Our team

Bio

Jenni has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years, starting out at the National Union of Students in press and student campaigns.

She has held senior leadership roles at the Invictus Games Foundation, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Haven House Children’s Hospice and The Scout Association.

Jenni holds an MSc in Charity Accounting & Financial Management from Bayes Business School and is a Trustee (formerly Chair) of the Active Essex Foundation. She loves sport, particularly triathlon and duathlon, and with her husband has two cats and two dogs.

Bio

Alex is a qualified management accountant, and holds a Diploma in Charity Accounting & Finance Management from the Cass Business School.

She has worked across the NHS, Local Authority and not-for-profit sectors over the last 35 years, holding senior leadership roles at School-Home Support, Young Minds and Target Ovarian Cancer.

She has also completed the Sayer Vincent ‘Inspiring Charity Leadership’ course; has served as a Vice Chair of Governors at a nursery school, and as a trustee at the Mary Ward Adult Education Centre.

Bio

Cate joined in 2017 after working in Beirut for five years. While in Lebanon, she worked at the United Nations (UNRWA) coordinating an EU-funded employability project, before moving on to manage humanitarian relief and development programmes.

Cate sits on the Editorial Board of Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, a peer-reviewed, inter-disciplinary academic journal. She is also the Chair of the Barclays LifeSkills Youth Advisory Council (LYAC).

Cate holds a first-class honours degree in International Relations from the University of Leeds.

Bio

Francesca's background is in training and employability. Prior to The Talent Foundry, she worked on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as a Training Coordinator and worked with an employability charity as a Progression Officer.

She graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a first class honours degree in Fine Art and Art History, where she then went on to complete a Masters in Fine Art.

Bio

She graduated with distinction in Law from the Queen Mary University. She has over five years’ experience working in education, having worked in schools across London and as an English tutor.

Tehmeena has also volunteered with Refugee Council, which led her to be interested in the charity sector.

Bio

Kate has worked in recruitment, people management and project management focused roles for over 10 years.

She grew up in New Zealand and after gaining a Bachelor of Business Studies at Massey University, worked in banking for two years, before moving to Australia and then on to London where she has been for the past eight years.

In 2021, Kate began volunteering for a social mobility charity, and used her experience in recruitment and management to host employability workshops and 1-2-1 support sessions for adults with complex needs.

Bio

Jonathan has been supporting young people for the last 10 years of his career. Prior to The Talent Foundry, he was the Head of the Humanities at a large secondary school in Bristol. He has six years’ experience working in a variety of schools in deprived areas.

He has also worked in social action organisations, including the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, managing programmes in youth empowerment and community change across Commonwealth nations.

Jonathan holds and MA in Social Anthropology and International Development from the University of London, a BA in Geography from the University of Sheffield and a PGCE from UCL.

Bio

Since studying Language, Culture, and Communication at the University of Warwick, Tani has worked extensively with schools and young people’s groups. She also volunteered with local schools for young people with learning disabilities. Tani believes that young people everywhere should be empowered and supported to find out what excites them.

Tani has a passion for music and in her spare time she takes to the stage as a jazz singer.

Bio

Lydia graduated from the University of Southampton in 2022 with a BA in History. She became more passionate about combating social inequalities after studying social and women's history.

Prior to The Talent Foundry, she held roles as a mental health ambassador, teaching assistant and mentor to students. She has been heavily involved with school fundraising events throughout her life.

Bio

Olivia re-joined The Talent Foundry having spent ten months working and traveling in Australia and the far east. While in Australia she spent time fundraising for the Red Cross and Child Fund which increased her interest for working within the charity sector.

Prior to working for The Talent Foundry and after completing her A Levels, Olivia worked as an investor relations associate for a startup.

Bio

For her master's thesis, Kristina explored the role of non-governmental organisations in providing children with educational opportunities to tackle the issue of child labour.

She coordinated volunteer recruitment, planned and implemented the summer programme for looked after children and volunteered as a fundraiser.

Bio

Maria graduated with a first-class honours degree in Media Arts from Royal Holloway, University of London, and worked as a freelance short-film producer. Alongside this, she worked for a local tuition centre and passionately volunteered at food banks and with animal welfare charities.

More recently, she volunteered with Mind, where she created, coordinated, and presented a series of Anger Management and Awareness workshops for young people.

Bio

David graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2019 with a first class honours degree in History and Political Science.

He has since worked in recruitment and as a conference producer, in the latter of which he led the delivery of policy-centred events supporting public and voluntary sector organisations to improve their services.

He has also worked extensively with young people in both childcare and on the sports field as a football referee.

Bio

Nashila graduated with a first-class honours degree in International Business. She has experience from investment banking and international experience from working as an ESL teacher in South Korea.

Since 2018 she has worked for various education charities, including a mentorship initiative set up by the Mayor of Birmingham.

Nashila has a keen interest in using education as a tool to empower individuals to make positive contributions to their communities. She also has a passion for travelling, learning about different cultures and learning new languages.

Bio

Janine has worked in education in countries such as Nepal, Tanzania and Sierra Leone.

Most recently, as a Senior Associate with the Education Partnerships Group, she supported the Ministry of Education in Sierra Leone providing technical and policy assistance. Prior to this, Janine worked as an Education Technical Specialist for Save the Children. She holds a BA in French and International Relations from the University of Leeds and a MA in Gender, Development and Globalisation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Janine loves being active and has cycled over 300km from Sierra Leone to Liberia.

Bio

Miranda started life in Amsterdam before moving to the UK at the age of 10. She holds a BA in History from the University of Warwick, MA in Human Rights from the London School of Advanced Studies and a PGCE. She worked in further education colleges before moving to the charity sector to manage the expansion of an innovative youth engagement programme for NEETs, supporting their upskilling and re-engagement into the world of education, employment and training through creative learning hooks embedded with accredited learning outcomes.

She recently successfully delivered a charitable government grant programme aimed at supporting low-income families in England.

Bio

Chris has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over ten years. Previous he was at an educational film charity, where he led projects to improve the literacy and attainment of young people, while introducing them to filmmaking via workshops and promotions.

Chris studied acting and trained at The Poor School and Workhouse Theatre. Upon graduating he gained professional representation and has enjoyed roles in film, television and radio. He enjoys making music, illustration and comedy writing.