Meet The Team

Chief Executive

Ann has worked in a variety of roles at an operational and strategic level in the public and charity sector for over 25 years. Ann has a special interest in the provision of quality holistic education and supporting the development of people and communities, especially women and girls. Ann has worked internationally as a volunteer and consultant and was proud to be an olympic torch bearer in the 2012 Olympics, having been nominated for her charity work. Ann enjoys travelling and spending time with her family.

Project Manager

Billy Jean is working toward a Masters Degree in International Law and whilst not studying and working he is a keen traveller, Billy Jean used to travel to the USA to work as a volunteer at a YMCA summer camp. In 2013 he was awarded the Made a difference award at YMCA Deer Valley Family Camp and in 2016 he won the big heart award at Camp Soles. His aspiration for the future is to stay involved in humanitarian work to support to children having the same second chances in their lives as he had. He also wants to contribute as far as he can to change the situation of his country by making a difference in the lives of people through education, as the Steve Sinnott Foundation is currently doing and he is proud to be part of the team in Haiti.

Project Manager

Hayley has worked in education for many years and took some time out to raise her family. Hayley is keen to get back into education and is currently training for her Certificate in Education and Training whilst working with the Foundation part-time as Project Manager and Personal Assistant to our CEO.

 Project Co-ordinator

Isata is passionate about women and girls development and empowerment, supporting gender issues, working in rural community mediation and child welfare. Isata studied for her Masters in Sustainable Development at Makeni University and is an active participant in sustainable development projects in Sierra Leone. Her motto is: I urge each and every one of you to support one girl to make the world a better place

Isata is currently co-ordinating our Positive Periods Programme in Sierra Leone, training teachers and girls to make their own reusable sanitary pads so that girls don’t have to miss 50 days of school a year because they have their period.

Marketing & Communications

Nico is a freelance filmmaker and photographer, from video editing to camera operating projects, ranging from all genres and styles.

Nico has been commissioned by organisations such as CBBC, Sky Sports, BBC Music Introducing in Beds, Herts & Bucks, Watford FC "The Hornet Show”. She is passionate about giving young people a voice. Nico has worked for various charities and is proud to have produced and directed a documentary on the Dido Belle musical production. This production made her realise how the arts and creativity, in general, are important to inspire and help underrepresented groups and engage them in new skills they will have for life. 

Sophia is a a current masters student studying Climate Change and International Development. Sophia decided to do her placement with the Steve Sinnott Foundation because of her interest in the intersecting identities which impede on access to education and experiences within the education system. Sophia is very excited to contribute towards a charity striving for inclusive and equitable quality education and to fulfil her passion for social justice. Education is a vital tool for sustainable development; what is learnt today will shape tomorrow’s future! An educational transformation is needed to beat the impeding climate disaster.

Josephine Dodds is currently completing a masters in international development management. She decided to do her placement with the Steve Sinnott Foundation due to he interest in education and the ability to deliver this sustainably as a key tool for the future of sustainable development. Jospehine has previous experience working overseas on education projects and early years education.

Sophie is a current undergraduate student studying International Development at the UEA. She decided to do her placement with the Steve Sinnott Foundation as she understands the importance of education’s role in improving opportunities. Sophie is excited to work with the Steve Sinnott Foundation and contribute to their work providing equitable education. 

Chair

Jerry is the Chair and a Founding Director of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. Jerry was a member of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) National Executive for over 30 years. In January 2019 Jerry was elected to the the National Education Union (NEU) National Executive. The new education union is an amalgamation of NUT and ATL. After 46 years as a teacher Jerry retired in 2021, stepped down from his union positions and moved to the South West.

Trustee

Mandekh Hussein is driven by initiatives grounded in collaboration, sustainability, and ownership. She takes part in efforts centred on equipping individuals and communities with the resources, skills and opportunities to actualise their vision, find new opportunities and widen their horizons. She is a Lecturer at Brunel University (focused on curating skills to deliver sound, sustainable and positively impactful transformation); a Strategic Consultant addressing health inequities through critical co-production and is an Education Consultant, working on the nexus between community transformation and EduTech.

Mandekh is committed to the amplification of stories of sidelined and oppressed persons. Mandekh sits on the board of several charities driven to meeting the sustainable development goals and speaks on issues related to power and trust globally. 

Founding Director

Mary Sinnott is a Founding Director of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. She began her career as a primary teacher in Preston in 1991 and retired from teaching in 2010. 

Following Steve’s death, she wanted to continue and build upon Steve’s legacy in striving to ensure that all children everywhere could access a quality education. 

Much of Mary’s time is divided between her family and the Foundation. She also enjoys reading and travelling with friends when she can.

Trustee

Sue has 29 years’ experience, in the classroom and senior roles. She has always believed in the power of education to transform lives. It has been her primary motivation throughout her career to equip young people with the skills required to make informed choices in their adult lives. She is currently running a nurture class that she set up to support some of the most vulnerable pupils. Sue is passionate about promoting SDG 4 and the role that the Steve Sinnott Foundation is playing in its development worldwide.

Trustee 

Warren has over 20 years experience working with children in a variety of settings including 7 years as a classroom teacher. Warren believes passionately in the right of all to a free and quality education. Warren is an advocate for international work in his current work role which led him to working with the Steve Sinnott Foundation to further his passion of the provision for Education for All.

Trustee

Sam has worked with a wide range of community and international organisations in the UK and India, empowering them to mobilize resources from and build transformational partnerships with Institutions and Individuals, including Governments, Foundations, Philanthropists and Investors. In her career spanning twenty years in diverse cultural contexts, Sam has worked across sectors such as Microfinance, Education, Humanitarian aid, and Sexual and Reproductive Health. She is currently the Head of philanthropic partnerships at MSI Reproductive Choices.

Ambassador

Professor Augustine "Gus" John was born in Grenada and has lived mainly in the UK since 1964.  He was a member of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) in the middle to late 1960s and a member of the Council of the Institute of Race Relations. He has worked in the fields of education policy; the role of schooling and education in promoting social justice; school improvement; management and international development.   

He was Assistant Education Officer and Head of Community Education in the Inner London Education Authority and in 1989 became the first African Director of Education in Britain. Prof John has worked in a number of university settings.  Since 2007, he has been an associate professor of education and honorary fellow of the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the UCL Institute of Education. A champion for all children's right to education, in 1999 Gus co-founded the Communities Empowerment Network, a charity, providing advocacy and representation for excluded school students and their families. 

Patron

Audrey Osler is a writer and academic who works transnationally, holding posts at the University of South-Eastern Norway and the University of Leeds, where she founded the Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Education. Audrey is founding editor-in-chief of the journal Human Rights Education Review. Her research addresses human rights and democratic citizenship education policy and practice, in established democracies and post-conflict societies, with a focus on child rights. She has held visiting professorships at universities in Europe, the U.S. and East Asia. She acts as expert to various international bodies, including Council of Europe, European Commission and UNESCO. 

Patron

David Puttnam first became well known as an Academy Award winning film producer. In 1997, he retired from the film industry to join the then Secretary of State, David Blunkett M.P., at the Department for Education, and became Labour life peer, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate. He subsequently served as chairman of the Education Standards Task Force and then the General Teaching Council for England. 

In 1998, he founded the National Teaching Awards. David was knighted in 2005 and has been Deputy Chairman of Channel Four since the same year. He was the founding chair of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. In 2002, he became the UK President of UNICEF. David Puttnam expresses himself very proud to have been a close friend of Steve Sinnott and very pleased now to be associated with the Foundation as its patron.

Patron

Harriet is a well known theatre and television actor and she is supporting the work of the Foundation as she believes in the power of education for everyone, everywhere.

Harriet has a vlog showcasing inspirational women between 45 to 105 and she is also an ambassador for the @WalktheWalk The Moon Walk Breast Cancer Charity and Acting for Others.

Patron

Applied Mathematician Immediate Past President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

Professor at Loughborough University and Chair of the Black Heroes of Mathematics Conference .

Ambassador 

Amber is an actor and has worked extensively in British theatre, as well as television and film. She trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she now is a member of the audition panel. She is incredibly passionate about everyone's right to an education; regardless of gender, race, sexuality or background. She has a particular interest in girls and young women having vital access to a safe and nurturing environment in which they can learn, grow and get the inspiration they deserve.

Ambassador

Evadne is an educator, life coach and innovator. Inclusion is the driving force behind her enterprising work. Sing a Book CIC engages children in reading through song, capturing the essence of books and infusing them with catchy rhythms.  Her musical adaptations include  'Into The Forest' and  'Kate Meets Dido Elizabeth Belle'. Evadne produced and directed the musical, and the sequel 'Dido Through the Looking Glass' performed by communities under-represented in theatre. She devised SCIP, (School Career Intervention Programme), raising the aspirations and prospects of disadvantaged, underachieving pupils entering secondary school.

Ambassador

Gigi is in her final year of sixth form. In 2017 Gigi learnt about the issue of period poverty and began campaigning to raise awareness and make change. In 2018 she became an ambassador for the charity Period Power and worked to set up dignity boxes in the toilets at her school. 

She also became aware of the issue of plastic and chemical usage in period projects and began promoting reusable products. It is through this work that she was introduced to the Steve Sinnott Foundation and was invited to start working with us. Gigi is proud to become an ambassador for the Positive Periods project and intends to fund raise to enable the Foundation to introduce the project in more schools and communities. Gigi hopes she will get to witness the benefits of this project in the near future.

Helen is a freelance educator, having recently retired from 35 years of secondary school science teaching. Helen loves wildlife and enjoys daily walks in the beautiful countryside of the North Hampshire Downs. She has two adult children and a very demanding cat.

Helen was an executive member of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers for six years and held the post of equalities co-ordinator during that time. She is passionate about equal opportunities for all and has spoken at many TUC equalities conferences. Helen is now an executive member of the National Education Union and has a particular interest in policy, campaigns and international solidarity.

Helen is a UNICEF Children’s Champion and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bullying.

Helen is fascinated by art history and can lose herself in a major art gallery for days.

Ambassador

Jan is Director of Education in a London Borough she has held strategic leadership roles in both Secondary and Further Education. Jan is passionate about equality of access to education and combating food poverty. Recently delivering a summer school programme to over 5,000 children alongside healthy eating and STEM activities. She has led on the boroughs education and welfare response for Afghan evacuees. 

Jan has developed a pioneering climate education programme and established the first climate education centre in London. Jan’s interest in learning from & working with communities has extended to Guyana, Cuba, Morocco and UAE . 

Ambassador

Jude has spent the better part of her professional life as an educator.  She is passionate about enabling and supporting young people in discovering and nurturing their potential.   She was deputy principal of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts for many years, is a trustee of Giants Theatre Company and a regular contributor to Chickenshed Theatre.  She currently mentors graduates from BA and MA theatre programmes, supporting them in bridging the gap between training and employment. Jude loves cinema, theatre and Netflix!   Travelling and good books are also on her list, as is laughter and good company – and last, but not least, spending time with her granddaughter. 

Laura has taught Science for over ten years. She is currently a Head of Department and also enjoys her role as Specialist Leader of Education for Science through Portsmouth Teaching Alliance. She also runs a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Network through the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

Laura’s passion for STEM opportunities for all children grew from her first year of teaching when she ran a ‘Chemistry in Action’ Day. Since then, Laura has always found ways to bring STEM resources into schools to widen the opportunities available to young people. She is proactive in encouraging a change of mindset so that the barriers girls and women can often face when entering STEM industries are removed. 

Working with the Steve Sinnott Foundation, Laura shared STEM teaching resources with teachers in Haiti.

Malcolm Richards is currently a researcher studying race, dialogue and culturally sustaining pedagogies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. He researches cultural community asset-based approaches for resource development in rural classrooms. Previously, he worked as a school teacher, senior leader and advisory teacher across the United Kingdom. He is a trade union activist, supporting transformation of education institutions for communities which ensure equity for all. He has written extensively about race, equity and cultural sustaining education, in articles, journals and books. He tweets at @malcolmrichards

Education Consultant and Trainer 

Nicky brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her consultancy and training work. Her courses are based on active participation in a supportive learning environment that enable people to open their minds to new ways of thinking and step out of comfort zones into more challenging learning zones. She is passionate about learning, in particular its significance in raising aspirations and in providing quality education to disadvantaged groups. She has worked as a teacher, advisory teacher and education inspector for a London borough. Nicky has run ‘Train the Trainers’ programmes for people training in education and for multi-disciplinary teams from health, police and social services. She has been involved with the Foundation as a member of the education team from its inception and states that a major highlight of her career to date has been running training courses in London for teachers from Sierra Leone, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to transfer their learning to other teachers.

Niparun (Nipa) is a Bengali, British, Muslim educator working in Greater Manchester. She is a secondary Mathematics teacher and a freelance artist. She is one of the National Education Unions (NEU) Black Organising forum representatives. Nipa has held a number of roles for the NEU both locally and nationally supporting young teachers and new professionals, equalities networks and international solidarity groups. Nipa has been a part of delegations sent to research and share information in Cuba, Palestine and Bosnia and has volunteered to support refugees in Calais. Her work gained her the Steve Sinnott International Solidarity Award and the Claire Gray Award for Internationalist Work that has had Global Impact. Nipa has led projects supporting people to embrace their identity, culture, heritage and history through creative and aerial arts, writing and poetry. 

Richard Szadziewski (pronounced Sha-jev-ski) is an Ambassador for the Foundation. He is a qualified accountant and has been a Director of Finance at several local authorities. He also has expertise in putting services into charities including adult social care and health, children’s services and research services. Throughout his career his has had a keen interest in education and giving young people the best chances in life. Richard lives near Bristol, is married with two grown up daughters and is a grand dad. He suffers from being a Bristol Rovers season ticket holder. 

Sahbi is an experienced teacher and senior leader. He is currently a Deputy Head teacher in a school in Essex and has held a range of strategic roles within schools including as a school governor and as an academic education researcher.

He has been an active member in the NEU & NUT for over 10 years, gaining experience in different roles from Equalities, Membership and Communications. He has also represented his region on national Advisory Committees. Sahbi has worked passionately on International Solidarity and he was part of delegations to Cuba and Palestine.

Sahbi is a passionate advocate for human rights and for International Solidarity. His favourite quote is: “Solidarity is sharing what you have, not sharing what you have left”

Sovel is a human resource professional, poet and published author.

She is passionate about life-long learning and has used this to support others, regardless of age, to uncover and grow their talents whilst learning new skills.

Sovel has supported a number of key initiatives both in her community and professional life in the capacity of leadership think tank member, speaker and group facilitator. 

A leader and deliverer of major change initiatives, service improvements and a developer of people. I am passionate about modernisation, new agile ways of working and redesign within vibrant cultures and communities. I am an experienced Director of multiple services, making me unique in transformation in understanding and influencing key services. I am skilled at building relationships of trust with both the corporate centre, service deliverers and a range of partners to lead a strategic, joined-up approach. I care about creating thriving communities, championing and leading on diversity. 

Will Thomas sits on the Steve Sinnott Foundation's team, as a consultant specialising in training, coaching and therapy, with a trauma-informed practice focus. He is a published author in the fields of coaching and well-being and works with people to support their development. He has a particular interest in trauma-recovery in the LGBTQ+ community and works in schools and private practice, nationally and internationally. He runs fully interactive, online, accredited programmes in Coaching Skills, NLP and Trauma-informed Coaching for schools and beyond.

Will’s passion for positive change is infectious and evident from the first time you meet him. His training and coaching is described as “gently challenging the comfort zones and enthusing people to achieve new levels of confidence and performance”. He lives in Malvern, England.

Hedi and her parents came to England as refugees from Nazi Austria in 1939, one week after her 10th birthday and only six weeks before the beginning of WW2 when all borders were closed. “We were the lucky ones,” she says.

Hedi spent most of her working life in Social Work, specialising in the adoption of older children and children with disabilities. She has written and edited more than twenty books on the subject and is still working and speaking in schools about the Holocaust and what it means to be a refugee.

Hedi has two daughters, three grandchildren and has recently become a proud great grandmother.

For over 10 years, Ameeta has been actively serving the community, supporting projects with a vision to end gender and racial bias. 

Working within SDG 5, Ameeta has led the ‘Orange the World’ campaign to highlight gender inequality and discrimination. 

As a socially and globally aware citizen, Ameeta believes strongly in investing in children to open doors for a brighter future for the world.