Our team is equity-led, coming from African, Caribbean, Indian, and Asian heritages and bringing a range of unique skills, talents, interests, and life experiences.
We are also female-led - three of our four management team are women.
Accelerating inclusivity within Sutton is a key goal and we believe we have the best team for this. Our Coordinator, outreach and development worker, social researcher, workshop facilitators, dance teachers, artists, chefs, writers, and heritage professionals come from diverse communities. They work together using dynamic symbiotic processes to co-develop and deliver services with and for the community.
Our Chair
20 years’ experience in the charity sector. Leading with a vibrancy and outward-thinking approach borne of his experience in the arts sector, he prioritises the well-being of the staff and volunteer in order to deliver effective services. His experience spans governance and equalities training, community consultations, civic participation, training and development. He is passionate about empowering communities to have a voice and he does this through the development of creative community consultation events and the development of powerful, high-achieving networks.
He has in-depth understanding of the needs of diverse communities across Sutton through delivery of capacity-building support to small groups which he does on behalf of Community Action Sutton.
Coordinator
Over five years’ organisational management and coordination experience, leading large-scale projects, developing monitoring and evaluation systems, establishing safeguarding policies and procedures, and volunteer training and supervision systems. Extensive outreach and community engagement experience. She has led on a number of National Lottery and regeneration projects.
Development Worker
For the past three years she has been working with Sutton CVS to develop Sutton Women’s Network, connecting BME women, engaging them in writing, publishing, performing and exhibiting their work at cultural sites across Sutton, raising their collective voice. 25 years’ voluntary sector experience supporting Black and Minority Ethnic communities; organising culturally appropriate community engagement events using African, Caribbean, and Indian heritage activities. A fundraising professional (Institute of Fundraising), extensive experience delivering fundraising workshops.
Empowerment Researcher
Four post-graduate qualifications across Social Inclusion, Racial Justice, Civil Society, and a PhD in Sociology/Social Research (racial justice, civil society, social research); five years’ experience designing social impact measurement and evaluation frameworks for NGOs, carrying out surveys, focus groups, interviews, community consultations, using cultural-empowerment methodologies.
Sessional Workers
We have a team of 15 sessional workers who deliver a range of advocacy, dance and exercise classes, art therapy, walking groups, community cohesion sessions, leadership training, heritage, learning, and health projects.
All are DBS checked and with extensive experience managing projects for older men and women as well as monitoring and evaluation procedures.
Sophie Jones - Significant experience working with older people leads on the lunch club. First-class degree in Social Care. Experience in working with BAME communities across London specialist in evaluating delivery as well as Co-production.
Maria Aiko - Dance specialist who leads on classes for older people that includes specialist classes for supporting people with dementia, Parkinson's, as well as specific classes to engage older men in exercise.
Volunteers
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation.
Our team of forty trained and DBS checked volunteers delivers around forty per cent of services. We work with volunteers from a wide range of professions and sectors, including marketing and communications, fundraising, art, literature, dance, theatre, education, and finance.
Trustees
Our team of skilled trustees have skills across health, finance, community engagement and equalities. This summer we will be carrying out a skills audit to strengthen our board, ensuring we have a range of young people and older people and people with skills across marketing, fundraising, safeguarding, and HR.
- Sharon Gardner, Secretary - BSc (Hons) Health Sciences: Naturopathy, MFNTP | CYQ Diploma in Pilates. Sharon has been instrumental in setting up the charity. She has worked in the BAME community for a significant number of years. Her passion for reducing health inequalities has led her to undertake an M.A in sustainability.
- T Kelly, Treasurer - studying to become an accountant in the Third Sector. She has a passion developing cost-effective and efficient financial systems that ensure transparency in financial reporting to funders and stakeholders.
- Joseph Jeffers, Chair - B.A in Dance, M.A Gender Studies, M.A in Dance in the community, P.G.C.E. in Education. He is an Associate of the I.D.T.A as well as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Joseph has managed large scale projects across London including supporting organisations to develop systems to bring people together for the benefit of the community. Joseph is also a member of several steering groups, including the Kings Fund.
Advisory Group
Our Project Advisory Group is made up of service users and co-opted specialists from housing, community, health, and education sectors.
