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Youth Advisory Group members

Yahye Abdi, Youth Development Coordinator, The Hope Collective

• Youth Development Coordinator at The Hope Collective, drives community change by empowering young people and communities through 鈥楬ope Hacks鈥�
• Youth Development Coordinator at LLR Violence Reduction Network, develops and implements strategies to build safer, more inclusive communities
• Trustee at Citizens UK, provides strategic oversight and guidance to one of the nation鈥檚 leading civil society alliances

Charlotte Atherton/Hilary Balogun, Girlguiding Advocacy Panel

Charlotte Atherton

• Represents Girlguiding at events and campaigns to raise awareness on issues such as mental health and body image
• Legal Assistant at Bond Turner in Liverpool
• Member of the Access and Assistance Campaign, which seeks to improve access to further education colleges

Hilary Balogun

• Currently a member of Girlguiding鈥檚 Advocate Panel, which involves talking to MPs and politicians, acting as media spokespeople for Girlguiding and speaking at events
• Previously attended a meeting with Minister Peacock to mark the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2024 and discuss what girls need from the new Youth Strategy
• Particularly passionate about combating misogyny, ensuring equal healthcare for women and girls, and raising awareness about the disability rights movement

Reuben Byfield, Youth Advisory Board member, NCS Trust

• Youth Advisory Board member with the National Citizen Service Trust

• iwill Ambassador, Bite Back Ambassador and Squad Leader with My Life My Say

Koby Davis, Youth Justice Case Manager, Leicestershire County Council

• Currently working for the Youth and Justice service in Leicestershire Council
• Previously worked as Policy Advisor for the Department of Health
• Has a degree in Youth and Community work
• Speaks about his experiences growing up in the care system

Sami Gichki, Co-Chair, #iwill Movement

• Cross-sector strategic governance leader with an emphasis on advocacy, campaigning and EDI
• Currently co-chairs the #iWill Movement and holda cross-sector NED roles
• Supports enabling lived experience to be embedded within clinical mental health research, working with institutes such as KCL, University of Oxford and University of Maastricht, rooted in his experience of being an asylum seeker

Jhemar Jones, youth worker and consultant

• Member of London鈥檚 Violence Reduction Unit Young People鈥檚 Action Group
• Has consulted for the Met police, Google and others on youth culture and violence prevention
• Mentors young people and is a musician

Zafeera Karim, Member of Youth Parliament for Gloucester and Forest of Dean

• Elected to be a Member of Youth Parliament in March 2024
• Vice Chair of House of Commons鈥� Youth Select Committee
• Advocates for votes for 16 year olds, political literacy education in schools, and lack of amenities in deprived areas

Dan Lawes, Co-CEO of My Life My Say and an #iwill ambassador

• Has been Co-CEO of My Life My Say for the past 7 months, prior to that worked as Head of Partnerships
• Founded Youth Politics UK to encourage political participation in young people and ensure they are listened to
• Deputy Chair of Trustees at Young Manchester and Trustee at the Diana Award

Sophie Pender, founder, The 93% Club and Foundation

• Founded The 93% Club in 2016 as the UK鈥檚 largest network of state educated people to unlock and democratise the knowledge, connections and opportunities that have traditionally been contained within private school alumni networks
• Expert commentator on social mobility, including presenting the documentary 鈥楾he 93% Club鈥� on BBC Radio 4, and speaks about living through parental domestic violence and substance abuse
• Trustee at the Mayor鈥檚 Fund for London
• Qualified solicitor

Lauren Roberts-Turner, researcher and campaigner

• Specialises in issues related to young people and the welfare state, poverty and the economics of social justice
• Was a young leader in the ChildFair State Inquiry which sought the views of young people on a welfare state that children need
• Was a Youth Board Member at Leaders Unlocked
• Scholar at King鈥檚 College London

Joe Seddon, Founder and CEO, Zero Gravity

• Founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, a tech start-up that has supported over 15,000 students from low-opportunity areas in accessing top universities and careers
• Through Zero Gravity, he has fundraised over 拢2 million for scholarships to fund the journeys of students from low-income backgrounds through university.
• Previously a trustee of the British Youth Council and a governor of Lister Community School.

Munachiso Thornton, Volunteer with Sea Cadet Corp

• Former cadet and current volunteer with the Sea Cadet Corp
• Advocate with Youth United Foundation
• Volunteered with various charities in Sheffield
• SCC National Cadet Voice representative 2023
• Heritage Youth Partnership advocate, particularly for uniformed groups
• University student ambassador and course representative

Serena Weibe, campaigner, boxing coach and mentor at Empire Fighting Chance

• Campaigner, boxing coach and youth mentor
• Attended Empire Fighting Chance in Bristol since the age of 16, now works there as a coach for other young people
• Attended a roundtable in July on youth opportunity, at St James鈥檚 Palace with The King, Idris Elba, DCMS SoS, and the Prime Minister as well as the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street in July

Expert Advisory Group members

Kadra Abdinasir, Associate Director of Policy at Centre for Mental Health

• Leads the Centre鈥檚 policy and advocacy efforts while managing the Children and Young People鈥檚 Mental Health Coalition team - a network of nearly 400 organisations hosted by the Centre
• Has over a decade of experience working with young people in youth policy, campaigning, and research
• Mental Health Working Group Member for the NHS Race and Health Observatory

Jason Arthur, CEO, Mission 44

• CEO of the charitable foundation created by Sir Lewis Hamilton to boost social mobility
• Previously worked as Deputy Chief Executive for the #iwill campaign
• Was a senior local councillor in London

Harris Bokhari OBE, Chair, National Citizen Service Trust

• Appointed Chair of the NCS Trust in July 2023
• Founded Patchwork Foundation to promote integration of disadvantaged communities in British democracy and civil society
• Founded Naz Legacy Foundation, an interfaith charity which helps young people by supporting their education whilst encouraging positive integration
• Chair of the Public Service Honours Committee

Professor Joht Singh Chandan, Clinical Professor of Public Health, University of Birmingham

• Works on designing and delivering a public health approach to abuse and violence Scientific advisor for the Lancet Commission on Violence against Women and Children
• Co-director for the Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing
• Honorary Public Health Consultant, NHS England

Alex Goat, CEO, Livity

• Leads Livity, a youth-led creative network
• Co-founded Open_ internship programme which supports young people to build careers in marketing and communications and to promote social mobility into the industry
• Co-founded the Great British Diversity Experiment which explored the impact of diverse leadership in the creative industries

Isa Guha, founder/chair of Take Her Lead and Presenter/Commentator for BBC and Fox

• Founded Take Her Lead to make cricket a more inclusive environment for women and girls
• Former England Cricket player
• Presenter/Commentator for BBC and Fox Sports
• MPhil in Neuroscience

Alex Holmes OBE, Deputy CEO, Diana Award

• Founded the Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme at The Diana Award
• Director at BBC Children in Need 鈥榃e Move FWD鈥� fund
• Sits on a number of social media companies鈥� global trust and safety advisory boards, including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Yubo, Minecraft
• One of 7 committee members of Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee (legacy programme(s)/monument)

Jonathan Hopkins, public affairs consultant

• Founded Citadel Policy and Communications in 2005
• Associate at independent think tank Centre on Young Lives
• Former Parliamentary adviser and political aide
• Particular interest in education, youth work and social inclusion

David Knott, CEO, The National Lottery Community Fund

• Appointed CEO of The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) in 2021
• Prior to this worked as Director of the Office for Civil Society, international development adviser, and with the Prime Minister鈥檚 Strategy Unit

Paul Lindley OBE, entrepreneur, campaigner and author

• Founder of Ella鈥檚 Kitchen
• Advocates on issues such as child nutrition, hunger and play
• Paul鈥檚 recent book 鈥楻aising the Nation鈥� argues for focus on play as a policy area, he created and leads the 鈥楻aising the Nation Commission on Play鈥�

Jamie Masraff, CEO, OnSide

• Worked at OnSide since 2017 and became CEO in 2023
• Chairs the Back Youth Alliance, an alliance of youth charities and representatives campaigning for investment and support for the youth sector
• Fellow at the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce

Leigh Middleton OBE, CEO, National Youth Agency

• CEO of the NYA since 2017
• Prior to this worked as commissioner and Youth Development Officer for Surrey County Council
• Represents the National Youth Sector Advisory Board, a forum for policy and practice for the youth sector, for which the NYA is Secretariat

Mickey Perkins, Head of Artist Management, Off the Rells

• Head of Artist Management at Off The Rells record label/talent management agency
• Head of Production at FALSE 9 creative agency
• Tour Manager for AJ Tracey and MK

Ciaran Thapar, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Youth Endowment Fund

• Director of Public Affairs and Communications at YEF since December 2023
• Author of 鈥楥ut Short鈥�, journalist and Writing for Social Impact Lecturer at the University of London
• Former youth worker and criminal defence expert witness on gangs, social media and youth culture