‘In giving, we receive’: How Denise Leslie, Chief Executive, drives ABL’s mission to eradicate health inequalities

Marking International Women’s Day 2026, Chief Executive Denise Leslie reflects on a simple idea that shapes ABL: understand the person before the problem. It is an approach that has helped transform thousands of lives nationwide, proving that compassion, kindness and strong outcomes can belong in the same place.

How I got here

I started my career as a secondary school teacher, a job I loved with a passion. For me it was about helping young people “be their best” and achieve more than perhaps their background might suggest they would. After years of hard-earned promotions, I worked my way up to leading a large faculty and becoming a senior teacher. By that point, I was spending less time in the classroom and more time supporting colleagues and dealing with pupils with complex behavioural issues.

I vividly remember one girl in particular. A young teacher wanted to exclude her because of persistent disruptive behaviour. The moment I spoke to her, it became clear that sending her home was not an option. School was the only place where she felt safe from the substance misuse taking place at home. Her behaviour was not the problem. Her circumstances were.

Around the same time, I met my future cofounder, a GP whose appointments were limited to seven and a half minutes, despite the fact that many patients needed far more than that. She told me about a man who had recently lost his wife and had spent two years learning how to live again. How could anyone meaningfully support him in a few scant minutes?

Both education and healthcare were failing people in the same way: we were responding to symptoms without understanding the stories beneath them. That shared frustration became the foundation for ABL Health. We believed that people deserved support rooted in the context of their lives, not the constraints of a rigid system. And as a woman navigating a career under a headteacher whose outdated views left little room for motherhood or flexibility, I knew I wanted to build something different — a place where people could succeed without sacrificing the parts of life that mattered most.

Denise Leslie said,

“I wanted to create a place where people could thrive without having to set aside the most important aspects of their lives. Leadership should not demand that anyone leave parts of themselves at the door in order to succeed.”

What I do – and why it matters

From what started as a single service delivering Tier 3 weight management in 2009, ABL Health now provides community health and wellbeing support across the country. Our services span weight management, smoking cessation, falls prevention, mental health, neurodiversity, early support for children and families, and health advocacy in prisons. Although the breadth of what we deliver has grown significantly, our vision remains the same: to reduce and ultimately eradicate health inequalities.

That vision matters because inequality is not abstract. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, children born into the most deprived areas of England can expect to live around two decades fewer years in good health than those born into the least deprived areas — a gap that is even wider for women. This outcome disparity is both unacceptable and avoidable, and it shapes every decision we make.

My role is to ensure that the values we began with remain central to everything we do. I often describe my job quite simply: I lead the most amazing organisation in the world that makes a difference to people’s lives. I lead a group of really inspirational individuals who consistently go above and beyond for the communities we serve.

Whether they are conducting neurodiversity assessments, supporting young people on the edge of care, helping someone to stop smoking, or gathering the real-world experiences of people in prison to inform better healthcare, their work changes the direction of people’s lives.

Day to day, I set direction, shape culture and stay closely connected to our services. I particularly like the part of my role that allows me to visit ABL’s services, speaking with colleagues, listening to challenges and celebrating successes. I believe leadership is as much about creating the right conditions for others to thrive as it is about strategy. If our staff feel valued, empowered and supported in the context of their lives, they will deliver extraordinary support to others.

Moments that stay with me

I have been privileged to witness countless stories of transformation, particularly in the early years when I was closer to frontline delivery.

I think of a young girl in our IPS service who had withdrawn entirely from the world. She rarely left her bedroom, and her mother faced daily battles just to encourage her to eat or step outside. Over a period of months, our staff worked tirelessly to build her trust. Then one day her mother told us, “I have been out for a coffee today. That is what other mums do.” It was the first time in years she had felt able to do something other parents might take for granted.

In time, her daughter began imagining a future for herself, even exploring the idea of becoming a veterinary nurse during visits to the library with our team. Those small steps were life-changing.

I have seen families who were at breaking point begin to build routines and stability that changed the direction of their lives. I have heard people stand up at celebration events and thank lifestyle coaches for helping them reclaim their confidence, health and independence. And I have watched services adapt their approach by working with trusted community voices, as we did with Bangladeshi women in Oldham, to ensure support was culturally respectful, accessible and rooted in understanding.

Every story matters. A single change — one person feeling heard, one family finding hope, one young person taking a step forward — is significant. What makes our work powerful is that these moments are happening all the time.

Last year we delivered over one million engagements, and behind each one sits a real person with a real circumstance who deserves to be understood. This is what scale means to me. Not numbers on a page, but thousands of meaningful moments happening consistently, every single day.

Denise Leslie added,

“Strong outcomes and strong values can live in the same place. You do not have to trade compassion for effectiveness. In my experience, compassion is what makes effectiveness possible.”

What Give to Gain means to me

The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 resonates deeply with me. Give to Gain mirrors the motto embroidered on my school blazer as a teenager: For it is in giving we receive. At the time, it meant very little. But as a parent, a teacher and a leader, it has become a guiding principle.

Giving is not simply about generosity. It is about trust, honesty, space and opportunity. When I give others room to lead, to speak, to share, to challenge and to grow, I do not lose anything. I gain insight, strength and depth.

My goal as a leader is to create conditions where people can succeed not by performing a version of leadership they think is expected, but by bringing their true selves — with all the richness, complexity and humanity that entails.

Giving is also about the communities we serve. When we share knowledge, expertise and support with local partners, charities and grassroots organisations, we gain trust, understanding and deeper connection. When we listen first, we build foundations that last.

When we work in the context of people’s lives, we see what is possible: early intervention, prevention, empowerment and sustained confidence long after our involvement has ended.

Our work is driven by a simple aim: to make health fairer for everyone. To explore how we support communities across the country, please visit https://ablhealth.co.uk.