Vijay Gola

Driven by his belief in the value of social change, Vijay is an extremely pro-active community advocate. He is an executive of The Council of Sikh Gurdwaras and a panel member of the Sparkbrook Community First Panel a role through which he oversees grant provision and governance to grassroots organisations in the local community. If that wasn’t enough, Vijay is also the Senior Executive of a registered charity and has been awarded a Good Citizens Award by the West Midlands Police for his ongoing community work.

Avril Grant

… is a professional empowerment coach and the CEO of a promising community interest company. A Vision for Empowerment delivers motivational workshops to re-ignite the passion and self-belief of participants and help them to discover their desired career pathway. Working in partnership with employment agencies, the criminal justice system and the education sector Avril has positively impacted upon the lives of community members, ex-offenders, the unemployed and Birmingham based students.

Abigail Cooke

… graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2009 and immediately pursued her passion for both Science and Education by studying for her a PGCE in Secondary Science. She became a qualified teacher at the age of 21 and quickly rose to Head of Department at the age of 25. Abigail achieved an ‘outstanding’ grade from OFSTED two years running and enjoys supporting her fellow teachers in their professional development. Abigail’s next goal is to create a new community project to empower her fellow Birmingham residents.

Anna Clifford

Beyond Anna’s professional career as a Commercial Property Solicitor she is also heavily involved in community fundraising. She has organised events and led a team in the 3 peaks challenge and the Birmingham Half Marathon.

Sarah Carruthers

Since her teenage years Sarah has been actively involved in governance and leadership, chairing her local youth council and working with the UK Youth Parliament. Following her studies Sarah became part of the research team at the University of Birmingham specialising in the field of poverty reduction. She is driven by her passion to free people from the cycle of poverty both locally and overseas.

Jonathan Cairns-Terry

… is a qualified chartered accountant who is passionate about using his skills to help others. He is an active member of his local church and leads the church’s debt counselling service. Jonathan has a strong desire to see people from all walks of life realise their potential.

Alexandra Birch

… began her career in recruitment before moving in to local government work supporting the New Deal for Communities initiative. Following the birth of her children, Alexandra re-trained as a midwife. She is a passionate advocate for the improvement of children’s and women’s healthcare and has received an Iolanthe Midwifery Trust Midwives Award for her masters research project which investigated policies and strategies available for pregnant women suffering from obesity.

Ranjit Bains

… is a consultant advocate and appears in County Courts across England and Wales. His practice involves representing a range of clients in a broad spectrum of civil disputes. After successfully gaining his Graduate Diploma at the College of Law, Ranjit returned to Birmingham and volunteered with the Citizens Advice for two years before joining the management committee of a local charity. In 2013, Ranjit became a member of the Local Governing Board of a newly created Academy sponsored primary school.

Elaynor McKool-George

Sheon Hutchison

Errol Lawson

Jerome McCalla

Elizabeth Muir

Chidinma Obi

Sean Thompson