Rooftop Reno: Update With Caretaker James

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Weeks 2 & 3 of the rooftop renovation saw a continuation of the not-so-glamourous work of dismantlement and clearance.

Thanks to James’ efficient work, the rooftop now resembles a much cleaner space, allowing for greater appreciation of scale of the plot and it’s potential – Standing here as we excitedly discuss our ideas and plans, it is easy to imagine the garden bustling with energy on a warm summer evening later this year.  

As we begin to look forward to the next phase of our project, we spent some time catching up with our caretaker, James reflecting on what’s been achieved so far and understanding what’s coming next.  

Hello everyone! My name is James and I am the caretaker for the Feathers Association Youth & Community Club.

Starting the garden project was a massive challenge, especially when you look at how neglected it was following the winter and years of use. This didn’t discourage my ambition to clear it up and start making it look new and inspiring again. I fully enjoyed the clearing out stage, it almost therapeutic! 

The next stage is to jet wash the floor and walls, allowing us to paint, giving it a clean slate to begin the next stage for the Volunteers and young people to begin to bring it to life.

The space will be like a blank canvas so that people can start adding amazing elements to the space. They can get creative and make it somewhere that everyone wants to spend time there as well as make a practical use of the space through growing fresh food and flowers.

Help from volunteers will be amazing and all they need to know is thank you for your assistance and if you have any great ideas then let’s talk about it! Let’s transform this space into something great for everyone to use! 

If you missed the start of our project, you can read all about it here. 

You can get involved with the project by reaching out to our team.

 

David Jones

The Feathers Association CEO

The principal objective of The Feathers Association is to provide opportunities for children, young people and communities to develop in a positive way through informal education, sporting, cultural and recreational activities which the charity has provided since 1934.

Our aim is to enable young people to cope more effectively with the transition from adolescence to adulthood and to enable young people to understand and act on personal, social and political issues which affect their lives, the lives of others and the communities of which they form a part. Additionally we help bring communities together by sharing experiences and learning outcomes.

 
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Zoë Sobol

PR Consultant

In a consultancy role, Zoe will lead on the strategic PR planning and media strategy with a view to elevate the charity’s profile and champion its vital work.

With publicity at the forefront, Sobol will deliver and implement a tactical media relations strategy focussed on building media presence, highlighting the impactful project work Feather’s does from its three regional sites in London, Glasgow, and Wales.  Working closely with project teams, corporate partners, its high-profile Ambassadors and building on the momentum of its infamous Feathers Ball, efforts will shine a spotlight on the outreach initiatives directly benefiting young people and families facing adversity in local communities.

  The charity aims to enable young people to cope more effectively with the transition from adolescence to adulthood and to enable young people to understand and act on personal, social and political issues which affect their lives, the lives of others and the communities of which they form a part.

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Jackie Elliot

Jackie is chair of Cathcart Consulting, the corporate and marketing communications consultancy she founded in 2004, following her return to the UK from Geneva where she had been global communications director for Rolex. Between Rolex and the present day, Jackie’s work has encompassed mentoring; crisis management; judging many of the profession’s various annual awards; agency trouble-shooting; non-executive directorships; training, coaching, and, most specially, some years as PR Week’s Agony Aunt. She is a Fellow of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and was one of the small group of PRCA chair people to develop and implement the Consultancy (now Communications) Management Standard (CMS) – the global benchmark for best practice in the communications business.

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Kate Hinton

Kate is an award-winning Public Affairs and PR consultant with experience in business, personal finance, transport, energy, and environment and sustainability sectors. Starting out as a journalist she has spent the bulk of her career in senior communication roles across a variety of organisations including the Environment Agency, Energy Saving Trust, Greenergy and London First. Her key achievements range from: winning a PR Moment award for Clean Air Day’s PR campaign; shortlisted for a CIPR award for Zipcar; an award winning public awareness campaign, Breathe Easy, on air pollution which was supported by Lord Deben and David Coulthard.   

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Paul Taylor

Paul is the founder of Taylor Keogh Communications, a London-based PR and public consultancy.   Paul has 30 years in-house and consultancy experience. His client work is primarily focused within the UK energy and clean-tech sectors. Before establishing Taylor Keogh, he was Head of Corporate Affairs at London Electricity/EDF Group where he led the company’s community support work within London.  During his tenure, London Electricity won an FT Arts & Business Award for its work on social inclusion and ethnic diversity, and received Business in the Community’s Company of the Year Award. 

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Mike Harrison

Chair of the Feathers Communications Committee

An alumnus of the University of Hull, Mike is a senior communications professional of nearly two decades going from Parliament during the New Labour years, into public affairs and public relations consultancy, followed by in-house corporate. His communications career has covered sectors including financial services, energy and clean tech, infrastructure, housing, and healthcare. Mike has worked with some of the leading companies in the UK including Lloyds Banking Group, National Grid, and Drax Group. He is a liveryman of the Company of Communicators and a Freeman of the City of London.

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Ethan Lees

Ambassador & Youth Ambassador Program

As the youngest Trustee of The Feathers, Ethan is intimately aware of many of the anxieties that young people face today. Having been raised in one of the most economically deprived towns in the UK, he has felt firsthand the struggles that many of those who The Feathers has helped face in seeking to break free of the vicious cycle of generational poverty.

Having studied Egyptology at the University of Cambridge as a first-generation student, Ethan has gone on to the beginnings of a career in law. He attained a Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law in Manchester and is currently completing a Legal Master’s in Moorgate, London. He has experience as a paralegal from boutique regional to international City law firms, assisting in legal matters ranging from Construction to Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions and Art Restitution.

Ethan also has extensive volunteer experience: At Cambridge, he was elected to the leadership of the United Nations UK Youth Platform, where he coordinated university UN associations across the country. He has had years of experience aiding the Royal British Legion in organising and conducting remembrance ceremonies, and in 2021 he was elected a Town Councillor. 

While time for law students is always scarce, whenever he can, Ethan enjoys epee fencing and theatre. Progressing from having translated Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Coptic at University, he is now developing his qualifications in Mandarin.

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Beverley Pridie

Finance and Social Justice

A qualified Chartered Accountant and a Doctor of Accounting, Finance and Governance she is able to bring her accounting skills and knowledge to the Feathers Association and is an invaluable asset for the charity in providing necessary balances and checks as part of the board of trustees’ scrutiny and governance function.

 

Beverley is based in the higher education sector and on a senior leadership trajectory, having been involved in the Aurora women’s leadership programme and the 100 Black Professors Now with the Women’s Higher Education Network. She is an innovative and hardworking individual devoted to empowering and inspiring others and in her current role at the University of East London she is very much focused on employability, enterprise and social justice within the institution.

 

Recognised by the professional association AdvanceHE she was awarded Senior Fellowship based on her commitment to promoting social cohesion and social mobility through education and volunteering within communities. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

 

Beverley has a personal interest is around culture of diversity not just within the sector but also in the third sector. She has engaged in charity work which assists young people who are isolated and face deprivation in communities, including for the Somali Social Services and the Shoreditch Trust.

Jonathan Martin

Strategy, Projects and Finance

Info to follow

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Lionel Bunting

Chair to the Board of Trustees

Lionel has always been passionate about inspiring young people and the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders, evidenced through his work in higher education leadership over the last 20 years; helping disadvantage young people with The Prince’s Trust; developing and delivering outreach education for schools and colleges and running immersive workshops for charities and their beneficiaries.

Within the higher education sector Lionel is a transformational leader and has been involved in designing and developing institutional wide strategies, plans and interventions in relation to product portfolios, learning and teaching initiatives, recruitment and outreach and equality, diversity and inclusion. Having stepped back from a substantive position in the sector he is currently a visiting lecturer for several higher education institutions including the University of London, Birkbeck University and Falmouth University on their Masters and MBA programmes.

He has had a rich and varied career which has seen him work with the British Council in Sri Lanka and Nigeria; business and farm diversification for the Department of Trade and Industry, Director of a creative marketing consultancy in Manchester managing key accounts for luxury, retail, and professional service brands, and helped over 200 businesses start up directly or through incubator facilities and organisations.

In his personal life Lionel is an avid climber & boulderer both outdoor and indoor and when not on the crags of Kent and Dorset he can be found mountain biking along the South Downs National Park or motorbiking along the south coast; he also makes time to study as he is undertaking his Doctorate in Paris on the commercialisation of higher education product portfolios.

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