The Shaping Portsmouth Podcast

Charla Grant talks to Bianca Carr, Founder and CEO of Final Straw Foundation, about starting the organisation, how a single campaign grew into a fully-fledged charity, and the projects they run along the Solent tackling single use plastics and pollution, including Wild Beach Schools getting children to the beach and helping them fall in love with the sea, and restoring native oysters. The post Epi...

Charla Grant welcomes another new member of the Shaping Portsmouth Team, Sarah Thompson, who has joined us as our new Education Pillar Lead. Charla and Sarah chat about her previous career in teaching, her role at Shaping and how she's finding it so far, and setting down roots in the city. The post Episode 96: Sarah Thompson first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant welcomes Jane Moody, a new member of the Shaping Portsmouth Team, and chats about how she came to join us, her own organisation Marvellous Fabulous Projects, what she's learned about Shaping and the City since starting her role, and how she brings her values and joy to her life and work. The post Episode 95: Jane Moody first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant talks to Joe Weston-McDowell, Head of Fundraising & Marketing at Motiv8, about supporting Portsmouth's City of Culture bid, the latest updates from the campaign, how businesses can support the bid by taking the Proper Pompey Pledge, and how it will impact the whole city WHEN we win! The post Episode 94: City of Culture first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Recorded during National Volunteers Week, Dave Humphries talks to Andrew Starr, Co-Lead of the Portsmouth Ambassadors, about his various roles around the city, speaking and teaching multiple languages, Portsmouth's twin cities and other links around the world, the Portsmouth Ambassador programme, what the role of Ambassador entails and opportunities available to Ambassadors, and the new online Por...

Charla Grant talks to CP Robinson about his first few weeks in the Chief Operations Officer role, why he joined the team, his management and leadership style, some of his other roles across the city, and his plans for Shaping Portsmouth. The post Episode 92: CP Robinson first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant talks to Chris West, Co-Lead of our Workplace Health & Wellbeing programme, about Burnout, what it is and what you can do about it, the difference between burnout and stress, as well as the importance of looking after your mental health and wellbeing in general. The post Episode 91: Burnout first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant talks to Jo Dallas about the work Headway Portsmouth & South East Hampshire does supporting people with acquired brain injuries and their families and carers, how these injuries affect lives, how things have changed over the 40 years since Headway launched, how local businesses could support them, and their upcoming abseil of the Spinnaker Tower! The post Episode 90: Headway Portsmout...

Dave Humphries talks to Sam about his role at Airbus, the history of Airbus and what they do in Portsmouth and around the world (and in space!), managing sustainability and their Portsmouth initiatives, and their apprenticeship scheme. The post Episode 89: Airbus first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant talks to Nathalie Russell-Clarke, co-director, and Emma Stallard, participant and artist, about This New Ground, an Arts organisation which elevates the artistic voices and talents of people with learning disabilities, their exhibition running at Aspex Portsmouth until 7th June called Inside, their festival, Pivot Fest, taking place in Portsmouth between 8th and 10th May, and what the...

Charla Grant talks to Clare Seek about Share (Portsmouth), which runs the Repair Café and Portsmouth Library of Things, creating a cultural revolution in the city, the right to repair and circular economy, and how businesses and individuals can get involved. The post Episode 87: Share (Portsmouth) first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Dave Humphries talks to Mark Waldron, Editor in Chief of The News, about his career in journalism, the importance of local journalism and the changes it has gone through, the Business Excellence Awards, and being Co-Chair of Shaping Portsmouth. The post Episode 86: Mark Waldron first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

In this episode Charla Grant talks to Sohaila Sophia about what led her to a career in coaching, the various types of one-to-one coaching and group talks she offers across lifestyle, therapeutic style, and corporate & business, the importance of wellbeing, and being Co-Lead for Shaping's Workplace Health & Wellbeing programme. The post Episode 85: Sohaila Sophia Coaching first appeared on Shaping...

Charla Grant talks to Trevor Payne from Athletic Performance & Therapy about working in knee and lower limb therapy and the psychological links, his clinic in the John Pounds Centre, PEACE and LOVE, and getting Clare Martin MBE running. The post Episode 84: Athletic Performance & Therapy first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Dave Humphries talks to Bev about how she came to leave her job and found Frank HR, being a workaholic and a people person, the difficulties of setting up a business, and how Frank HR works as a retainer service for businesses. The post Episode 83: Frank HR first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant, Suzan Win Latt, and Marian Glover reflect on International Women's Day and this years theme of Give to Gain, the SLR Recruitment IWD event, their own lunch meeting about how to extend the IWD celebration across the whole year, and their plans for a new Women in Business initiative that came out of it. The post Episode 82: Women in Business first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant chats with Hannah Murray about how she came to work in mental health, starting out as The Beautiful Mind Coach and how that evolved into Seed Wellbeing, the importance of healthy workplace culture, and the impact she'd like Seed Wellbeing to have in the city. The post Episode 81: Seed Wellbeing first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant chats with Dave Humphries (CEO of a local organisation you may know called Shaping Portsmouth!) looking back over the last year of Shaping Portsmouth activities, including the Conference, collaboration in the city, community cohesion, the importance of listening to young people, and Dave's experiences in his role. The post Episode 80: Dave Humphries first appeared on Shaping Portsmout...

This week we have a special episode for International Women's Day, which will be on Sunday 8th March! In this episode, Charla Grant chats with Roni Edwards-Wilson from Pamodzi about her decision to pause the Inspirational Women's Awards this year, how she's been keeping busy, the importance of the awards, and this year's IWD theme of Give to Gain. The post Episode 79: International Women’s Day fir...

CEO Dave Humphries speaks to Steve Piper, founder of Si Digital, about the business, Artificial Intelligence, and how attending the Shaping Portsmouth Conference in 2025 led to taking a PSA test, which led to a prostate cancer diagnosis. The post Episode 78: Steve Piper first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Charla Grant chats with apprentices Aidan Whitlock from Mountjoy, Lauren Owen from Comserv, and Christopher Munday from South Western Railway about why they chose the Apprenticeship route and their experiences on the Apprenticeship Bus. The post Episode 77: Apprenticeship Bus Special – Part 2 first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

As we prepare for National Apprenticeship Week next week, it's the first part of our Apprenticeship Bus Special! Charla Grant chats with apprentices Katie House from Specsavers, Jake Bull from KBS Maritime, and Lauren Spooner from Portsmouth City Council about why they chose the Apprenticeship route and their experiences on the Apprenticeship Bus. The post Episode 76: Apprenticeship Bus Special –...

CEO Dave Humphries speaks to Katy about taking part in the Shaping Conference, how she went from joining Portsmouth Northsea Swimming Club at age six to swimming at an elite level and beyond, how training prepared her for parenthood and life in general, and her current project promoting water safety with The Gogglehedz. The post Episode 75: Katy Sexton first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .

Recorded live at the Shaping Portsmouth Conference on Friday 16th January 2026, Education Pillar Director Hayden Taylor talks to Maheep Kaur, about her roles as Member of the UK Youth Parliament for Portsmouth and on the Executive Committee of the Portsmouth Youth Cabinet, then Hayden and Maheep are joined by Theo Proca to interview Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North. The post Episode 74: Aman...

Dave Humphries talks to Steve Squires, founder of Odigo Driving School, about the switch from history teacher to starting a driving school, running a local small business, his work with Models for Heroes, and some scary driving moments. The post Episode 73: Odigo Driving School first appeared on Shaping Portsmouth .