Catherine Millan talks to DIVA about founding the award-winning consultancy, Black lesbian visibility and what keeps her motivated
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY DAVID ALLBUTT
Catherine Millan is many things. She’s a founder, company director, and LGBTQIA+ role model. She’s also a Black neurodivergent lesbian who is very smitten with her fiancée, Lisa. Her consultancy, Be What You See, was recently awarded D&I Constultancy of the Year at the Inclusive Companies Awards. Following this well-deserved recognition, I got a chance to speak with the gamechanger to find out more about how she got to where she is and what keeps her motivated on her mission to fight discrimination.
Congratulations on winning D&I Consultancy of the Year at the Inclusive Companies Awards. How does it feel to have received this recognition?
Incredibly affirming and deeply personal. Winning D&I Consultancy of the Year is a moment of real pride for Be What You See, because our work is about action, not just intention.
In just over three years, Be What You See has grown from an idea into a team of 13 people working every day to create safer workplaces across the UK. This award feels like recognition of the real change we are helping to deliver and of the years of hard work that have got us here.
As the founder and company director, winning this award feels powerful. It brings pride, motivation, and a renewed belief in the work we are doing. It is a reminder that our mission to reduce discrimination is being seen, valued, and supported.
This isn’t your first big win of the year either; you also won the Person With Purpose Award at the NPWA Awards. Have you always been quite a driven and motivated person?
Yes, I think I have always been driven, although that drive came from necessity rather than choice. When my mum was diagnosed with cancer when I was just one year old, my siblings and I went into care. She survived, but years later, she experienced a breakdown, and my sister and I became her carers as teenagers. Life demanded resilience early on, but those life skills have made me who I am today.
I think becoming a carer and taking on a parental role gives you a different kind of determination. There were times when we didn’t have electricity, or “leccy” as we say in Liverpool, and relied on food banks, but we got through it. Those experiences shaped me and taught me that once you have survived real hardship, very little phases you. Even now, as an entrepreneur, I often think that if 14-year-old Catherine could survive that, then 38-year-old Catherine can handle this.
Can you tell me about the moment you knew you had to found your consultancy Be What You See?
The moment came in February 2023, at a time when I had hit rock bottom professionally. My role had changed significantly, I was burnt out, and I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. I felt disconnected from myself and from the work I was doing. My fiancée could see how much I was struggling and booked me some life coaching sessions, which became a real turning point.
I spent years designing and delivering programmes at the University of Manchester, travelling across Europe to learn how it was being used to reduce discrimination in education. I was completely absorbed in the work and determined to bring this approach into UK education, health care, and business.
[My sense of purpose] was solidified in our first year as a company when I was at an event. A participant I had trained told me that weeks after the session, he had stepped in during a crisis and stopped someone from taking their own life. He said it was because he understood what it meant to be an active bystander and felt confident enough to act. He asked me to promise that I would keep going and take this work across the UK. Fast forward three years and we have delivered over 12,500+ learning hours to over 5000 participants, with 95% reporting increased confidence to challenge and recognise discrimination.
That promise stays with me every day. It is why Be What You See exists and why I continue to push forward, because this work does not just change workplaces, it changes lives.
As we approach 2026, are there any missions or goals you can share with our readers?
Looking ahead to 2026, one of the goals I am most excited about at Be What You See is finding ways to make our work go even further. Something we are actively working towards is a model where every adult who receives our training helps fund a young person to receive it for free. We are doing more work in schools, and I am deeply passionate about reaching young people early and helping them not only recognise discrimination but feel confident enough to challenge it when they see it.
Given the current climate, that work feels more important than ever. If we can support young people to speak up and step in early on, we have a real chance to reduce harm before it escalates. That belief sits at the heart of everything we are building, and it is something I am incredibly committed to taking forward.
For me, 2026 represents momentum. It is about continuing to grow the work, honouring where I have come from, and standing proud as a Black, neurodivergent lesbian woman building a future that feels true to who I am.
Find out more: bewhatyousee.co.uk
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