CEO of RBWH - Louise Atherton
“We find a job for the person, not a person for the job.”
who she is
Louise is born and bred in Wigan, is ex-Army, ex-Prison Service Governor, former Captain of Wigan Ladies Rugby League team and a squad member of the Great Britain Women's Rugby League team. She spent 30 years working in the criminal justice sector.
She setup and managed the first Remade With Hope workshop inside Thorn Cross prison which is where she met Adrian Potts. She established Rebuild With Hope Foundation with Adrian in 2020 during Covid. It was 2021 before she could start running the community sales side of the Charity to generate an income but in very quick time she has grown the Charity from 2 people in 2021 to now in 2025 employing over 100 staff and volunteers, running the largest Department stores in the UK managed and run by a Charity. As well as running training programmes and skills training everyday as well as implementing employment programmes with local Government and partner CIC and Charity organisations.
her story
The Louise motto is “We employ for attitude and train for skill.” She adamantly believes that “a job should be found for a person. not a person for a job”.
Louise has instilled in the culture of the Foundation a belief that being fair and open in giving people a chance can help them become more fulfilled and valued members of society.