Learnings from Lucy Perry about Childbirth, Ethiopia, Charity & Social Media: Ep 120

Lucy Perry with patients in Ethiopia

What’s possible when you combine your skills, teamwork and find your passion? You can make an impact like Lucy Perry, one of the top social CEO’s of 2014. She is recognised for her work at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, a charity funding the work of two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr Catherine Hamlin.

Dr Hamlin and Mamite

Dr Hamlin with Mamite

As Telana chats with Lucy, learn about:

Lucy Perry

Lucy-Perry-CEO

Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia in Australia is led by Chief Executive Officer, Lucy Perry. She was appointed to this role by Dr Catherine Hamlin in 2012 when it was time to form a new charitable entity in Australia to fund Dr Hamlin’s legacy. Lucy went from volunteer to CEO in eight years and has taken the organisation from a standing start to raising more than $5.5M in just over two years since her appointment. Lucy was born in Africa and has traveled to Ethiopia many times.

Lucy’s background is in communications and fundraising, having built a successful creative services firm which she ran for 20 years. Her skills as a commercial photographer led her to travel to Ethiopia for the first time in 2007, on assignment for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. She shot the iconic image of Dr Catherine Hamlin surrounded by her patients in 2009 and shot the most well-known portrait of Catherine the same year. Lucy’s photography skills and knack for writing have taken her all over the world including to Cambodia where she has shot images which illustrate the challenges of maternity care in the remote rice fields.

Lucy has an interesting background in the world of birth. She trained as a doula or childbirth support partner in 2003 and for five years attended births as a support person. She is the founder of Australia’s largest online doula directory listing more than 500 doulas and connecting them with couples who need support. Lucy went on to write and launch the world’s first childbirth education program specifically for men, run at the pub. Beer + Bubs is now run in pubs all over Australia. She published Cheers to Childbirth: a dad’s guide to childbirth support (Pure Publishing) in 2010.

Lucy leads the team at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia in Australia with passion and energy, at a pace that is hard to match. Her focus has always been on the patients, often quoting Dr Hamlin in her mantra, “Just do it for the patients”. She has placed Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia in Australia firmly on the not-for-profit map with a clever social media strategy and ground-breaking appeals which have raised significant funds in very short period of time.

Lucy is a recipient of a Kindness Award from the Wake Up Project and in 2014 was listed in the world’s top 30 #socialceos for her strategic use of social media in the not-for-profit sector. She was a founding director of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) and is a member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia.

Lucy Perry is a runner, adventurer, keen horse rider and mother of three.

Contact & Info

The best way to get in touch with Lucy is through her social media platforms found on her website:

Podcasts

Audio:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:32 — 22.7MB)

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Video:

Bibliography



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