Our team

Jenni leads The Talent Foundry team on its strategy, growth and impact. She has worked in the third sector for over 20 years increasing income, devising marketing and communications campaigns within youth development, sport and children's health organisations.

She was the first in her family to go university, taking a non-traditional route to her undergraduate degree, culminating in an MSc in Charity Accounting & Financial Management from Bayes Business School.

She loves sport and is a Trustee (formerly Chair) of the Active Essex Foundation. Jenni enjoys triathlon and duathlon and with her husband has two cats and two dogs.

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.

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.

Georgie holds a BA in Spanish and Russian from Cambridge and an MRes in Social Anthropology from St Andrews. She has experience working in charity comms in Argentina and the UK and has published freelance articles on topics ranging from rural British life to Guatemalan indigenous testimony and post-Soviet politics.

Having started working life shovelling horse muck, Georgie went on to pick up experience teaching English, working on a children's summer camp in Denmark, carrying out OSINT war grave research, volunteering as a case worker at a refugee organisation and shelving cans at her local food bank.

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.

Marc has worked in mainstream and specialist Further Education for over 15 years across welfare, mental health and crisis intervention with 16–19-year-olds. He has experience linking programmes with secondary schools and PRUs and has also worked with pre-NEET students. Marc has experience in CEIAG provision, having managed the Careers and Progression Service for a Further Education group in the creative sector.

Marc has written for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy journal ‘Therapy Today’ as well as Harley Street Therapy. Marc enjoys time with his dog, Ziggy, and is building an extensive vinyl collection.

Julia has worked in programme management roles in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Originally from Australia, she started her career in advertising before transitioning to managing cultural projects with a social impact. In the UK, Julia managed an art gallery dedicated to empowering marginalised indigenous communities. She played a key role in organising the Fitzrovia Arts Festival, curating an inclusive programme of events, with a focus on accessible programming for children.

Julia has a passion for travelling and hiking and has volunteered in South Africa on social mobility projects.

Tom has worked in fundraising for 15 years, having first gained a BA in Events Management from Leeds Beckett University. He has found himself fundraising within various sectors, covering local tourism, the London 2012 Games, hospices and lux gala events. Spanning trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, individual giving and challenges, his work has taken him into health, education, and the arts, but he’s glad to return to social mobility at The Talent Foundry.

Outside of work, Tom has participated in challenge events raising money for good causes. He lives with Dolly the cat and is renovating his first doer-upper.

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.

After four years working as a primary school teacher, Izzy moved into the charity sector, joining an organisation based in Richmond Park that supports children and young people with additional needs by helping them build confidence and connection through nature.

Guided by a passion for equity and widening access, she transitioned into her current role, where social mobility continues to be a key driver in her work.

Outside of her professional life, she enjoys sewing her own clothes and spending time outdoors walking her new pup, Marley.

Pip graduated from the University of Kent with a BSc in Social Psychology and an MSc in Forensic Psychology.

Since then, she has been involved in work and volunteer roles within children's services for five+ years. Pip has worked in Support Worker and Academic Support Assistant roles, leading workshops with a particular emphasis on improving access to high-quality education and support for neurodiverse students.

Jade has worked in the charity sector for eight years managing partnerships and programmes for young people. She joined The Talent Foundry in 2025 with a passion to support social mobility, having previously managed youth advisory panels and ambassador school relationships to champion youth voices.

Prior to entering the charity sector, Jade worked in edutainment organising school visits and pioneering educational events to empower children to explore careers through role play. She holds a BA Hons Degree in Drama and Professional and Creative Writing from St Mary’s University and has a passion for writing poetry outside of work.

Moving to the UK gave Kristina the opportunity to volunteer, something that wasn’t as developed in Estonia at the time. This exposure introduced her to the third sector, inspiring her to pursue a Master’s in the field.

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 has experience coordinating volunteer recruitment, planning and implementing a summer programme for looked after children and volunteering as a fundraiser.

Originally training as a primary teacher in 1999, Ruth has worked across both primary and secondary settings. She has over 17 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, leading marketing initiatives for educational resources and programmes aimed at schools.

With a Master’s in Global Development and Africa, inspired by working in Tanzanian schools, she is passionate about widening young people’s career aspirations, so they are not limited by their geography and family circumstances.

Outside of education, she also manages the marketing and communications for her partner, a figurative sculptor.

Prior to TTF Matt worked at a local charity in Essex that supported vulnerable young people with learning and physical disabilities. By seeing the positive impact of the connections he made, he fell in love with the charity sector. In joining TTF he is able to deliver this impact on a national scale.

Matt graduated during the pandemic in 2020 with a degree in Psychology.

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.

Sean enjoyed a 20+ years career in the ICT industry working internationally across sectors. He then took a huge career change to work in disadvantaged schools for over 15 years, initially as a teacher, progressing to become an Assistant Headteacher and a recognised expert in Early Years.

In the not-for-profit sector he has successfully delivered programmes to reduce exclusions and improve engagement for young people.

A proud dad of three grown up children he enjoys volunteering at a weekly local community coffee morning.

Susie has worked in learning and development for over 25 years in the UK and internationally based across multiple sectors.

More recently she focused on attracting, recruiting and developing students leaving education and entering the world of work.

As a mum of two teenage boys, a mental health first aider, advisor to SEND schools and a member of the SEND steering group in Gloucestershire she is passionate about helping to level the playing field for every individual leaving education.

Sophie graduated from UCL with an MA in Social Justice and Education in 2022, focusing on addressing racial inclusivity in education.

Prior to TTF she worked as a programme coordinator at an education charity. She has spent a decade volunteering as a leader with Girlguiding UK, where she was also an inclusion advisor, helping to create a more inclusive organisation for all members

Jade joined The Talent Foundry with a background in careers education, having spent four years as a Careers Advisor in secondary schools. She earned an MA in Careers Education and Coaching in 2021 and has also previously worked in education outreach as an Events and Programmes Coordinator, mostly notably working on the Big Bang STEM fairs.

Jade is passionate about widening participation, social mobility and ensuring all young people have access to high-quality career guidance. Outside of The Talent Foundry, she runs a small baking business from home.

Handenur holds an MSc in Governance of Migration and Diversity from Erasmus University Rotterdam. She brings over five years of experience working with charities and non-profit organisations dedicated to supporting underrepresented communities.

Her work has ranged from coordinating educational programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to managing European Commission–funded projects that promote refugee participation in policymaking spaces.