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Locality Convention '24

Speakers

We will learn from inspiring community leaders, change-makers, experts, and academics as they share their personal journeys and insights.

Opening plenary: Navigating change

Andy Burnham - Mayor of Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Andy Burnham - Mayor of Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Andy Burnham was first elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017, re-elected for a second term in May 2021 and a third term in May 2024.

Responsible for shaping the future of Greater Manchester, Andy’s priorities for his third term include continuing to build a London-style integrated transport system, ending the housing crisis by 2038, offering a new technical education pathway as an alternative to university and creating a new Live Well service, making Greater Manchester a great place to grow up, get on, and grow old.

Before being elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy was MP for Leigh from 2001. In government, Andy has held Ministerial positions at the Home Office, Department of Health and the Treasury. In 2008 he became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, before returning to Health as Secretary of State in 2009.

In opposition, Andy has served as Shadow Education Secretary, Shadow Health Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary.

Andy lives in Leigh, Greater Manchester, with his wife and three children.

Twitter/X: @AndyBurnhamGM / @mayorofgm / @greatermcr

Councillor Joanna Midgley - Deputy Leader, Manchester City Council
Councillor Joanna Midgley - Deputy Leader, Manchester City Council

Born in Sheffield, Joanna moved to Manchester to study at Manchester Polytechnic. She began her career with Manchester City Council’s Homelessness teams before transitioning to education, where she spent 20 years as a Psychology tutor, including 10 years as Head of Department. Elected to the council in 2012 for Chorlton Park, Joanna has held significant roles in health and housing, and as the lead member for Mental Health. She has been pivotal in raising awareness and reducing stigma. She has been Chair of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership for five years overseeing the development and implementation of the local suicide prevention plan.

In 2021, she became the Executive Member for Health and Care and was appointed Deputy Leader. Her portfolio includes Homelessness, Domestic Abuse and promoting the Safety of Women and Girls, Asylum Seekers and Refugees, the Voluntary and Community Sector, Anti-Poverty work and tackling Inequalities. She serves as a Trustee of Chorlton and Didsbury Foodbank, Chair of Barlow Moor Community Association, and a school governor at Chorlton Park Primary School.

Twitter/X: @jomidge / @ManCityCouncil

Professor Donna Hall CBE
Professor Donna Hall CBE

Donna has been described as a 'public service pioneer' by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, when she was his lead for Public Service Reform in the City Region. She was awarded a CBE for innovation in public service for her role in the national Tell Us Once bereavement project with DWP. She was awarded Transformational Leader in the first Northern Powerwomen awards for her leadership of gender equality and the Believe in Her campaign.

Her background is predominantly in local government, although she has worked in the voluntary and private sectors as well as being an NHS Chair. She was Chief Executive of Wigan Council for eight years and with her team developed The Wigan Deal – a new relationship with residents. She created another social contract with citizens whilst Chief Executive at Chorley Council – The Chorley Smile.

From 2018 to 2023, she has chaired the think tank New Local – promoting a new Community Paradigm and working with a network of seventy local authorities to explore shifting power to communities. She was appointed Hon Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester and is an integrated care system advisor to NHS England working with 42 health and care systems.

She is also a non-executive advisor to Carnall Farrar, CIPFA CCo and Mutual Ventures Limited and, chair of innovative social care enterprise PossAbilities supporting people with learning disabilities to live their best lives.

Adopted as a child, she is passionate about high-quality, person-centred public services and shifting power to communities. She now lives on a working croft in Aultbea on the west coast of Scotland.

Twitter/X: @ProfDonnaHall

Adrian Ball - Chief Executive, Manchester Settlement
Adrian Ball - Chief Executive, Manchester Settlement

Adrian has been the Chief Executive of the Manchester Settlement charity for 10 years. This work involves leading the multi-service teams that combine to deliver a place- and community-focused service offer, including Early Years, Family Support, Youth, Community Health Creation, Adult Services, Housing, and Asylum Seekers Support.

Adrian uses his 30 years of charity leadership experience to provide consultancy support to other charities, councils and health authorities. He is a trustee of several local community organisations, and Vice Chair of Trustees at Locality.

Twitter/X: @adrianball75 / @mcrsettlement

Maqbul Rose - Health and Wellbeing Manager, Manchester Settlement
Maqbul Rose - Health and Wellbeing Manager, Manchester Settlement

Maqbul has worked in Public Health for over 20 years. Initially interested in the effects of the environment on human health (and vice versa), Maqbul’s career started as a National Project Manager working at Manchester University on a Smoking Prevention European research project.

This sparked a real enthusiasm for preventative health. Maqbul moved on to various project management roles in the statutory and voluntary sectors, working directly with communities to improve health outcomes for those experiencing health inequity.

Maqbul has been recognised for her unique approach to community development by Commissioners in the NHS, Universities and other organisations. She is currently leading in embedding The Health Creation Framework (a process that enables community empowerment to occur to improve health outcomes) in North Manchester with VCSE organisations developed by The Health Creation Alliance.

Maqbul’s role has also developed into an advisory role sharing her methods and practice with others, an ethos shared with Manchester Settlement. Maqbul is passionate about empowering others to take control and manage their own health.

Twitter/X: @mcrsettlement

Jo Cooper - CEO, Back on the Map
Jo Cooper - CEO, Back on the Map

Born, raised and very much still part of Hendon, Sunderland in the North East of England. Jo has an MSc in Urban Policy & Regeneration from Northumbria University. Jo joined Back on the Map (BotM) in 2011 and became CEO in April 2020.

Jo has helped lead and deliver on many high-profile projects. Recently, Jo led Hendon’s high street, Villette Road, to become one of Power to Change’s Community Improvement District Pilots - one of just five schemes nationally - aimed at revitalising the high street and in BotM’s case, making Hendon a place of opportunity to live, work and thrive. Last year the organisation began a three-year lottery-funded ECO programme that will see the green places in and around Villette Road become social and educational spaces for the Hendon community.

Away from Back on the Map, Jo holds positions with other local and national charitable organisations. She sits on the board of the Sunderland Voluntary Sector Alliance as a Trustee and chairs the operational board, is a member of the Rank Foundation’s Ranknet Leaders Action Group, and is part of the North East Emerging Sector Leaders Network.

Under her guidance, the charity has seen a sustained period of recognition, with BotM's work recognised locally and nationally. In the four years since taking over as CEO, BotM has won the Locality Awards and the National Charity Awards, as well as being highly commended at the Third Sector Awards 2022. This year, Jo was announced Charity Leader of the Year at the North East Charity Awards.

Twitter/X: @backonthemapltd

LinkedIn: jo-cooper

Afternoon plenary: Catalysing connection across the UK

Phil Chamberlain - England Director, The National Lottery Community Fund
Phil Chamberlain - England Director, The National Lottery Community Fund

Phil joined The National Lottery Community Fund in June 2022, as England Director (Strategy, Partnerships & Engagement). Here, he oversees the Fund's largest funding portfolio in England, shaping their strategy through partnerships and stakeholder engagement. Prior to this, Phil held leadership positions at City Lit, the Youth Sport Trust, Legacy Trust UK, and the Big Lottery Fund, gaining valuable experience in the charitable and community funding sectors. Phil also spent a decade within the Civil Service, working on high-profile policy issues, international campaigns, and in a Minister's private office.

Twitter/X: @TNLComFund

LinkedIn: phil-chamberlain

Graham Easterlow - Chief Executive, East Durham Trust
Graham Easterlow - Chief Executive, East Durham Trust

Graham Easterlow is the Chief Executive of East Durham Trust, a dynamic community organisation dedicated to fostering resilience and empowerment in the East Durham area. With over 20 years of experience in community development, Graham is a driving force in bringing communities together through innovative and collaborative approaches. His commitment to transformative place-based initiatives has resulted in numerous successful projects that address the unique challenges faced by local residents.

Under Graham's leadership, East Durham Trust has become a beacon of hope and support, championing social cohesion, reducing poverty, and enhancing the overall quality of life. His passion for inclusive community engagement and his strategic vision have enabled the organisation to forge strong partnerships, mobilise shared resources, and create sustainable change. Graham’s expertise in collaborative community development has made a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and families in East Durham and the region.

Twitter/X: @EastDurhamTrust

LinkedIn: @graham-easterlow

Angie Wright - Chief Officer, b inspired
Angie Wright - Chief Officer, b inspired

Angie Wright is the Chief Officer at b inspired, based in Braunstone, Leicester.

b inspired is a Community Anchor in its 25th year, and the successor body of the 10-year New Deal for Communities regeneration programme in Leicester.

Angie grew up in Braunstone, as have generations of her family. Her passion and drive to improve the area and support local people to reach their full potential has meant that under her leadership over the past 20 years, b inspired has developed into a successful charity and community business.

By utilising an asset base of £9 million, trading primarily in commercial and residential letting, and investing all profits back into the charity, b inspired continues a strong track record of neighbourhood renewal in Braunstone for its proud community. It offers a wide range of local services and creates real social impact.

Previously, Angie was the Leicester City Development Manager for the roll-out of the Sure Start, Neighbourhood Nurseries and Children’s Centres initiatives. Angie worked in Local Government for 14 years managing grant programmes, working to help the most deprived areas in the city.

Twitter/X: BInspiredLeics LinkedIn: angela-wright-8390b157

Tura Arutura - DTNI
Tura Arutura - DTNI

Born in Zimbabwe during civil war, Tura Arutura's early experiences shaped his commitment to cultural identity and community resilience. Now based in Northern Ireland, Tura learned Irish to connect with local heritage, driven by his grandmother’s belief in the power of language.

As Executive Director of Africa House, Tura supports African communities in Northern Ireland, while collaborating with organisations like Oireachtas to promote Irish language and culture. His work with groups like CAIRDE Teo and the Black Lives Matter campaign underscores his dedication to fostering inclusivity and cross-cultural understanding.

5
Diane Williams - CEO, Moat House Community Trust

Dianne Williams is CEO Moat House Community Trust, and Trustee of Coventry Food Network.MHCT is run by, for and located in a post-war housing estate and former New Deal for Communities area. MHCT's success lies in being community driven, trusted partnerships and sustainable business model.

@MHCT_Coventry

Sarah McCulloch - Founder, ACCM UK
Sarah McCulloch - Founder, ACCM UK

After working for various private and public organisations, before 1997, over, twenty years, Sarah has worked to tackle illegal harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, child marriage, honour-based violence and domestic violence; improve the health and wellbeing of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority and other vulnerable communities around The UK and across Europe.

She set up Agency for Culture and Change Management (ACCM Sheffield) in 1997, to work sensitively with communities that practice female genital mutilation (FGM), forced arranged marriages (FAM), honour-based violence (HBV) and all forms of domestic abuse (DA) often culturally sensitive and hidden practices amongst migrant communities.

7
John McKernan - Deputy Chief Executive, ProMo Cymru

@JohnMcKernan14 / @ProMoCymru

Ed Wallis, Director of Policy and Engagement, Locality
Ed Wallis, Director of Policy and Engagement, Locality

Ed leads all areas of Locality’s influential policy, research and public affairs work, and is responsible for the development of Locality’s membership network of over 1800 community organisations. Ed is also a Board Member at Social Investment Business, who support charities and social enterprises to build stronger and fairer communities. Before joining Locality, Ed was a director at one of the UK’s leading think tanks, and a political speechwriter.

Energiser: Get up and groove…..building community through dance

Ereson ‘Mouse’ Catipon - World b-boy champion, dancer, choreographer, and community project lead
Ereson ‘Mouse’ Catipon - World b-boy champion, dancer, choreographer, and community project lead

Mouse is recognised as one of the forerunners of the UK b-boy (breakdancing) scene. A prolific winner of numerous international title ‘battles’, his impressive resume includes performance and choreography for major advertising campaigns, theatre shows and music artists, including Madonna, as well as judging top-tier competitions, presenting workshops and mentoring emerging dancers across the UK and beyond.

In 2016, Mouse started Kapayapaan Project in his native Philippines, a community project to offer positive reinforcement and opportunities for street children in slum areas. Find out how it started: https://youtu.be/_TLkP5gwWRs

LinkedIn: Ereson Catipon

Closing plenary: Ideas to unleash the power of your community

Ngunan Adamu - BBC Radio presenter and entrepreneur
Ngunan Adamu - BBC Radio presenter and entrepreneur

Ngunan Adamu is a seasoned producer, presenter, and international multimedia trainer with over fifteen years of experience at the BBC. She presents and produces "UK Black" in the North West, a flagship show dedicated to amplifying the voices and stories of the African Caribbean community.

In addition to her media work, Ngunan is a prominent entrepreneur and community advocate. As the founder and CEO of iWoman Media Ltd, she leads initiatives that promote diversity and empowerment within the industry. Her projects focus on women's empowerment, entertainment, and global inspiration, making a meaningful impact with each story.

Recently, Ngunan launched ‘The 1000 Club,’ aimed at empowering Black women entrepreneurs through financial literacy and business development programmes. This initiative seeks to bridge the wealth gap by equipping participants with the skills needed for financial resilience.

Celebrated for her engaging hosting style, Ngunan has co-hosted the official BBC Eurovision podcast and has been recognised with various awards for her contributions.

LinkedIn: Ngunan Adamu

Paula Gamester - Cofounder an Director of The Sewing Rooms
Paula Gamester - Cofounder an Director of The Sewing Rooms

My road to social entrepreneurship has been quite a journey, and I use all my skills, knowledge and experience that I have gained throughout my working life to help our social enterprise deliver social impact, thrive and be sustainable.

I have served as a board member of the prestigious Blackburne House Group, and was Director of Enterprise within the Group with responsibility for more than £1.5 million turnover. Previous to this I studied gemology in Antwerp and started a jewelry and fashion business in the UAE.

Now I am committed to social impact programmes where individuals are supported and enabled. I am a graduate of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and was part of their advisory Board NW.

I strive to embed the triple bottom line concept of People, Planet, Profit into the ethos and values of all my work, especially now in The Sewing Rooms and Connector Media.

Amy Liu - Marketing, Membership and Fundraising Manager, Epping Forest Heritage Trust
Amy Liu - Marketing, Membership and Fundraising Manager, Epping Forest Heritage Trust

Amy is the Marketing, Membership, and Fundraising Manager at Epping Forest Heritage Trust, a nature lover and woodland enthusiast. With over 15 years of experience in brand management and marketing communication, she moved from the commercial sector to the environmental non-profit sector, where she uses her skills to encourage more people from all backgrounds to love, protect, and restore nature.

Noreen Niazi - Community Engagement Lead, Epping Forest Heritage Trust
Noreen Niazi - Community Engagement Lead, Epping Forest Heritage Trust

Noreen is the Community Engagement Lead at Epping Forest Heritage Trust and has several years of experience in the social impact sector. She is also the co-founder of Muslim Women Connect, a mentoring and networking organisation dedicated to supporting the career growth and empowerment of Muslim women.

Naseem Akhtar BEM - CEO & Founder,  Saheli Hub
Naseem Akhtar BEM - CEO & Founder, Saheli Hub

Championing, pioneering and challenging the opportunities in physical activity and sport for ethnically diverse communities, especially Asian women. In 2006 securing the Saheli Adventure Hub in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Now working with over 2,500 women every year. Supporting women to address their long-term health conditions through physical activity. Naseem set up the ever first young girls club (13 -25 year old) providing opportunities to go rock climbing, skiing, canoeing, cycling and quad biking. Saheli Cycling Club set up in 2010 has taught over 3,500 how to ride a bike in three parks in the city. In 2014 challenged by the Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council to get more Asian women representation in running Naseem - as a non-runner herself - trained 16 ethnically diverse women to run the Birmingham Half Marathon for the first time. Saheli Hub deliver a very successful indoor and outdoor programme supporting women to cycle, run and even take part in their very own TRY-ATHONS! In 2019 Saheli Hub delivered an innovative social prescribing programme - Holistic Interventions & a successful Culturally Appropriate Prevention of Diabetes (CAPD) programme - out of three GP practices and three wellbeing centres across the inner city of Birmingham.

Naseem was selected as a Home Town Hero for the Commonwealth Games 2022, Saheli Hub is an exemplar model for Women's Engagement for Sport England and she delivers leadership training for LGA and Sport England.

Saheli Hub was the winner of The Sport Award at the Community Inspiration Awards 2024.

Rachel Daley - Founder, Positivitree
Rachel Daley - Founder, Positivitree

Rachel is the founder of The Positivitree, a Wirral based charity which she created after resigning from her corporate role in 2018. Rachel's son had recently relapsed with a rare childhood cancer and she took the opportunity to set up a social enterprise to support other parents & carers raising children with a wide range of additional health and care needs. She enrolled with the School for Social Entrepreneurs and graduated as a fellow of their start-up, trade-up and scale up programmes whilst building the charity.

Rachel recently handed the reins of the charity over to Tam Gilbert who started as a volunteer and worked with Rachel over 4 years to eventually take the position of CEO.