Who we are

We’re Matilda and Anna, co-founders of Split Banana. Like most people, our history with relationships and sex is...complicated.

For many people our age, this is a standard experience.

As white, cisgender, non-disabled women, we know that our experiences - as tough as they were - carried a level of safety. We know that for those at the intersections of racism, ableism and anti-trans discrimination, the risks are higher and the support is even harder to find.

When we were at school, guidance was non-existent. A decade later, while we were both working in inner-city London schools, we were shocked to see that the ‘condoms-on-bananas’ tropes were still there, but the real-world conversations were still missing.

We don’t blame our teachers or parents - they weren’t equipped either. We didn't see a curriculum that reflected the reality of our lives, so we decided to build one, through research, co-creation and testing. 

Split Banana was born in 2019 from the belief that young people shouldn't have to figure this out alone, in the dark, or through a screen. We’re here to give them the education we - and you - wish we’d had.

We’re a small team doing big work

Anna Alexander (she/her)
Learning and Engagement Director

Anna is an educator and facilitator with nearly a decade of experience supporting young people through education and prevention work. A qualified Religious Studies teacher, she has worked as an RSE lead in a secondary school, as well as a teaching assistant and support worker. She has received the Shackleton Leadership Award and now leads SB's fundraising and marketing strategy, helping to shape the organisation's strategic direction and long-term sustainability.

Our Team

Matilda Lawrence-Jubb (she/her)
Development Director

Matilda leads on partnerships, governance, ops and HR. Her background is in programme production and creative events management. Before SB, she worked as a Service Designer at Snook.

Tasha Mansley (she/her),
Training Lead

Tasha joined SB in 2021 as a Workshop Facilitator, and has grown from curriculum design and facilitation, to leading on training. Outside SB, she runs participatory youth group sessions and creative facilitation training. She has an MA in Education from UCL where she specialised in gender, sexuality and feminist pedagogies.

Hajer Adrwish (she/her),
Programme Coordinator

Hajer first joined SB in 2022 as a Workshop Facilitator and has been delivering RSE since 2017 for various organisations. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health and is passionate about supporting Muslim communities to access RSE that meets their needs.

Sophie Bell (she/her),
Social Media Coordinator

I’m Sophie, Social Media Coordinator at Split Banana. I’m passionate about human rights, community building, and, of course, sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice. My commitment to RSE deepened during my time volunteering with Sexpression, and further through my work in advocacy and humanitarian digital communications at the International Planned Parenthood Federation. At Split Banana, I focus on communicating how we address gaps in RSE and create more inclusive, honest, and accessible conversations for young people. I create hopeful, values-driven content that amplifies the impact of our work in classrooms, where we make the biggest difference!

Our Workshop Facilitators

Our Workshop Facilitators are more than educators; they are specialists drawn from public health, youth work, domestic violence prevention and intimacy coordination. By weaving multidisciplinary expertise with lived experience, they cultivate brave, non-judgemental spaces in every classroom.

Our Youth Advisory Group

Our Youth Advisory Group is made up of 12 young people aged 18-25 who co-design our curriculum to ensure our content is always hitting the mark with current trends, digital realities and youth culture.

Our Advisory Group

Our Advisory Group is a strategic group of experts across education, fundraising and activism who keep us accountable to our mission and our community.

  • Roann is a mindset, strategy and systems coach. Roann brings a wealth of start-up experience to Split Banana. He also has a keen interest in mental health.

  • Rhea is a Strategic Programme Officer at the Camden Community Wealth Fund and previously worked at The Social Change Nest and UnLtd. She is also an ambassador for LGBTQ+ charity for young people, Just Like Us, and a trustee at Hubbub.

  • Prishita is an author, editor, campaigner and workshop facilitator. They educate, mobilise and help members of their communities feel seen and validated. Previously, they were Storytelling Lead at Stonewall and Campaigns Manager at Greenpeace.

  • Joshua is a qualified teacher and experienced middle manager at Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College. He is an active advocate for post-16 RSE and is on the Education and Learning Strategic Board at Brighton and Hove City Council.

  • Inés is head of Community Knowledge and Data at Camden Giving, a fund to support businesses and charities in Camden achieve their local missions. She has expertise in impact and evaluation and previously worked as Senior Evaluation and Monitoring Manager at The Education Endowment Fund.

  • Ammaarah is an consultant and educator specialising in reproductive rights. She is currently working as Advice Officer at Royal College of Art Students Union and has previously worked for Brook, Split Banana and the Ubele Initiative.