Some years are about ambition.
Others are about consolidation.
This one was about building.
Not chasing more for the sake of it. Not performing productivity. But choosing a set of values and seeing them through, quietly and consistently, across work, health, learning, home, and relationships.
What follows is not a highlight reel. It’s a record of what happens when effort is sustained long enough to turn intention into structure, and structure into something that holds. I had chosen and shared some goals in December 2024 in a Blog Post, and the text below is my effort to celebrate success, but also to be accountable to myself.
A note on METRO Charity and my Director role
Before going any further, I want to be explicit about one boundary.
While my role at METRO Charity has been a beautiful and significant part of my professional life this year, I’m deliberately not going into detail here about what we achieved as an organisation.
The outcomes delivered through METRO’s services belong first and foremost to our staff members and volunteers, who show up every day with professionalism, care, and deep commitment to our service users and communities. My role as a Director is to shape the trajectory and conditions in which good work can happen. The impact is collective, and it is not about me.
For that reason, I won’t elaborate further on METRO’s services achievements in this post. This reflection is about personal goals, learning, and growth, not claiming collective success.
Leadership, policy, and public contribution
Alongside that boundary, it’s still true that this year carried significant professional responsibility.
I continued my career in senior leadership, holding accountability across complex service areas including HIV, sexual health, youth, LGBTQ+ community support, and mental health, in challenging funding and policy environments. Much of the work this year focused on stabilisation, governance, service quality, and people: translating reviews and audits into real operational change, strengthening safeguarding and workforce structures, and supporting teams through uncertainty without losing sight of purpose.
Beyond organisational leadership, I continued to contribute to wider policy and advocacy spaces.
I delivered a keynote speech in Cardiff on the present and future of LGBTQ+ rights in Wales, speaking about inclusive education, health inequalities, inclusion in sport, service delivery within compliance frameworks, and the growing importance of intersectionality, particularly for disabled people, Black and Asian communities, and migrants. I also addressed alignment with the Human Rights Act in a shifting legal and political context.
At UK level, I contributed to national conversations on HIV through:
- Speaking at BHIVA 2025 for the National AIDS Trust and HIV Outcomes on the future of HIV services in the UK
- Participating in a Westminster event on HIV Outcomes and Services, hosted by Paul Davies MP and chaired by Michael Payne MP
- Supporting evidence-sharing across Wales and England on prevention, testing, stigma, and inequalities
For the fifth consecutive year, I was recognised on Wales Pinc List, which acknowledges LGBTQ+ people making a difference in Wales and beyond. And this year I was nominated for the National Diversity Awards. Recognition has never been the goal, but continuity matters. It signals sustained contribution rather than one-off moments.
2025 goals and milestones (as set in December 2024)
- By February: Settle into a new senior leadership role in equality, sexual and reproductive health, and public health. Status: Achieved ✅
- By June: Deliver one leadership talk at a conference to share insights and inspire others. Status: Achieved ✅
- By December 2025: Explore options for additional leadership programmes to enhance strategic skills, including considering CMI membership. Status: Partially achieved (options explored and under consideration; formal enrolment to be confirmed) ✅
Health, discipline, and rebuilding the body
Alongside work, the most visible change this year was physical, but it was never just about appearance.
I completed the first two phases of a long-term health journey, moving from 114 kg to 80 kg, achieving a healthier BMI for my personal circumstances. By September, total weight loss reached 34 kg (5.4 stone).
2025 goals and milestones
- By July: Continue my weight loss journey and reach 84kg, including regular updates on MyFitnessPal. Status: Achieved (target weight surpassed and sustained) ✅
- Daily: Practise mindfulness or meditation for at least 10 minutes each day. Status: Partially achieved (embedded as a regular practice, though not every single day) 🟡
- By March 2025: Experience one training session with the Welsh Strongest Women, including lifting an Atlas Stone. Status: Achieved ✅
Sports: practice, competition, and lineage
Karate remained a central thread throughout the year, anchoring discipline in something physical and immediate.
I achieved my 1st Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, marking the culmination of years of steady, often quiet practice. I competed at the Welsh National Championships, among around 400 competitors, and won Silver in my category, performing Bassai Dai, Jion, Empi, and Tekki Shodan.
2025 goals and milestones
- By July: Continue my weight loss journey and reach 84kg, including regular updates on MyFitnessPal. Status: Achieved (target weight surpassed and sustained) ✅
- By March: Take my 1st Dan Black Belt exam in Shotokan Karate and incorporate strength training twice a week alongside karate. Status: Achieved ✅
- By May: Participate in at least one martial arts national championship. Status: Achieved (Silver Medal at Welsh National Championships) ✅
- Daily: Practise mindfulness or meditation for at least 10 minutes each day. Status: Partially achieved (embedded as a regular practice, though not every single day) 🟡
- By March 2025: Experience one training session with the Welsh Strongest Women, including lifting an Atlas Stone. Status: Achieved ✅
Competition stripped everything back to basics: timing, breath, composure, and trust in preparation. It reinforced that consistency and stubbornness often matter more than flair.
We travelled to Japan this year and it was an immersive journey. In Tokyo, I trained at JKA Hombu Dojo, spending long sessions under senior instructors, pushing technique, endurance, and mental focus. In Okinawa, the birthplace of karate, I trained with Kohei Oshiro Sensei, a direct disciple in the lineage of Chibana Chōshin Sensei, exploring Shōrin-ryū principles, wave-like movement, circular power, and the philosophical roots of Ryūkyū martial arts and Karate Do.
Training in Japan connected modern Shotokan practice back to its origins. It was humbling, exhausting, and grounding, and a reminder that mastery is a direction, not a destination.
Advocacy, fundraising, and community commitment
Advocacy remained an active part of the year, grounded in action rather than symbolism.
We established a new charity in Wales, with fellow trustees and staff, called “Fast Track Cymru” to stop HIV transmissions and stigma and work on related conditions.
With Fast Track Cymru, I continued to support the development of several campaigns, such as HIV Testing Week, Stop HIV Stigma campaigb, “Are You PrEPped?” campaign, and a BBV / STI vaccination campaign.
On World AIDS Day, I took part in the Red Run, fundraising hundreds of pounds for METRO Charity to support people living with HIV across London and the South East, despite freezing conditions. I also supported METRO’s 40 for 40 campaign, marking the organisation’s 40th anniversary and helping raise vital funds for frontline services.
These moments matter not because of visibility, but because they sustain work that too often sits at the margins of public attention.
2025 goals and milestones
- Weekly: Continue to dedicate time to supporting grassroots LGBTQ+ initiatives or HIV-related projects (Fast Track Cymru, National AIDS Trust, LGBT Consortium). Status: Achieved ✅
- By April 2025: Continue to lead on health prevention campaigns, including a new PrEP campaign in Wales. Status: Achieved ✅
- By June: Strengthen partnerships with policymakers to advance equality-focused policies. Status: Achieved ✅
Home, craft, and personal time
Not all building happened in public.
At home, we completed a long-planned DIY library wall, reinforcing the structure, painting it in sage green, and designing it to accommodate a sliding ladder. It was built slowly, across evenings and weekends, with attention to detail rather than speed.
Alongside this, we undertook the task of cataloguing more than 900 books from our shared collection. Not just shelving them, but properly logging, organising, and understanding what we own. It became a quiet act of care and shared history.
The library wall was built for my husband, but it became something we share: a space that reflects curiosity, learning, and the life we are building together.
Our urban garden in Cardiff also delivered another full harvest, reinforcing lessons in seasonality, patience, and tending things over time.
2025 goals and milestones
- Monthly: Write blog posts and social media posts to share stories about advocating for minority or marginalised groups. Status: Achieved ✅
- February: Learn both the Katakana and Hiragana writing systems. Status: Achieved ✅
- Monthly: Finish at least one book per month across different genres. Status: Achieved ✅
- Regularly: Continue to practise piano or guitar and build proficiency. Status: Achieved ✅
- By November: Improve fluency in Japanese language through regular practice. Status: Partially achieved (clear progress and practical use; fluency remains a longer-term goal) 🟡
Marriage, travel, friendship, and ontention
Planning our honeymoon in Japan was a deliberate and structured process rather than a spontaneous one.
The trip combined travel, training, and time together, moving across multiple cities and regions. It included early starts, long-distance rail journeys, and time spent in places of personal and cultural significance, including historic dojo spaces. The experience reinforced the value of planning time properly rather than fitting it around other commitments.
Alongside this, I made a conscious effort to protect time for relationships beyond work. Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons were ring-fenced as regular, non-negotiable time to spend with friends, whether through board games, shared meals, or informal time together. This provided consistency and helped deepen friendships during a demanding year.
The honeymoon itself was also documented through a short video series on YouTube and TikTok, “Our Honeymoon in Japan”, capturing travel, daily routines, and reflections across the trip. This created a shared record of the experience and allowed us to revisit it later.
2025 goals and milestones
- Weekly: Dedicate quality time for interactions with loved ones, free from distractions. Status: Achieved ✅
- Regularly: Continue to protect time to play Dungeons & Dragons and board games with friends. Status: Achieved ✅
- Weekly: Set aside one evening each week for personal hobbies and unwinding, including World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, and gaming with friends. Status: Achieved ✅
- Monthly: Plan my honeymoon with Graham to Japan. Status: Achieved ✅
- October 2025: Travel to Japan. Status: Achieved ✅
Closing reflections
This year wasn’t about doing everything. It was about doing the right things properly. And it was about ring fencing time outside of my day job for things that are important to me.
No single moment defines the year. What defines it is the accumulation of ordinary effort, small steps, repeated often enough to become something solid.
That feels like a good foundation to stand on.
Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli 