#169 Stronger Together: Breaking Silos in Health, Law and Social Welfare with Dr Colette Hawkins

Imogen Benson is a product and tech leader who is deeply passionate about holistic end-of-life planning and care. Imogen brings a great mix of knowledge gained through personal experience, working as  a leader in tech start ups and voluntary work in a hospice. Imogen is  Head of Product at Aura Life and has particular interest in how  technology can support rather than replace compassion.

Our conversation explores societal norms around death and dying, reveals the story behind Aura Life, and reflects on technology. 

This episode has been kindly supported by the Living Well Dying Well Trust. The creation, development and content of the episode remains the responsibility of Clare Fuller.

Key messages

• Imogen’s journey from tech start‑up founder to end of life and hospice-focused work

• The concept of ikigai and finding end of life work at the centre of purpose and skills

• The powerful story of her grandmother’s scissors and the normalisation of death

• The emotional and practical burden of managing a lifetime of affairs after someone dies

• Meeting changemakers and discovering that tech can support, not replace, compassion

• Introduction to direct cremation and its role in honour, choice and cost

• Paul’s story from Aura and how it reshaped thinking about death and living fully

• The National End of Life Care Coalition and how this aligns to Immy’s work

• The importance of re‑centring community, not just medicine, in end of life care

• The danger of bad tech replacing human contact in care settings

• The gap between how prepared people think they are and how prepared they actually are

• Designing more accessible, human‑centred tools for end of life planning

Resource

• Learn more about Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life

• Access information about Aura Funerals  

• Find out more about the National End of Life Care Coalition

• Watch Ann Droid

Bio

Imogen Benson is a product and tech leader who is deeply passionate about holistic end-of-life planning and care. As Head of Product at Aura Life, she helps the family-run business to enhance their offering of funeral plans, EOL planning tools, and at-need assistance, ensuring they provide the simple, transparent, and personalised support their customers in their time of need.

Following a decade of establishing and running her own tech startups, Imogen was forced to step back from the world of tech during the Covid period due to a health crisis. With her health regained, she made it her mission to support families and individuals contemplating and experiencing life's greatest transition. She has volunteered at Royal Trinity Hospice and contributed to the founding of the National End of Life Care Coalition - both causes that put family and community at the heart of EOL care and planning. Imogen brings a mix of strategic leadership, policy experience, and personal commitment to living and dying better, with a particular interest in how technology can support compassion rather than replace it.