As co-founder and former director of Social Bite, a social enterprise dedicated to tackling homelessness in Scotland, Alice has experienced the highs and lows of building an organisation from scratch, and been on a personal journey of discovery.
The highs have been countless during a journey that started out with Social Bite as a sandwich shop which gave away its profits to good causes, to establishing it as a national charity on a mission to end homelessness in Scotland.
Along the way, Alice learned about leadership, managing a team of over 100 people while in her 20s. She discovered how to use creativity and a positive mindset to achieve seemingly impossible goals, for example enlisting A-list celebrities such as George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio to Scotland to support Social Bite.
The topics and themes Alice can address in her talks include:
- social impact
- resilience
- mental health
- managing stress
- work-life balance
- self belief
- creativity
- leadership
- entrepreneurship
Alice has witnessed first-hand how to bring about change and make a positive impact on the world. Her work with Social Bite has led to pioneering new housing policies in partnership with the Scottish government, and funding such work to the tune of £4 million.
Alice also developed a love of inspiring others. Through her involvement in the world’s largest sponsored sleep out, Sleep in the Park (15,000 participants), and the Wee Sleep Out for under 18s (12,000 participants), she knows what it takes to make a genuine impact on the world around her.
Her efforts have been rewarded with 3 Honorary Doctorate Degrees as well as the RSGS Livingstone Medal, which is also held by the likes of Sir David Attenborough and Neil Armstrong. She has also been recognised with an ITV Pride of Britain Award.
There have also been challenges. Alice is a heartfelt and honest speaker who shares her negative experiences to help others. From battling mental health and addiction, to fighting for recognition as a woman in business, Alice often brings the audience to tears with her stories.
All these experiences, whether good or bad, have taught Alice about how to achieve fulfilment – and the answer is not what you might think.
Since flying the nest from Social Bite, Alice has become a coach, mentor and speaker, dedicated to making coaching more affordable and accessible. Her focus is on inspiring and empowering the next generation of purposeful leaders to shake things up and steer the world towards a brighter future.
From keynotes to Q&As and panel discussions, Alice has spoken at events for a huge range of clients including Amnesty International, The British Council and PWC.