Mend + Tend
Inspiration | Wellbeing | Work designed for real life.
Event on 14th March | 10-1pm | Manchester Museum
On 14th March 2026, 70+ people gathered to design work for real life.
Here are some of the event highlights and powerful moments
Who was Tend + Tend for?
Mend + Tend was for leaders, managers and teams in health, education and community settings who care deeply about people and impact, but are feeling the strain of constant urgency, rising pressure and ways of working that no longer fit real life.
Shaped by years of working alongside organisations facing burnout, change and complexity, Mend + Tend brings together people who are ready to pause, learn from others, and begin redesigning so it can be secure, sustainable and genuinely supportive.
- Leaders and teams experiencing high pressure and urgency.
- People who know the problem isn’t them and want to create change.
- People ready to reduce pressure and create sustainable ways of working.
Speakers and Podcast Panel
We curated a range of outstanding speakers, who will share 10min talks on the topic of Transformation and a brilliant podcast panel,who will discuss practical ways to make change happen.
| Razia Shaikh-Patel, Women Empowerment Through Art Uplifting Manchesters Women: Transforming Struggles Into Strengths |
| Anna Taylor, InSitu Your Place to Contribute: From Chronic Health to Positive Leadership |
| Kerry Tottingham, Faye Bertram and Tess Basson, A Brilliant Thing CIC Healing-Centred Work World: Urgency to sustainability |
| Susie Cuthill, Future of Greater Manchester and Well [enough] Core Values to Fulfilment: Living a Life that feels well |
| Harvey Kennedy-Pitt, Get Unstukk From the margins to the table: Resisting power and reclaiming place in health equity movements |
| Laura Potts, Your Endo Events Turning self advocacy into impact |
| Beth Creedon The hidden system that decides our life and how to lead it consciously. |
What we offered!
A warm welcome, inspiration, space to nurture your ideas, wellbeing and purpose.
Mend + Tend was shaped though Healing-Centred Design® an approach that goes beyond trauma-informed practice to actively design work that is safe, supportive and sustainable by default, not just responsive when things break.
There were limited places (to keep it spacious and relational) to join us in redesigning how work works. We wont be asking individuals to cope better inside unhealthy systems, instead expect depth without heaviness, reflection without fluff, and ideas and support you can actually use.
Mend + Tend 2026 Zones
Mend + Tend introduced the Healing-Centred Work World, a place where work is designed for real life.
What is ‘Healing-Centred’?
Trauma-informed practice is now widely adopted across health, education and community sectors to create safe services and projects. Healing-centred work builds on this foundation by nurturing team wellbeing, organisational capacity and sector sustainability.
A Healing-Centred Work World:
- Accepts that people’s lives show up at work
- Designs flexibility into systems and working practices
- Aligns culture, operations and strategy with sustainability
Feedback from our event in 2025!
