Natasha Devon
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Natasha Devon MBE |
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|---|---|
| Born | 12 March 1981 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Campaigner, writer and social entrepreneur |
| Known for | Body Gossip, The Self-Esteem Team |
| Notable work | The Self-Esteem Team's Guide to Sex, Drugs and WTFs?!! |
Natasha Jade Devon MBE (born 12 March 1981) is a writer and social critic. She co-founded the Body Gossip education programme and the Self-Esteem Team, which is designed to educate teenagers, teachers and parents about mental health and body image issues. In August 2015, the Department for Education (DfE) appointed Devon as its first ever mental health champion for schools but axed the role in May 2016.
Devon's personal experience of body image and mental health issues began at age 17 when she first suffered from an eating disorder. She recovered from bulimia in 2006, and later co-founded the Body Gossip Education Programme to provide teenagers with information and advice about the body image issues that had affected her.
In 2010, she wrote an article about her experience of bulimia in the UK edition of Cosmopolitan magazine; she has subsequently written a monthly column, 'Natasha Devon Wants a Word', for the publication. In 2012, Devon co-founded The Self-Esteem Team with Grace Barrett, a musician, and journalist Nadia Mendoza. As of August 2015, she had addressed more than 50,000 teenagers, as well as their parents and teachers.
On 30 August 2015, the Department for Education (DfE) appointed Devon as its first ever mental health champion for schools. Announcing the decision, Education and Childcare Minister Sam Gyimah said: "Natasha is an inspiration to many young people and I'm delighted to have her on board as our first mental health champion. I know that together we can make a real difference in encouraging more young people to talk openly about mental health". Shortly afterwards, Devon wrote in The Daily Telegraph of her initial caution in accepting the role, adding:
"But then I thought – Why have they picked me? Anyone who's ever watched me on the news knows I'm notorious for being a left-leaning 'gob on a stick'. Surely, if it was tokenism, they'd have selected someone less likely to challenge them? When, during our first meeting the Minister told me that the Government had realised the scale of the problem, they knew they had a responsibility to do something about it and they wanted someone with real experience within the field to advise them, I knew I'd made the right decision".
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