Meet the team
Let's Be Real is led by two people who have sat on both sides of the conversation - in school leadership and in family life. Chris Benson joins as a guest speaker, bringing lived experience of neurodivergence into HOLD.
Jacqueline Klemke
Owner & Co-Founder
Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant
Jacqueline's interest in psychology started when she was still a student - she read psychology magazines for fun. Today, that early fascination has come full circle: working with mental health has special meaning for her, because it closes a cycle that began back then. Professionally, she spent twenty years as a consultant interpreter. After completing her MBA, she got into business consulting. An assignment made her realise how often people's struggles run deeper than language: into core beliefs, expectations and cultural norms. This is what got her into coaching. She trained as a Life and Business Coach and a Couples and Family Coach.
After one of Let's Be Real's workshops, some parents asked whether Let's Be Real would be in a position to support them if their child ever needed a therapist. At the time, the answer was 'no'. This inspired Jacqueline to pursue further training as a psychotherapist (non-medical practitioner).
Mental health - and giving tweens and teens, including their teachers and families, the tools and support to become resilient adults - has been at the forefront of her work at Let's Be Real – Mental Health for Young Minds, which she co-founded with Nick Praulins in 2024. LBR takes a whole-community approach: parents are included in the conversation around mental health at schools.
Jacqueline is a mom of two daughters. Neurodivergence is part of her everyday reality as a mom, with one of her daughters diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.
Qualifications
- Systemic Couples & Family Coach
- Mental Health & Wellbeing Consultant
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Youth Mental Health First Aider
- Certified Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Instructor
- Certified Train-the-Trainer
- Life and Business Coach
Memberships
- Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)
- Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN)
Nick Praulins
Associate Partner & Co-Founder
Communication & Educational Consultant.
Nick has spent more than 20 years in education and leadership, including time as a school leader. By profession he is a senior communication and educational consultant working with European organisations across countries, languages and cultures. He specialises in helping leaders and teams navigate moments of change, turning strategy into communication and learning experiences that people actually understand, trust and use.
He co-founded Let's Be Real with Jacqueline because schools are on the front lines of a growing mental health challenge, yet most lack the tools, training and shared language to respond effectively. The result is stigma, silence and strain across entire school communities: students, teachers, staff and families alike.
Through this work he designs and delivers training that helps communities talk openly about mental health and build practical strategies for support - in classrooms, boardrooms and cross-cultural teams alike, always focused on creating psychologically safe, resilient and high-performing communities.
Qualifications
- Certified First Aid for Mental Health (FA4MH) Instructor
- Youth Mental Health First Aider
- Senior Communication and Educational Consultant
- Former school leader - 20+ years in education and leadership
Guest Speaker for HOLD
Chris Benson
Neurodivergence and Education Specialist
Joins HOLD with an expert session on neurodivergence and mental health, sharing practical do's and don'ts from his experience as a headteacher and parent.
Chris Benson has lived neurodivergence from every seat at the table: as a pupil, a teacher, a headteacher of 15 years leading schools in the UK and internationally, and as the parent of an autistic son and a daughter with ADHD. He is the first serving headteacher in the UK to disclose having ADHD on a national scale, an experience that reshaped how he works with schools, families and organisations.
Chris is Education Lead at ADHD UK, a TES Magazine author on neurodiversity, and a contributor to the BBC. He works with the Confederation of School Trusts, and is an ambassador for Ambitious About Autism and a founding member of ASCL's Neuroinclusive Leaders' Community. Through HeadFirst Consulting, he works with schools and families across the UK and internationally to close the gap between what we know about neurodivergent young people and what actually happens for them in the classroom.
Chris works with Let's Be Real as a freelance trainer, bringing his expert session to HOLD, the Youth Mental Health Response tier for teachers and pastoral staff.
Qualifications
- Education Lead, ADHD UK
- Former headteacher - 15 years in the UK and internationally
- First serving UK headteacher to disclose having ADHD on a national scale
- Founder, HeadFirst Consulting
- TES Magazine author on neurodiversity
- Contributor to the BBC
- Ambassador, Ambitious About Autism
- Founding member, ASCL Neuroinclusive Leaders' Community
The people behind the work
Want to know how Let's Be Real began, and why we build capability in schools rather than dependency on us? Read our story.
Read our story