People. Purpose. Together.
YOUTHOOD is shaped by people who believe youth development deserves a different approach. From our governance and core team to our Youth Fellows, we bring different experiences, perspectives and expertise around a shared mission. Meet the people helping to turn that mission into meaningful change.
Different perspectives. Shared purpose.Many people. One shared mission.
Get to know the people who are helping shape YOUTHOOD, from our team and governance to our wider contributors.
Governance Board
Providing organisational stewardship, formal oversight and scrutiny to help YOUTHOOD remain responsible to its mission, commitments and governing arrangements.
Who they are
The Governance Board brings together individuals responsible for the organisation's formal governance and oversight.
Their contribution goes beyond supporting YOUTHOOD's ambitions. They must also be willing to question decisions, consider risks and ensure that the organisation acts responsibly.
Effective governance helps maintain accountability as YOUTHOOD develops its workforce, programmes, partnerships and public responsibilities.
What they contribute
- Scrutiny of organisational direction, decisions and strategic priorities.
- Oversight of financial sustainability, organisational risk and compliance.
- Accountability for appropriate governance and decision-making arrangements.
- Constructive challenge to leadership and organisational proposals.
- Stewardship of YOUTHOOD's mission, values and long-term responsibilities.
The Governance Board provides the formal oversight within which organisational leadership, staff contributions and youth participation take place. It remains accountable for decisions reserved to it under YOUTHOOD's applicable governing arrangements.
Core Staff
Providing the leadership, management, coordination and organisational continuity needed to develop, manage and deliver YOUTHOOD's mission.
Who they are
Core Staff hold the substantive organisational roles that carry responsibility for leading and coordinating YOUTHOOD's ongoing work.
These roles span organisational leadership, delivery, operations, finance, compliance, youth participation, engagement, learning, campaigns and systems influence.
While responsibilities differ between roles, Core Staff work across a shared mission rather than operating as unrelated programmes or independent teams.
What they contribute
- Translating YOUTHOOD's strategy into coordinated organisational work.
- Planning, managing and strengthening programmes and delivery infrastructure.
- Maintaining operational processes, professional standards and internal systems.
- Coordinating staff, contributors, relationships and partnerships.
- Reporting, learning and acting within established accountability arrangements.
Core Staff carry the day-to-day responsibility for developing and coordinating YOUTHOOD's work. They engage with the Governance Board, work alongside Youth Fellows, coordinate Impact Staff where appropriate and draw on external insight through Mission Groundwork.
Impact Staff
Bringing practical skills, specialist expertise and additional capacity to defined activities, assignments and delivery periods.
Who they are
Impact Staff support YOUTHOOD through specific opportunities connected to its organisational and public-facing work.
This includes Delivery Associates and Seasonal Volunteers, whose involvement is organised around particular purposes, arrangements and commitments.
The distinction from Core Staff is not about the value of the contribution. It concerns the nature, duration and responsibilities of the involvement.
What they contribute
- Additional capacity for events, programmes and delivery activities.
- Creative, operational, communications or technical support.
- Research, resource development and defined policy-related tasks.
- Specialist knowledge or skills for particular assignments.
- Practical support at periods of increased organisational activity.
Impact Staff work within agreed responsibilities and appropriate coordination arrangements. They help extend YOUTHOOD's capacity without automatically holding ongoing management, governance or strategic decision-making authority. Specific opportunities determine whether involvement is paid or voluntary.
Youth Fellows
Bringing young people's perspectives, critical questions and shared stewardship into how YOUTHOOD develops, understands and pursues its mission.
Who they are
Youth Fellows are young people who participate in YOUTHOOD's dedicated Fellowship Programme, helping keep youth perspectives connected to organisational thinking and mission development.
They bring different experiences, interests and ways of understanding the systems surrounding young people. No individual Fellow is expected to represent every young person.
The Fellowship is a space for contribution, learning and constructive challenge, rather than simply endorsing decisions made elsewhere in the organisation.
What they contribute
- Youth perspectives on organisational priorities and developing proposals.
- Constructive challenge to assumptions, decisions and proposed approaches.
- Contribution to policy thinking, participation practice and mission learning.
- Reflection on accessibility, accountability and meaningful influence.
- Shared stewardship of YOUTHOOD's commitments to youth development.
Youth Fellows help inform and challenge the organisation's direction and work alongside staff through established participation arrangements. Their co-governance contribution is distinct from the formal legal and decision-making responsibilities of the Governance Board.
Mission Groundwork
Connecting YOUTHOOD with external professional experience, specialist knowledge and perspectives that help strengthen our thinking and organisational development.
Who they are
Mission Groundwork is a flexible community of contributors who can offer relevant professional or organisational insight without joining YOUTHOOD's formal workforce or governance structures.
This may include frontline professionals, organisational and sector leaders, and people with specialist functional expertise from the voluntary, public and private sectors.
People may contribute different levels and combinations of expertise. The focus is on the perspective they can offer, not fitting them into a fixed category.
What they contribute
- Experience of professional practice and the realities of youth-facing services.
- Insight into organisational leadership, partnerships and institutional challenges.
- Specialist perspectives on systems, finance, communications or operations.
- Constructive reflection on emerging frameworks, resources and proposals.
- Outside challenge that helps YOUTHOOD test its assumptions.
Mission Groundwork can inform organisational learning, development and decision-making by offering perspectives from beyond YOUTHOOD's internal structures. It is not itself a governance body, formal staff route or organisational membership scheme. Any contribution is considered through the appropriate internal responsibilities.
Different responsibilities. One connected organisation.
YOUTHOOD brings together people who govern, lead, deliver, challenge, contribute and help strengthen our understanding. Their relationships with the organisation are different, but their contributions connect through a shared mission.
Bringing people together does not mean blurring their responsibilities. Clear decision-making, meaningful youth influence, professional accountability and external challenge all have an important place in how YOUTHOOD works.
MEET THE PEOPLE
The faces and stories behind YOUTHOOD.
Explore our people, their interests and the experiences they bring. Biographies are written in each person’s own voice and may include as much or as little about their role as they choose.
GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHT
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Abigail Bentley
FOUNDING MEMBER
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Charlotte Lastoweckyi
FOUNDING MEMBER
CORE TEAM
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Nathanial-Elliot (M) Coad
FOUNDER & CEO (HEAD OF STRATEGY)
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Currently Recruiting!
CHIEF DELIVERY OFFICER (DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE)
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Satveer Kaur
FINANCE, COMPLIANCE & OPERATIONS MANAGER
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Currently Recruiting!
MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS & BRAND MANAGER
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Safiya Patel
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEARNING & PRACTICE MANAGER
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Erin Opata
CAMPAINGS & SYSTEMS INFLUENCE MANAGER
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Abeer Abdul Aziz
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT & PROGRAMMES MANAGER
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Noah Thorley
YOUTH PARTICIPATION & ACCOUNTABILITY MANAGER
YOUTH FELLOWS (2026-27)
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Adenike
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Adjoa
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Erraime
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Folusho
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Joyce
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Nick
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Sameen
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Stephanie
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Truth
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Teagan
The people behind the work
Impact Staff.
Different skills. Shared purpose.
Not everyone contributes to YOUTHOOD in the same way, and that's part of what makes our work possible.
Our Impact Staff bring together people with different skills, experiences and interests to support the practical work behind our mission. Some contribute behind the scenes, helping things run smoothly. Others get involved in events, engagement activities, research, communications and the delivery of our programmes.
It's a flexible part of our wider team, bringing people into different areas of work depending on what's happening, what's needed and where their contributions can make a difference.
Whether supporting a particular project, lending specialist skills or helping bring an activity to life, Impact Staff play an important part in turning YOUTHOOD's ideas into action.
Different contributions.
One connected mission.
YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
Youth influence is part of our work, not an afterthought.
Our Youth Fellows contribute perspective, critical challenge and developmental insight. The programme should make clear what Fellows can influence, where their contributions travel and how YOUTHOOD responds.
Public photographs and personal biographies should only be used with appropriate consent and attention to safeguarding and privacy.
A network of contributors. A shared mission.
Mission Groundwork is intended to bring together a small network of people who can contribute experience, ideas, professional knowledge and useful connections as YOUTHOOD develops.
Perspective
Bring different experiences and understandings into mission development.
Knowledge
Offer professional or specialist insight where relevant.
Constructive challenge
Question assumptions and test emerging ideas.
Connection
Help conversations and learning travel across networks and sectors.
There are meaningful ways to contribute beyond formal roles.
There are meaningful ways to contribute without joining our workforce or governing the organisation.
Contributors may bring insight into particular issues, participate in focused conversations, test emerging thinking or help connect YOUTHOOD with people and perspectives across the youth-facing landscape.
Involvement will be shaped around agreed opportunities and individual capacity. Membership of Mission Groundwork does not automatically confer a staff position, formal governance authority or responsibility for organisational decisions.
Mission Groundwork is being developed as a small contributor network. This is an outline of its intended purpose, not a claim that recruitment is currently open or that a fixed membership has been appointed.
CONTRIBUTING TO THE MISSION
There's more than one way
to be part of YOUTHOOD.
Roles, participation and specialist opportunities should be accessed through the separate Get Involved section, not confused with the public team directory.