Our people

About

Felix has worked in a variety of roles in the further education sector. He has been responsible for financial management, planning, audit and the wider corporate services. Felix has been involved in new business start-ups in the education and commercial sectors. He is passionate about lifelong learning.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

He is responsible for financial management, planning, audit and the wider corporate services.

About

Thelma has experience as a dedicated Project Support Officer with a strong background in project management, monitoring, risk assessment, evaluation, and cross-organisational collaboration. With an academic foundation in international relations and social research, she brings skills in needs assessment, continuous improvement, and performance evaluation.

Outside work, Thelma enjoys watching reality TV, reading novels, exploring new recipes and hosting friends for meals and good conversation.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Thelma provides administrative and coordination support to our What Works Programme, ensuring the smooth delivery of projects and initiatives. She also oversees the administration of expert evaluation advisory groups and the evaluation panel to support the Evidence & Evaluation team to commission and run high quality projects.

About

Keith is a driven and empathetic leader with a strong track record in grant-making, strategic development, and cultural change within the charity sector. He’s passionate about ensuring charitable funds deliver maximum value and measurable outcomes for beneficiaries, and brings a thoughtful, empowering leadership style with a rare ability to balance strategic vision and attention to detail.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

As Senior Relationship Manager, Keith leads the delivery, commissioning, and management of funding programmes and key relationships with delivery partners within our What Works Programme. He works closely with colleagues in our Impact & Evidence directorate and independent evaluators to ensure the successful operational delivery of large-scale and complex grant relationships that support our impact evaluations.

About

Matthew has almost 15 years of working in the grant making environment working with people and communities to overcome challenges and realise their aspirations. Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation he worked as a Grants & Awards Manager at the British Heart Foundation, and the National Lottery Community Fund in a number of roles across the grant lifecycle.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Matthew is a Relationship Manager, working accross grant programmes though with primary focus on the What Works Programme.

About

Emily’s career began in education and learning teams for various arts and heritage organisations, designing and delivering programmes directly to schools and young people. Prior to joining Youth Futures, Emily worked in partnership managment and strategic development for social mobility charities.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Emily is the Evidence into Action Programme Manager, she leads this unique learning and funding programme.

About

Before her current role, Andrea was a Senior Analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. She has finished a PhD in Economics at the University of York.

In July 2020, Andrea gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee on the unequal impact of coronavirus on ethnic minorities. Andrea has also appeared on EuroNews, Bloomberg Radio, and in print to discuss issues related to employment and groups.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Andrea is an enthusiastic analyst, interested in improving data infrastructure on underserved communities.

About

Tanya’s background is in Psychology and Economics and has spent her career so far at NatCen, IFF research and Kantar Public (now Verian).

Outside of work, Tanya is interested in anything wellness related ranging from yoga and meditation to watching reality TV. She also enjoys going to drawing classes, travelling and, after living in Paris for a year, learning French.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Tanya is passionate about scoping and running high quality impact evaluations that generate evidence on how to improve EET outcomes for disadvantaged young people and helps to address systemic inequalities. She oversees a portfolio of feasibility and impact evaluations including Building Futures, PLIAS and What Works Programmes.

About

In his spare time, Brian enjoys spending time with his two Dalmatians – Dodi and Einstein – along with travelling with his spouse.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

For the last five years, Brian has been working as contracts manager in the university and NHS Trust settings. His experience covers negotiating, drafting and advising on various contracts along with team management, training on various contract topics, and leading on intellectual property.

About

Arushi holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and recently completed the Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Before joining Youth Futures, Arushi worked as a Graduate Consultant for the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, evaluating the delivery of social services for children in the Western Balkans. Arushi brings experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative policy research at think tanks and universities and is trained in conducting policy evaluations.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

As a Senior Economist, Arushi’s work surrounds producing impactful data and analysis around youth unemployment. Her areas of interests lie in conducting ethical data analysis to inform equitable policy outcomes.

About

Riazil graduated from the Talent 2027 Associate Programme in 2023, which promotes diverse voices in grant-making. He previously worked as a Grants Officer, managing programmes for older and young people, supporting projects tackling loneliness, poverty, and improving reading and writing outcomes.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

As Senior Grants Officer, Riazil supports the delivery of innovative and impactful grant-making.

About

Salma is a PRINCE2-certified project professional with experience in programme coordination, stakeholder management, and process improvement across the education and non-profit sectors. Before joining Youth Futures, she led professional development initiatives and training programmes in the education sector, applying project management approaches to enhance learning outcomes and roll out innovative CPD programmes. She has also contributed to community engagement projects, supporting research, evaluation, and service improvement. Outside work, Salma enjoys exploring new coffee spots, hiking, and dabbling in creative DIY projects.

What are they involved with at Youth Futures?

Salma provides administrative and business support to the Programmes & Grants directorate, ensuring the successful delivery of the team’s objectives.

About

Robyn is an experienced communications professional who drives change and innovation in social-purpose organisations. Before joining Youth Futures, Robyn was Head of Communications & Digital at What Works Wellbeing where she spearheaded the organisational strategy refresh, evolved the organisation’s brand identity, and delivered the Centre’s 10-year Legacy Report. She has previously worked across PR, social media and copywriting in the higher education and performing arts sectors. Outside work, Robyn is a keen foodie, occasional runner, and sings in semi-professional consort group Epiphoni.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Robyn leads large-scale digital projects and content strategy.

About

Prior to entering the grants sector via the 2027 Programme Jen spent 20 years in frontline delivery, developing projects to support young people affected by gender based violence, sexual exploitation and navigating the social care and criminal justice system.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

As part of the Programmes and Grants Team, Jen works on the Evidence into Action Programme, supporting organisations to become evidence-led in their support with young people.

About

Previously Emily has worked within Higher Education, where she evaluated widening participation schemes, to facilitate underrepresented students in accessing university. She has also worked within the What Works Network, for TASO and PERU, on a number of Randomised Controlled Trials. Emily holds a BA in Sociology and Quantitative Methods, and a MSc in Applied Quantitative Methods.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Emily is a Senior Analyst interested in using data and research to enable young people to overcome social inequalities.

About

Kate had almost two decades of experience in employer engagement – expanding partnerships, translating research into practical hiring strategies, and leading collaborative initiatives to create pathways to meaningful employment for marginalised groups. Kate is committed to driving systemic change through employer-led solutions, with a deep passion for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the labour market.

Kate lives with her husband, two children, and Maple the fox red Labrador (her favourite child). Outside work, Kate runs regularly (but reluctantly), organises Book / Wine Clubs (willingly) and is on a never-ending mission to learn Spanish.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Kate focuses on managing and strengthening employer partnerships, and she plays a crucial role in expanding partnerships – using evidence-driven insights to enhance employer engagement. Kate collaborates closely with our Impact and Evaluation teams to help identify effective recruitment and retention practices, connecting with employers eager to trial innovative approaches as part of our flagship programme to build the evidence on what works for recruitment & retention.

About

Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, he has worked as an education researcher for Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the OECD, and UN evaluation agencies. His experience covers programmes targeting young people’s economic empowerment, civic participation, health education, language education and global competence.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Jonah is an educational sociologist and quantitative researcher. At Youth Futures Foundation, he supports the PLIAS project targeting youth involved in the criminal justice system, as well as the broader What Works Programme portfolio of impact evaluations. 

About

Ellen has previously worked in the education sector, most recently at a university where she organised co- and extra-curricular experiential learning opportunities for students. Prior to that, she served as an academic mentor with the charity Teach First, supporting pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in their learning during the pandemic. She holds a BA in French and Hispanic Studies and enjoys Pilates and trips to the cinema in her free time.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

As Youth Inclusion Officer at Youth Futures Foundation, Ellen supports our young people’s programmes including the Future Voices Group and Connected Futures Ambassadors, helping to embed youth voice throughout the organisation and ensure that young people are at the heart of what we do.

About

Leanne has a strong background in project management and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, Leanne was a Programme Officer at Frontline, where she managed the delivery of the Pathways leadership development programme for social work leaders. Leanne also has extensive experience in logistics, planning, and team management from their previous roles in the charity and finance sector.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Leanne is the Senior Programme Officer, supporting in the development, mobilisation, and delivery of the Building Futures programme.

About

Before joining YFF, Abigail was a Senior Research Officer at the ONS undertaking labour market analysis that informed government policy relating to economic inactivity. Her work on economic inactivity due to long term sickness received widespread media attention. As well as a BSc in Economics, Abigail has a MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from the LSE.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Abbie is a Senior Economist passionate about producing impactful data and analysis to reduce social and economic inequalities.

About

Prior to Youth Futures, Anna worked as a Policy Adviser in youth policy for central government, as well as in a range of policy, research and frontline roles in the charity and voluntary sector relating to young people and family support. Anna has been involved in youth and community initiatives from a young age, and brings this longstanding experience to her dedication to systemic change. Outside of work Anna is an avid Liverpool fan, a keen cook and spends a lot of time running after her toddler – aka the biggest boss!

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Part of the founding team to help establish the Youth Futures Foundation, Anna plays a key role in shaping the organisation’s direction. She leads strategic relationships with government, sectors involved in the Dormant Assets Scheme, and key partners. Her current role includes overseeing our corporate impact framework and supporting cross-organisational collaboration and success against the organisation’s strategy. In previous roles at Youth Futures as Head of Strategy & Partnerships and Policy and Partnerships Manager, Anna led our approach to involving and capturing the lived experiences and perspectives of both marginalised young people and employers into our work and establishing our Future Voices Group and Employer Advisory Board, and was instrumental in our early policy work and the creation of the Youth Employment Group.

About

Bal’s professional background includes Employability, ESOL, Management, Training and community engagement in both voluntary & statutory organizations. She has a passion for equality and empowerment and fair access for all.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Bal is a Relationship Manager in the Connected Futures Team. She has lead on the work to expand Connected Futures to young people and communities with Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage to create sytemic change by tackling discrimination amd barriers to employment.

About

Prior to joining YFF, Talia worked for a youth democratic engagement organisation and completed a Masters in Race, Media and Social Justice

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Talia is part of the Youth Inclusion team that focuses on creating meaningful spaces for young people to share their voices across the organisation and on the issue of youth unemployment. Since joininig in 2022, her work has focused on the Future Voice programme and ensuring that the voices and interests of young people affected by inequality and discrimination in employment were well represented in our research and policy work. .

Max has been passionate about improving outcomes for disadvantaged young people ever since attending a secondary school stuck in Ofsted special measures and seeing his peers have their life chances severely affected. He has worked for charities supporting marignalised young people to make positive transitions his whole career, gaining experience in direct delivery of youth work as well as fundraising. Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, Max led on UCAS’s transformation in improving its offer around apprenticeships and vocational pathways. In his spare time Max is a long-suffering Arsenal fan and music enthusiast.

Max is our Policy Manager, working across the range of Youth Futures Foundation’s policy areas to influence government thinking and develop evidence-based policy solutions. 

About

Joanne’s experience includes a range of management roles across several sectors. Before joining Youth Futures, Joanne established and managed several countywide grant programmes – including emergency funding in response to the pandemic. Joanne is enthusiastic about continuous learning and embraces systems thinking. Joanne is a trustee for a micro, founder-led charity.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Joanne leads the development and improvement of our grants processes and systems.

About

Emily is an experienced non-profit communications professional. She has a masters degree in sociolinguistics from the University of York, and she carries an enduring interest in identity, language, and power into her work at Youth Futures.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Emily is responsible for strategic thinking on how we can best engage our key audiences: from our internal staff team, to employers who can use our evidence to make meaningful change for young people. Emily also works to develop and deliver high-quality content, amplifying the voices and stories of marginalised young people.

About

Gillian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having managed UK wide grant programmes throughout her career in the charity sector, working with the Prince’s Trust, The Wildlife Trusts and more recently CITB. Outside of the office, Gillian enjoys learning piano and long walks with her family in the countryside.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Gillian sits within our Finance and Resources team and leads all aspects of our operational delivery including planning, systems and infrastructure and the development and improvement of our processes and systems.

About

Aron first began his career in Accounting and Finance, before moving to grant making with Leeds Community Foundation.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Aron now supports our grant holders with the delivery of their grants, enabling them to deliver high quality, impactful projects. He manages a varied portfolio of grant holders, with a particular focus on the Infrastructure programme.

About

Katie worked in monitoring, evaluation and learning in international development and education for nine years before joining Youth Futures. She lives in the Peak District with her partner and two guinea pigs, and outside of work can usually be found outdoors with her friends (doing anything from trail running to climbing to swimming), gardening, or (very slowly) renovating her house.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Katie designs, commissions, and manages evaluations, to ensure our investments generate robust evidence on what works to help young people into good jobs. She works closely with evaluators, our programme teams, and delivery partners to shape both existing and new programmes that strengthen the evidence base.

About

Chris joined Youth Futures in 2020, after 17 years at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), a research funder with a mission to eradicate UK poverty. Chris served on the Social Security Advisory Committee at the Department for Work and Pensions for 10 years and was a member of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills Policy Expert Group. Before JRF, Chris worked in research at the Home Office, the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, hospitals in Hammersmith and Bradford and for the Transport and Road Research Laboratory.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Chris is Director of Impact and Evidence, leading a team of researchers, evaluators, analysts and economists.

About

Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, Sophie worked as a Research Manager for Learning and Work Institute, where she managed a range of research and evaluation projects related to adult learning and skills. In her spare time, she likes to travel and salsa dance.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Sophie is a Research Manager in our Impact and Evidence Team. She manages several of our research projects focused on apprenticeships, employer engagement, and ethnic disparities in employment.

About

After graduating from the University of Leeds (Politics & Spanish) in 2020, Lewis has amassed a diverse range of experience at marketing and PR agencies, delivering communications campaigns for client across the sustainability, retail and construction sectors. He joined Youth Futures after volunteering at London-based charity Football Beyond Borders.

Outside of work Lewis loves being active, whether that’s playing football, tennis, or running, and travelling. He spent his year abroad studying in Argentina and travelling across South America.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Lewis works across the public affairs and communication teams, communicating Youth Futures’s work to policymakers and its wider audiences.

About

Before joining Youth Futures, Megan spent over 15 years working in local government, specialising in employment and skills. She managed a range of projects and partnerships in Birmingham, from city-wide initiatives to neighbourhood-level programmes, including delivery of a large-scale European Social Fund/Youth Employment Initiative project across Birmingham and Solihull.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Megan is Senior Relationship Manager for the Connected Futures Programme, where she works closely with our delivery partners, fostering a youth-led approach to driving systemic change in youth employment.

About

Charlie is involved in a steering group with partnerships for young London – supporting many aspects of careleavers – including employment.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Charlie is involved in the operations and every day running of the business to help support with the processing of transactions in the company to ensure that we meet our financial obligations as a charity. He helps support the management of accurate data including the grants sector to ensure that we are in-line with our predictions mentioned in our business plan and are on track with the budgets set out each year.

About

Ryan has worked in policy and related roles across the third sector and local government. In addition to his work on youth employment in multiple roles at Youth Futures Foundation, his work has included leading on skills and place policy at the National Centre for Universities and Business and working on the delivery of the City Deal in Greater Cambridge. He holds a wealth of multi-disciplinary professional experience in policy, public affairs and relationship and project management.

What they do at Youth Futures

Ryan sits at the intersection of our policy, government relations and evidence generation work, playing a key role in helping us to work with local and national government to set up trials to build new evidence about what works. He has a specific focus on our engagement with regional government, acting as a point of contact for interest stakeholders and shaping our offer based on their needs. This currently includes a strong focus on the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme.

About

Justin’s career has spanned the public, private and third sector, with a focus on education and skills. He most recently worked as a consultant with clients in and around the UK public sector on stakeholder engagement and project management, having previously held external affairs and policy roles at The Careers and Enterprise Company.

Outside of work, he likes to travel, keep up with politics and sport, and drag himself out for a run.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Justin leads our communications function.

About

Prior to joining Youth Futures, Nkechi worked in the voluntary and higher education sectors, most recently as the administrator for the professional body for UK higher education internal auditors. Outside of work, she is involved in community empowerment activities through her church and in supporting girls’ education in Eastern Nigeria through the alumni association for her former school.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Nkechi helps ensure robust and effective governance arrangements at Youth Futures Foundation, including developing and implementing processes and procedures that promote and sustain good governance.

About

Vicki started her career as a parliamentary researcher in the House of Commons before moving to The Fostering Network. Vicki’s campaigning work led to the introduction of legislation to extend foster care to young people to the age of 21. She co-chaired the Alliance for children in care and care leavers, working in partnership with 50 organisations to co-ordinate influencing activity as well as regularly representing The Fostering Network in the media. In her spare time, Vicki loves to cycle in the Surrey Hills and plays netball for Kingston Tigers.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Vicki leads our Public Affairs team, along with Jessica Shrenk.

About

Alice began her career working in schools, supporting students with ASC and learning difficulties, before moving into the charity sector in youth-centred organisations. She has held various roles spanning service design and evaluation in different capacities, enjoying the opportunity to help people understand how evaluative tools can help improve support for young people. Outside of work, she enjoys listening to music and is a member of a local choir. Living near the beach, Alice enjoys walking her dog along the seafront, and one day might even be brave enough to sea swim!

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Alice is the lead for evidence generation for our Connected Futures programme. She designs approaches to capture evidence, commissioning partners to deliver creative ways of wrapping evaluation around complex systemic interventions.

About

Danielle has a background in business development and finance having spent three years at one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms, Ernst & Young (EY). Danielle is extremely passionate about supporting young people to develop key skills and transition into meaningful employment and has worked and/or volunteered with a number of frontline delivery organisations such as: The EY Foundation, The National Citizens Service, Princes Trust, Childreach International, The Chartered Management Institute, The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise and more.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Danielle is a Relationship Manager here at Youth Futures with responsibility for our Burnley and Hull Connected Futures Partnerships, currently working to create youth led and place-based systemic change.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Temi supports all aspects of Youth Futures’ economic and data analysis, from design to impact, helping us to understand and impact youth unemployment in England.

Using expertise in economic analysis, quantitative methods and project design, Temi is helping to build our growing economics, data analysis, and research portfolio. 

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Elisa supports the People Team by providing a comprehensive administration and people-focused service in responding promptly and efficiently to a range of HR requests and queries.

About

Éilis is a registered social worker, and trained systemic practitioner, with experience in children’s social care, mental health and voluntary settings. She has specialised in supporting care-experienced and neurodivergent young people in therapetuic settings, undertaking practioner-led research in this area. Éilis has also managed grants across the children’s sector.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Éilis manages youth inclusion and participation activities across programmes and grants – centring the voices, experiences and identities of young people within systems change work. She leads the Connected Futures Ambassadors and the Building Futures Youth Advisory Group, supporting each young person to influence change, whilst also gaining personal development outcomes.

About

Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation in 2021, Amanda held evaluation roles at STEM Learning evaluating the STEM Ambassadors programme, and with Family Fund, a charity that supports families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. She completed her doctorate in 2015, focused on evaluating the goals and milestones of gender equality in English cathedral choirs. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys walking her labradoodle in the North York Moors, and weekend trips in her campervan.
Amanda is an evaluation researcher with experience in qualitative and mixed-methods research. She leads on a variety of projects at Youth Futures including implementation and process evaluations, feasibility and pilot studies, and impact evaluations.
 

About

Jane joined Youth Futures Foundation in 2022. She has over ten years’ experience working in research and evaluation, and has led research and evaluation projects across the private, government and third sector. Outside of work Jane enjoys running, getting out into nature, and is a keen Olympics enthusiast.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Jane is responsible for managing a portfolio of impact evaluations. She is also leading the development of technical standards and guidance for evaluators, and is supporting work to develop Youth Futures Foundation’s data archive and data linkage strategy.

About

Kate is strategic researcher with seven years’ experience leading mixed-methods evaluations across youth employment, social protection, and inclusive services, Kate is known for turning complex data into actionable insights. She has worked with governments, funders, and NGOs to inform policy and scale impact.

Originally from the U.S., Kate has lived in London for the past four years, following time in New York, Amsterdam, and Washington DC. Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and outdoor activities like hiking, biking, running, and snowboarding.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Kate leads the delivery of a portfolio of complex impact evaluations, managing a team of Evaluation Managers and supporting their development. She designs and oversees evidence programmes that help us understand what works to support young people into good work – contributing directly to our strategic goals.

About

Tony has a background in data and systems management in charity and international development contexts.Tony has an interest in collecting punk vinyl and likes to think his record collection is unparelled.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Tony supports the delivery of our Evaluation and Research grants and coordinates the Impact and Evidence Team.

About

Prior to joining the Youth Futures Foundation, Annum worked on key initiatives such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps helping to shape and deliver programmes, projects and partnerships. Annum has a passion for breaking down barriers that exist in marginalised young people accessing educational and employment opportunities and outside of work actively volunteers for local charities and community organisations.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Annum is a Partnerships Manager with an interest in stakeholder engagement and collaboration. Annum supports the delivery of our Youth Futures Foundation Strategy with a particular focus on developing relationships with youth employment organisations, public bodies, employers, Government departments and young people.

About

Moira has a background in law and international law and has spent her career in the charity sector. Her focus, for the last 18 years, has been on charity governance. Moira has worked with a variety of domestic and international charities at a senior level. Many of these roles have extended beyond governance and her experience includes responsibility for legal and compliance functions as well as governance.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Moira joined us in October 2021 and has oversight of our governance and legal functions.

About

Eleanor has multiple years of experience in the education sector, having worked as a mentor in a secondary school, with her most recent role at a university involving experiential learning and engaging students outside of the classroom. In her spare time, Ellen enjoys yoga, films and going for countryside walks.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

In their role as Engagement Manager, within our Employer Engagement and Partnerships team, Eleanor works to better our understanding of employer needs and to use our evidence to influence employer practices and behaviours. Eleanor leads on our strategic partnerships on Increasing Level 2 & 3 Apprenticeships Supply and on our Toolkit Unwrapped series, translating our evidence for an employer audience. They are a member of our internal EDI Network.

About

Charlotte has 10 years’ experience working with young people and has a passion and commitment to driving forward initiatives that address disadvantage and improve progression pathways. Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, Charlotte worked for IntoUniversity where she was responsible for leading and developing a suite of positive impact outreach programmes for students aged 7 – 18.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Charlotte is the Head of Programmes for Building Futures, leading on the development, mobilisation and delivery of the programme.

About

Nish has over 20 years of experience in the charity sector in several senior roles working with employers to create fairer and more inclusive workplaces having worked at Business in the Community, Macmillan, and Investors in People. Nish is a trustee with Element a social enterprise supporting young people leaving the care system. And in her free time, Nish loves wild swimming, hot Pilates and walking the parklands of North London with her pooch Marley.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Nishi leads on our engagement with employers, employer groups and partners. We work in collaboration to take an evidence based approach to influence employers on what works in recruiting and retaining young people from marginalised groups.

About

Alison holds a BA in Geography and History from the University of Glasgow and MA in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response from the University of Manchester. Having spent 2 years in our Impact and Evidence directorate, Alison has worked on many of our evidence-generation projects and gained experience with various research methods in a range of projects to better understand the youth unemployment challenge.

Before that Alison did her Masters in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response at The University of Manchester. Her dissertation explored the efficacy of cash-based humanitarian interventions targeting young people.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

In her role as Senior Policy Officer, Alison works in the Policy and Public Affairs Team to grow and develop our policy expertise and develop evidence-led solutions based on what works.

About

As a Chartered MCIPD Level 7 HR professional with over 20 years of progressive experience, I have worked in both operational and strategic roles across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on the not-for-profit sector. I have held several senior leadership positions and have successfully run a consultancy business. I joined YFF from a community learning charity in Leeds, dedicated to reducing deprivation and improving wellbeing through learning, skills, and personal development opportunities.
Outside of my professional life, I enjoy Pilates, cooking, and spending quality time with my family.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Lisa is our Head of People, responsible for shaping and leading the people agenda and culture at Youth Futures Foundation. Her role ensures that systems, processes, people, and business operations are in place to effectively enable the organisation to achieve its strategic goals.

About

Chris joined Youth Futures in January 2024 after five years at Foundations where he conducted and commissioned evaluations of interventions designed to improve outcomes for children in the social care system.

Away from work, Chris enjoys playing squash, sauna, the Talking Heads and the films of Paul Thomas Anderson.

What they do at Youth Futures

Chris is responsible for designing and managing complex programmes of evidence generation to understand what works to support young people into good jobs, including our What Works Programme. He also leads on the development of technical standards and guidance for impact evaluations, and the development of our data archive and data linkage strategy.

About

Daniel holds a BA in Economics from Durham University and an MSc in Economics, specialising in public policy evaluation, from the University of Bristol. Before joining the team, Dan was a Research Economist at the Institute for Employment Studies, where he developed experience of a range of evaluation methods across research projects evaluating labour market and education policy. He also led/worked on several projects commissioned by Youth Futures Foundation.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Dan leads on our employer-facing evidence generation programme.

About

Hannah joined Youth Futures Foundation in 2020 after five years at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) and the Learning and Work Institute (L&W). She brings extensive experience in leading research and evaluation projects across labour market, welfare reform, and skills policy, working with national and local government clients.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Hannah leads evidence generation programmes focused on understanding what works to help young people secure good jobs. She oversees a range of mixed-method evaluations, including randomised controlled trials and theory-based impact evaluations.

About

Katy has over a decade’s worth of experience of working with employers to achieve social inclusion through good work, most recently as Head of Campaigns for Employment and & Skills at Business in the Community.

Outside of work Katy is Chair of Governors at a local primary school and has a passion for vintage fashion, books and running.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Katy drives our work to influence change in employer behaviour and practice around the recruitment and retention of young people. Building strategic partnerships which enable us to amplify evidence led solutions that deliver behaviour change is a key part of the work Katy delivers.

About

Rosie is a degree qualified Youth & Community Worker who has been in the youth sector on a local, national and international level since 2007. She runs youth clubs across Birmingham and is a trustee for The Door Youth Project.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Rosie coordinates the wider cross-organisational Connected Futures team to ensure the smooth running of the programme.

About

Lekan has experience within a leading social investment fund, grant giving with a focus on young people and capacity building support. In his spare time Lekan has held charity Board positions and is currently involved as a trustee for a local youth charity based in London.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Lekan oversees a range of YFF grant programmes including ‘What Works,’ ‘Infrastructure,’ and ‘Evidence into Action’

About

Charlene has worked in the charity and non-profit sector and has experience in office management, executive support and human resources. Outside of work, Charlene practices music and art and volunteers at a local church.
What they are involved with at Youth Futures
Charlene provides operational support to the whole Youth Futures Foundation Team.

About

Jo has over 10 years’ experience in office administration within the charity and arts sectors in Birmingham. Prior to joining Youth Futures Foundation, she was Centre Manager for a charity which supports vulnerable women of all ages preparing to enter the workplace.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Jo is the Grants Operations Officer providing administrative support to the programme and grants team to ensure the smooth running of our grant-making lifecycle.

About

MAtthew’s career has been dedicated to supporting communities and individuals to achieve their potential. Prior to working at Youth Futures, Matthew worked for the National Lottery Community Fund, where we led a number of different programmes and staff teams including Talent Match, Youth Investment Fund and the West Midlands Regional Direcorate. Outside of work, Matthew remains actively involved in youth development, dedicating his time to coaching and supporting young people through local youth work initiatives in the West Midlands.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Matthew is the Director of Programme and Grants., leading grant and programme teams including our What Works Programme, Connected Futures, Building Futures and Evidence into Acction.

About

With an MSc in Health Management and a BA (Hons) in Public Health and Community Studies, Zoecencia has made significant contributions to published research – particularly in systems policy analysis for antimicrobial resistance targeted action, supporting evidence-based public health interventions. Outside of work, Zoecencia is passionate about personal development, reading, and community engagement. She dedicates time each week to mentoring young people and children.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Zoecencia works closely with our Research Managers and other members of our Impact and Evidence team to support the design, delivery and management of commissioned and in-house research projects, striving to understand the complex, systemic issues faced by marginalised young people in their employment journey. 

About

Laura has worked as the Youth Development Manager and Youth Voice Manager at LEEDS 2023, Year of Culture, where she designed and oversaw the delivery of a large-scale skills and youth voice programme reaching over 200 young people across the West Yorkshire region.

Laura’s interest and specialism lies in working with young people through co-production and youth governance which was first ignited through her work as Lead Producer of an NLHF project that centred young people of colour in co-creating solutions with heritage organisations to address diversity and inclusivity in the sector.”

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Laura leads our Youth Inclusion team to ensure youth inclusion and voice is embedded across our work.

About

Louise has been working within the not-for-profit sector in Birmingham for almost 10 years, most recently working at a local infrastructure organisation. Her roles included contract and strategic relationship management for various programmes including a £6million Ageing Better programme and a strategic support and development programme for civil society organisations in Birmingham.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Louise oversees the development and delivery of Youth Futures Foundation’s Connected Futures Programme.

About

Lauren loves being organised and helpful and has previously worked in admin & secretarial jobs, most recently at a property investment company. In her personal time, she enjoys doing charity work. She has raised £20k by organising various fundraising events, and visited North Africa to carry out charity work at children’s hospitals, schools and women’s refuges. She also enjoys big walks, pilates and spending time with family and friends.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Lauren is a Team Coordinator for the Engagement Team.>

About

With a background in commercial and corporate banking followed by 14 years’ experience of providing and managing grants and loans in the VCSE sector, Andy joined Youth Futures from the Architectural Heritage Fund where he headed up its social investment team for 10 years. Away from work, he enjoys creative writing, reading Russian literature, and waiting for Grimsby Town Football Club to start winning again.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Andy oversees the development and delivery of Youth Futures Foundation’s Connected Futures Programme.

About

Before joining YFF Anna worked at IPPR North, after over a decade as a researcher in higher education and in government.

What they do at Youth Futures

Anna Round is Head of Research and Impact at the Youth Futures Foundation. Her research experience includes extensive work on education and skills, regional labour markets and economies, and young people’s issues.

About

Ravinder previously worked in the Public/Third Sector, having worked for Charities, Social Landlord(s), and Local Authority. Ravinder has implemented various systems, and processes to enable the delivery of rewarding work undertaken by frontline staff and partners, in the easiest and most efficient way. Ravinder is also a Trustee of a small local Youth & Community centre.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Ravinder is our Finance & IT Manager, with over 20 years’ experience at Senior Manager level in Finance, covering all aspects of Finance functions.

About

San is a mixed methods researcher with five years of agency-side experience delivering high-quality evaluation projects. She specialises in strategic qualitative and quantitative analysis across economic, health, and regulatory contexts to inform policy development for government departments and the wider public and voluntary sectors.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

At Youth Futures Foundation, San is involved in designing, commissioning, and managing evaluations. She currently supports a portfolio of feasibility and impact evaluations, including Building Futures and evidence generation for the Connected Futures programme.

About

Amy had a strong background in research and evaluation from a background in the Civil Service, where she contributed to multiple policy areas, including gender equality, elections, social housing, an telecoms. She brings extensive expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analytical techniques.

Outside of work, Amy enjoys theatre and live music, and explore London’s vibrant food scene. She also embraces an active lifestyle.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Amy leads on the design, commissioning, and management of evaluations and evidence generation. Working closely with externally-commissioned independent evaluators, delivery partners, and colleagues in our Programmes & Grants, and Policy & Public Affairs teams, Amy leads the design and delivery of large scale and complex impact evaluations, and formative evaluations to develop our pipeline.

About

Jessica has over seventeen years of experience working in public affairs and stakeholder engagement in Brussels and the UK. Outside of work, Jessica loves spending time with her family, dancing, live music, and yoga.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Jessica leads our Public Affairs team, along with Vicki Jones.

About

Kat’s career has been guided by a desire to maximise social impact and this ambition has led her to roles spanning Parliament, Whitehall and City Hall. She is a former adviser to a shadow cabinet minister and previously served as Deputy Head of Public Affairs for NHS England. During the pandemic, Kat led stakeholder engagement strategy for the Covid Vaccination Programme.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Kat is an external affairs specialist and works across communications, public affairs and policy. Her areas of focus include the Building Futures programme and mental health.

About

Before joining Youth Futures, Jodie worked at a Birmingham-based PR agency, where she led on both strategy and delivery for clients across industries including retail, arts and culture, hospitality and the third sector.

Jodie enjoys spending her free time walking her Dachshund, Frankie, and mentoring students and graduates at Birmingham City University.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

As the Senior Media and Communications Manager, Jodie is responsible for amplifying the youth employment challenge and increasing Youth Futures’ brand awareness, through strategic communications and media relations.

About

A mixed methods researcher, Peter has over fifteen years of experience in research and policy evaluation in academia and the third sector. His research has explored initiatives focused on crime and youth crime and has given voice to some of the unheard in society, including victim/survivors of domestic violence and homicide and young victims and perpetrators of crime. In 2017 he completed an ESRC funded PhD at the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Leeds, for which he explored why some young people carry knives and how their peers responded to this. Peter is also an experienced editor; for three he was years Managing Editor of the Journal of Probation, and had his own copy-editing business as a student, during which he helped many academics and post-graduate students to improve their writing. In his spare time Peter likes to exercise and visit the cinema.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Peter is a Research Manager in the Research and Impact team and manages a diverse portfolio of work including currently the Youth Employment Toolkit and Policy Journeys mapping project, and has delivered among other projects the Workplace Discrimination Survey and Review of Systems Change.

About

Theo has a background in working to support marginalised groups, and he holds an MA in Politics and Economic History and a Postgraduate Diploma in Political Communications.

What are they involved with at Youth Futures?

Theo supports our Employer Engagement & Partnerships team to manage key projects, developing and maintaining operational processes to ensure we achieve our organisational targets. 

About

With a PhD from the University of Warwick, specialising in unemployment policy, economic justice, and political philosophy, Peter is deeply passionate about tackling inequality and creating a fairer labour market for marginalised young people. Beyond the world of policy, Peter enjoys playing tennis and padel, watching American Football, engaging in political philosophy discussions, and playing guitar.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Peter leads our Public Policy team, advancing the development of our ‘what works’ body of policy expertise, positions and solutions, to influence the Government policy agenda to better support marginalised young people to secure good work.   

About

Sarah is a strategic public affairs and communications professional with experience of driving influencing strategies and reputational positioning. Previous roles include Head of External Affairs at The Careers and Enterprise Company.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures

Sarah leads our Policy and External Affairs directoriate, providing expert counsel to senior executives and policy makers and representing us in the public arena.

About

Natassja spent a formative part of her career at Girlguiding, co-creating campaigns, content and channels with members, which sparked a passion for empowering young people and amplifying youth voice through comms. Natassja is kept busy outside of work by her small, scruffy dog and less small, equally scruffy toddler.

What they are involved with at Youth Futures?

Natassja leads our Communications team, bringing over 12 years’ experience of building audience-focused strategies, delivering impactful campaigns and improving communications planning in trade associations and charities including Mayhew and the British Red Cross.