OUR TEAM
HILLNA FONTAINE, FOUNDER
With 30+ years in social justice, Hillna founded Mabadiliko to create equitable communities. Her Cultural Humility workshops have influenced South East London’s health system, increasing commissioning with Lewisham Borough. Recognised with a Southwark Civic Award, she designs trauma-informed mental health support and serves on multiple boards including the Mental Health Alliance and BLG Mind. Holding qualifications in sociology, politics, and CBT counselling from Goldsmiths University, Hillna previously developed emotional intelligence programmes for primary schools and co-founded Black Young Enterprise. She’s committed to ensuring everyone has access to the best support regardless of background, working alongside her daughter to bring her vision for equity to life.
Dr. Nadine Fontaine-Palmer, CEO
Nadine leads with expertise in culturally sensitive research and community engagement. Having led 20 projects amplifying seldom-heard communities, she developed Mabadiliko’s Cultural Humility 365 and Community Powered Health Research programmes. Her PhD in Neuroscience, Chartered Accountancy qualification, and Diploma in Behaviour Change support her approach to organisational transformation. Previously Interim Professor at Sciences Po University, Global Change Lead at Clifford Chance, and co-founder of KPMG UK’s Behavioural Science Unit, Nadine excels in navigating complex changes while honouring people’s humanity. She’s committed to creating psychologically safe cultures and ensuring inclusive decision-making in health and social care while advancing the ongoing fight for equity.
ADAM KamenetZKY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Adam specialises in equitable research evaluation across UK healthcare contexts. He designs co-design practices that centre community perspectives in research decision-making. His community “research prioritisation” workshops have transformed how clinical teams embrace diverse perspectives. Adam has led co-design exercises for health inequality studies while developing evaluation practices for Mabadiliko and contributing to its Academy programmes. With an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College and experience as Senior Research Fellow at NIHR, King’s College London, and Médecins Sans Frontières, he applies his understanding of health research funding to advance social justice. Adam combines his professional expertise with interests in music and performing arts to bring a holistic perspective to Mabadiliko’s work.
RITIKA KARAMCHANDANI, PROJECT MANAGER
With an MSc in Industrial/Organisational Psychology from UCL and BA in Psychology with minors in Marketing and Economics, Ritika brings evidence-based approaches to her project coordination at Mabadiliko. She implements process improvements to project management systems and supports healthy, high-performing teams through cross-functional collaboration. Ritika project manages projects across our portfolio including bringing her research design and analysis skills to our community knowledge activity, extending antiracism and Cultural Humility offerings and applying organisational psychology principles to create genuinely equitable spaces for all.
MAKEDA HEWITT, MENTAL HEALTH COACH & CO-ORDINATOR
Makeda delivers trauma-informed mental health support as lead facilitator for Mabadiliko’s Emotional Support Groups, mental health services and EMPOWER workshops. With 25 years in mentoring and executive coaching, she excels at building trusted relationships while facilitating Cultural Humility workshops for healthcare professionals. Her qualitative research with marginalised communities ensures authentic voices inform Mabadiliko’s approaches. Present since inception, she’s been instrumental in establishing the organisation’s mission. Makeda’s approach has catalysed profound personal transformations, embodying Mabadiliko’s commitment to creating brave spaces where individuals can discover their potential while contributing to systemic change.
ADEOLA RUSSELL, MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLOR
Adeola is an integrative counsellor who transitioned professionally from central government strategy work to higher education lecturing and corporate consultancy in the City of London before completing my counselling training at the Minster Centre in London. Adeola has completed an 18-month training certificate in African Psychology. In addition to her counselling work, she facilitates facilitates anxiety and neurodiversity awareness workshops, and hosts regular online support groups for neurodivergent people. Adeola’s research interests include social responsibility, racial identity and neurodiversity. Find out more about Adeola here.
Making discussions about equity the norm
Working with you to give the silenced a voice.
