ABOUT US

Joanne Hill

Messy Minds was founded by Joanne Hill, whose personal and professional journey brings depth and authenticity to everything we teach. Joanne is an ILM Level 7 qualified executive coach and ADHD coach with over 20 years’ experience across sports, corporate leadership, and neurodivergent communities. Her coaching philosophy is rooted in warmth, clarity, and ethical rigour, specialising in ND-friendly curriculum design and executive functioning education.

She earned her ILM Level 7 in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, a significant academic achievement that reflects her decades of experience leading and developing high-performing teams. Joanne also holds an NVQ in Sports Coaching and a 4th degree black belt in kickboxing, earned after 11 years of teaching and training. During that time, she trained multiple cohorts of kickboxing coaches and ran her own successful martial arts franchise business.

She always knew she was different but never understood why. Even while coaching boys with ADHD in her kickboxing classes, she had no idea the condition could present so differently in women, or that not everyone lived with a mind that never stopped.

Her lived experience of late-diagnosed ADHD discovered at age 47, deeply informs her work. She didn’t realise she learned through doing, had a short-term working memory, or that her brain only fully engaged when deeply interested.

And yet, she rose to become one of the most senior women in a FTSE 100 company, leading through crisis, building award-winning programmes, and championing the value of different minds working together.

 Joanne’s journey is now the heartbeat of Messy Minds Academy, an organisation that exists to reframe ADHD, empower individuals to take control of their own narrative, and help others make sense of themselves.

Kerry Lewis

Working alongside Joanne is Kerry Lewis, our Chief Operating Officer and the creative engine behind how Messy Minds comes to life. A Chartered Manager and CIPD-qualified professional, Kerry blends strategic leadership with creative empathy, bringing over 20 years of experience in senior operational roles across diverse teams.

As an expert in implementation and people development, Kerry has led multiple and varied teams, each one teaching her that neurodiversity isn’t just valuable, it’s essential. She’s seen firsthand how extraordinary talent emerges when individuals are supported with the right coaching, the right environment, and the right belief in their potential. That insight is now embedded in every fibre of Messy Minds.

Kerry’s gift lies in translating complex ideas into grounded strategies, always with clarity, structure, and people at the core. Her leadership style is inclusive and empowering, shaped by years of building high-performing teams where difference is not just accepted, but celebrated.

Kerry didn’t stumble into coaching; she arrived through experience. She knows exactly what coaching can unlock, because she’s lived it. Coaching gave

her renewed clarity and self-belief, both professionally and personally. That transformation fuels her passion today, and she brings that insight into the heart of this programme, championing safe spaces and bold growth for every coach and coachee.