed, doing something to help someone else can completely lift your whole day!”
What can we look forward to in 2025?
“Our new year begins next month in July, and we have some major targets for the year ahead, including embedding impact and purpose across all our grant programmes – so that each and every one of our interventions is rooted in evidence base, enabling us to help more people and make the biggest difference to their lives. I also want to ensure we measure, celebrate and shout about our success so everyone can hear about the fantastic work our wonderful team does.”
To connect with Aileen, visit her LinkedIn profile.
