Poppy Jaman OBE
“I want to leave a legacy where every workplace in the world has normalised mental health, just like they have health and safety.”
Poppy Jaman OBE
Poppy Jaman OBE is a third generation Briton of Bangladeshi origin who has made no secret of her struggles with depression from an early age.
Poppy left school at 16, was married at 17 and developed postnatal anxiety and depression at 20. She described it as a forced marriage. Jaman worked for the NHS, and her bosses realised her talent. So, she resumed her education and graduated with an MBA, becoming an inspirational advocate for mental health and wellbeing of people from diverse communities.
Jaman is committed to making “mental health first aid” a global priority, on a par with physical first aid.
She founded the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England in 2009, which evolved from a small social enterprise to a fast growing, commercially successful Community Interest Company providing skills training, workplace wellbeing and mental health awareness promotion programmes.
In 2017, the Financial Times recognised MHFA as “one of the fastest growing SMEs in Europe”.
She was awarded an OBE in 2018, in recognition of her outstanding services to people with mental health issues. She featured in the 2019 FT list of Game Changers, and the same year Jaman was the Woman of the Year at the GG2 Culture and Diversity Leadership awards.