Luna Leadership

Luna Leadership Impact Illuminator 🌙 Career Growth & Community Impact. Evaluation/ Data Analyst / Careers / Health & Wellbeing. https://linktr.ee/lunacenti

Academic Misfits host; * Confidently crafting clear & compelling impact stories!

10/06/2026

I renounced my citizenship by going to Finland's US embassy and decided to combine it with a weekend getaway to Tallinn where I marched a bit with Pride Tallinn and then went to Budapest and even joined for a salsa piknik 💃

July is my birthday month and I've done an impulsive thing! 😅 I've signed up for the 5-mile LCL Bike Ride - Liverpool to...
28/05/2026

July is my birthday month and I've done an impulsive thing! 😅 I've signed up for the 5-mile LCL Bike Ride - Liverpool to Chester (though I'm turning around on the Wirral).

Help me fundraise for the Northwest Cancer Research.

Commemorating a big milestone of cycling post ACL tear and meniscus trim surgery!

Anything you can spare!

Thanks, love and solidarity!

https://northwestcancerresearch.enthuse.com/pf/luna-ride

🎉 NEW Academic Misfits Podcast episode with Catrina Mitchum-Phd!! This is so exciting!Our guest is founder of CM Learnin...
15/05/2026

🎉 NEW Academic Misfits Podcast episode with Catrina Mitchum-Phd!! This is so exciting!

Our guest is founder of CM Learning Design. In this episode, we discuss all the issues in academia and why many of us don't fit:

- issues around tenure,
- having to be mobile constantly in academia,
- the reality of trying to fit when everything seems to be working against it

We explore finding what will be valued outside of academia, marketing one's skills and all the SH*T courses that exploit PhDs and their anxiety around finding a job outside of academia! (HINT: Catrina has some upcoming training and a podcast of her own so any course creators can be less crap)

This is an amazing episode and perfect for escaping those grading blues and wanting to reflect on their 'What's Next'.

£2000+, 150+ hours, probably £8k surgery on the NHS and 8 months later, I cycled to Otterspool! Thanks to my physio, che...
14/05/2026

£2000+, 150+ hours, probably £8k surgery on the NHS and 8 months later, I cycled to Otterspool!

Thanks to my physio, cheerleader, and moral support The journey continues!

Burnout is so common in academia that I always felt that the cynical, gallows-humour part of my interactions with people...
07/05/2026

Burnout is so common in academia that I always felt that the cynical, gallows-humour part of my interactions with people was just the academic personality, perhaps a number 6 to be added to the Big 5! ;)

I've been supporting a few academics in Life After Academia who are really struggling with recovery from burnout. One has been able to take leave to recover and the recent article in Nature recommends this option, though it's focused on tips for doctoral students.... it's important for anyone who feels that exhaustion and draining of creativity that comes with burnout.

Yesterday, a client said the transformative aspect of my coaching - in addition to landing a job within 4 months after failing to get even an interview for over a year post-PhD - was connecting to one's values. Values show our priorities and can guide decisions, especially when one is pivoting.

So, I just finished creating a new values quiz that has received amazing feedback from my Life After Academia clients!

One client said "A year ago, this would have never been my priority [since I was burnt out with overwork and saying 'yes'], but now I prioritize myself and my wellbeing... and my boundaries at work have been held so firmly now!".

Another said "I'm embracing my humanity".

Yes, landing the job is important and I'm proud that 57% of clients find jobs within 3 months, but it's the alignment with values that people who enter my world want. This quiz will hopefully allow us to assess where they are, where there are gaps in alignment, and prioritise going forward. Plus, values are an important part of the cover letter & interview process -- if you need an additional reason to reflect on yours :)

Academics tell me a big issue is realising what they're good at... but often, in coaching, we seek further clarity toget...
14/04/2026

Academics tell me a big issue is realising what they're good at... but often, in coaching, we seek further clarity together because they might realise what they're good at isn't what they want to spend their one life doing.

They say competence is a prison because people will absolutely give you tasks if you're good at them. I can't tell you how many committees I led!!

So even if you see a "project manager" role and think, I'd be good at that.

You may be perfect for that job but maybe it's not perfect for you. You can do what you enjoy!

(image from IWD 2025 career panel at University of Liverpool)

In our lives, we'll all get hurt. We'll all face loss, regret, a shift. It's what we do with it that counts. How we reac...
07/04/2026

In our lives, we'll all get hurt. We'll all face loss, regret, a shift.

It's what we do with it that counts.

How we react.
How we gain more clarity, more insight into ourselves and our needs, and set things in place to ensure we grow.

Not despite the pain, but because of it.

In my own recovery from a knee injury and then surgery, I've been rethinking what I offer and how I work.

I love coaching. I've done it for a decade and a half.

But I knew I had more in me because my passion is to help young people grow into mentally healthy adults capable of taking on the world, especially those from marginalised backgrounds.

I've been wondering how I can do that best, what skills I have, and where my strengths lie.

In that aim, I'm having coffee meetings and I started with Catrina Mitchum-Phd and Rochelle DavisDavis.

Rochelle's journey was interesting and we geeked out over the joys and absolute hair-pulling stress of automation-building ;)

But she also gave me some advice: she stressed the importance of not just knowing your goals and passion for change, but also what energises you and what tasks you enjoy when fostering that change and achieving those goals.

I realised I love creating better systems for organisations to make more impact with less time and resources so they can spend more time helping young people and less time on admin.

It's about thinking bigger. How can we have a bigger impact?

I'm a systems thinker. I understand the wider systems at play and have a knack for finding the best ways to impact those structures—engaging in collaborations and partnerships, finding efficient ways to manage a company, saving costs. That's what I've done in my 15 years as a director for non-profits.

I worked for a 501c3 non-profit in the U.S., making cost-saving decisions and using tech to improve support systems for stakeholders and those we served. Now I do that as a consultant for organisations—but not just as a consultant. I'm a partner, a collaborator. I love getting to know an organisation inside out.

So I'm happy to let go of things I'm good at — like, there is a lot I'm good at — but don't enjoy even if they served a purpose at one time.

I can’t believe it's been 2 years since I was in Colombia, in the tropical rainforest, writing a government tender. That...
01/04/2026

I can’t believe it's been 2 years since I was in Colombia, in the tropical rainforest, writing a government tender. That tender helped an organisation I truly believed in secure a government contract, which led to a major expansion of their intervention work in schools.

Since then, they’ve 3x their number of staff and 4x their impact.

They’ve gone from working in a dozen schools to 85+ in the region, along with nurseries, and work across public, private, and third sectors. They’re helping children and young people improve their mental health which will support their education.

Some of my early research was on how parents can be supported to have healthy children—mentally healthy children—and improve educational attainment through the way they speak to their children when they’re young: empathising with their point of view and helping to articulate what their infants are feeling.

Now, I’m actively helping 2 organisations make an impact in the next stages of childhood, supporting those who work with children in toddlerhood, childhood, and emerging adolescence. It’s amazing!

This week, I found out that another organisation I’ve supported in fundraising is making a big impact on young people’s dreams, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. They’re helping kids achieve in football and building leadership skills.

So I’m looking for more organisations to work with, especially at the intersection of mental health and education.

My expertise is operations, systems and data insight to support high-level decision making.

I'm creating a Leaving Academia course on Skool- it's free. If you haven't joined, it's a great network away from Facebo...
30/03/2026

I'm creating a Leaving Academia course on Skool- it's free. If you haven't joined, it's a great network away from Facebook. Search for Academic Misfits and join the lively community.

You know what?! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're too old to learn new things. Almost 4 years later and I'm not...
06/02/2026

You know what?! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're too old to learn new things.

Almost 4 years later and I'm not using any of the tools i used at the start of my business...

Not an exhaustive list of tools/software I've used and learned for my business in the last 2 years:

FloDesk
WordPress
LearnDash
Woocommerce
WP Forms
Trello
Notion
Jitsi Meet w/ 8x8
NeetoCal
Davinci video editing
Power BI
MAKE[.] com
Canva

I know I have loads of energy and creative juices, but anyone can do it! I've just had to have a good talking to... by me!

Once it's good enough, let it go. It will never be perfect!

If you can't afford to pay for tools, use free versions for as long as you can. I started out only paying for 2 products. And NeetoCal is free and I automate migration using Make, which is also free up to a point.

Do what you can, don't put obstacles in your way.

Start messy, just start now!

You might change your mind, but it's not a journal publication ... you don't need to submit a retraction!!

If it's not great, fine. It's in the past. Just commit to better every day.

(Pic of Luna dancing to Colombian music)

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