Giving back
Where I Give My Time.
I am a UK Armed Forces spouse, and a good deal of what I know about product, communities and leadership I have given back to the forces family and to the product community, unpaid and gladly. This page gathers that work, the tools I have built for it and the story of the years in which most of it happened.
For the Armed Forces community
Serving the People Who Serve.
Volunteer Public Affairs Officer
I create social media content for the garrison, and illustrations for its social media campaigns. I have written major press releases that were carried on army.mil. I created the strategic framework for the America 250 initiative, covering the celebrations and our engagement with the host nation and the local community. I have also taken part in NATO events, the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux change of command and more. Named Garrison Volunteer of the Year 2026.
Product and User Experience Lead for the Bereavement Hub
Beyond the Wire is a community interest company serving the Armed Forces bereaved. I worked closely with the Andrew Simpson Foundation, who built its Bereavement Hub. The first plan copied an existing grief site, organised around who the bereaved person was rather than what they needed. I reshaped the overall user experience, the user journeys and the calls to action around need instead. I led and facilitated the workshops that settled the wireframes, and gave technology advice and key architecture input. I also built Iris, a custom GPT that helps bereaved families understand their entitlements and find their way through the paperwork.
Volunteer Coach and Community Champion
Coaching for forces partners rebuilding careers around the posting cycle, as an ICF-trained coach who has done the same.
Member of the Board
Helping run the programme and events for an international community of NATO military families, far from home.
New Leaf: Create Your Squiggly Career Story Supported by Vibe Coaching
A private, self-serve coaching space. Designed with the Armed Forces community in mind and open to anyone with a portfolio career: lay out the chapters of your working life, including the moves, the caring and the volunteering, and get back a professional summary, a career narrative and every chapter explained with dignity. Free, no sign-up and nothing stored.
Open New LeafArnhem 1944 Foundation, and the Anniversary Seasons
A member of the Arnhem 1944 Foundation, and part of the planning and communications for the 80th anniversary of Arnhem, the Army's 250th, America's 250th and the 25th anniversary of 9/11 across the Benelux communities.
For the product community
Paying Forward What the Profession Gave Me.
Founding Member and Community Mentor
Mentoring product people at the start and the middle of their careers, and helping shape a community that did not exist when I needed it.
Fellow, and Elected Member of Council
Elected to the Council in 2023, and a member of the IT Leaders Forum, contributing to how the profession is represented and governed.
Trainer and Mentor
Teaching product accounting and product management to people retraining into technology, free of charge.
Leadership Forum Volunteer
Part of the volunteer team behind the Leadership Forum, where senior product people meet to compare notes candidly.
Reviewing and Editing Books in the Profession
Reviewer for Mobius Outcome Delivery Quickstart, Agendashift and Wholehearted, and reviewer and editor for Agile Bullshit. The shelf is on the portfolio.
Free Tools and a Skills Pack for AI Agents
The templates and health checks on this site, and six product leadership skills anyone can install into their own AI agent, all free to use and share. The tools.
The Story Behind It
Most of this happened in the three years after I stepped back from full-time work to follow a NATO posting overseas. I wrote about what that time was like, what I did with it and what it gave back, in a field note called On Taking Time Out, and What I Did with It. The practical companion, Giving Back on an Overseas Posting, and the Product Skills It Gave Me, sets out what each role proves. It is the most personal thing on this site, and probably the most useful to anyone in the same position.
In Their Words
"Elle has helped thousands of individuals at Bupa be better at their jobs without taking the credit away from their deliveries."
Azza Hashim · Senior Governance and ESG Professional, Bupa
If You Are an Armed Forces Spouse Building a Portfolio Career, Say Hello.
I am glad to talk, to point you at the people and schemes that helped me, or simply to compare notes. No charge, no agenda.