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Who We Are
Trustees
Sarah Evans - Chair
Sarah Evans has a background in finance, management consulting and education. She is a Founder, Member and trustee of Westside School. Sarah set up Oxford Youth Lab, enabling multi-stakeholder practitioners and academics to come together in order to understand the complexity of current youth issues and work together on new solutions at grass-roots levels across the UK. Sarah has 3 university degrees. She sits on the boards of the Solutions Lab at MaRS in Toronto, Alpine Canada, Ivey Business School and Ivey Sustainability Centre. She is an Advisor to Springboard Foundation, Trustee of London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) Foundation, a board member of Sadler's Wells, Breaking GB and is a Member of Institute of New Economic Thinking (INET) Council.
Nicholas Basden - Trustee
Nick co-founded and owns Flat Brew Limited, the maker of award-winning coffee spreads. Prior to founding Flat Brew, Nick launched a number of entrepreneurial ventures in the retail and restaurant sectors, having previously worked in sales at JP Morgan; retail strategy at Monitor Company; and, business development at Starbucks Coffee International earlier in his career.
Nick has worked with leading theatre and cultural institutions in the UK on issues related to strategic positioning and audience development, with a particular focus on engaging minority audiences. He serves as a trustee at both Kiln Theatre and Sadlers Wells, and is an occasional investor in West End theatrical productions.
Nick is actively engaged in the education sector where he serves as a trustee for Westside School and Alternative Provision Challenge Trust, both organisations dedicated to meeting the educational needs of excluded students.
Nick is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Tim Corbett - Trustee
Tim Corbett is a partner at the global law firm of Morgan Lewis. Tim has more than 20 years’ experience supporting businesses in the technology and life sciences sectors in a wide range of international and cross border transactions. Tim also provides legal support to a number of charities located in the UK and elsewhere on a pro bono basis. Tim started his career as a health policy analyst with the US federal government.
Stephen Griffith - Trustee
Co-Founder & Director of Copenhagen Youth Project and Founder & Director of FishTank Project
Copenhagen Youth Project (CYP) is a unique youth project working in partnership with young people in Islington to create and sustain a positive youth culture that inspires children and young people to plan, initiate and lead their own activities.
Through Sports, Arts, Mentoring and Culture, CYP engages and facilitates young people’s development by providing education, training and support, helping raise achievement and levels of aspiration.
Stephen has a number of roles on various forums and panels related to young people. He supports and advises both the statutory and voluntary sectors on youth and community matters forums include; Safer Neighbourhoods Panel, Bronze Group, Gold Group, Cally Providers, Urban Partnership and the violence reduction unit. As an executive member of the Islington Children and Young People’s Voluntary Sector Forum he helps to strategically develop a stronger voluntary sector that can respond to the needs of children and young people in Islington.
In 2018 he launched a project for young entrepreneurs offering desk space, training, investment, mentoring, guidance and support. The project developed in partnership with advertising agency Havas KX is now working with 21 young entrepreneurs supporting them to develop their enterprises. FishTank also provides an agency and an online personal development programme.
His experience as a youth worker and community lead has resulted in him advising on a number of TV programmes and commenting on youth and community issues in London.
John Hepburn - Trustee
John has a number of current roles, from Chairman Gelato AS;, Chairman of Sportfact Ltd (Guildford Flames); , to Member of the Investment Advisory Committee for EQT Infrastructure; EQT Credit, EQT Real Estate. On the charitable side he is Trustee Lakefield College School, St Paul’s School Charitable Trust, and Member of the Advisory Council of the Bendheim Centre for Finance (Princeton University)
He is a graduate of Princeton University in 1972 with a BSE in Engineering (magna cum laude) and has an MBA with honours from Harvard Business School in 1974. He was with Morgan Stanley from 1975 , taking on various roles from Managing Director, to Vice Chairman in 1996. He was known for successfully heading and growing the Nordic Region Group for over 16 years.
Consultants
Head of Westside School - Particia Hanley
Patricia was appointed as Head of Westside in September 2020, having worked in the school previously as Deputy Headteacher.
After spending 26 years working in some of south east London’s largest, and most challenging comprehensive schools, Patricia joined Westside three years ago with the knowledge that big schools for some of our most vulnerable learners simply don’t work. Her philosophy of education is simple: tackling disadvantage requires the best teaching and learning, and it has been this determination that has led to the transformation of teaching at Westside. Her enthusiasm for improving teaching was evident in her previous roles of English Advisor, Advanced Skills Teacher and School Based Initial Teacher Trainer. In 2021, Patricia began to support colleagues in the Woodard Trust with English and Literacy and believes that all schools can learn from each other, whatever the setting.
Patricia continues to teach English and feels that it is important for headteachers to remain in touch with the classroom.
Principal of Everton Free School & Football College - Richard Cronin
Richard Cronin is the Principal of Everton Free School & Football College. He helped set up and open Everton Free School & Football College in September 2012. The catchment area of the school covers the Liverpool City Region and beyond. The school is closely linked with Everton Football Club and its charity Everton in the Community.
Richard put in place the centralisation of the school on one site adjacent to Goodison Park and oversaw its expansion into post-16 education and latterly a Foundation Degree programme in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University. The school has a strong track record in partnering with local businesses and organisations that can provide student experiences of the world of work.
Richard’s areas of interest centre around school expansion, developing community links and curriculum design.
