Vidhya Alakeson Vidhya is the founding Chief Executive of Power to Change, an independent trust established in 2015 to support the growth of community businesses across England as a means to creating more prosperous and cohesive communities. To date, Power to Change has invested over £60 million and supported 1,000 community businesses through targeted grants and support programmes. Vidhya has extensive policy experience, having worked in a number of think tanks and in government in both the UK and US. Prior to setting up Power to Change, Vidhya was Deputy Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation, a leading public policy think tank working on issues that affect low and middle income families. Vidhya is a board member of More in Common, a global initiative seeking to reduce polarisation in developed societies, and a trustee of the Young Foundation which aims to develop better connected and more sustainable communities across the UK. She regularly advises organisations, including local and national government, on the role of community business in promoting regeneration and writes and speaks regularly on issues relating to community-led development and inclusive growth. Sacha Bedding Sacha is the Manager of The Wharton Trust, a small estate-based community business in the Dyke House area of Hartlepool. Rooted in community organising, the charity seeks to work with the local community to build on what they care about and change the things they don’t. This manifests in many different ways, from social activities to campaigning. As the Locally Trusted Organisation for the Dyke House Big Local, a Social Action Hub and Member of the National Academy of Community Organising in the Community Organisers Expansion Programme and a catalyst for the Power to Change Empowering Places Programme, Sacha is working to weave together the national opportunities and distil them into the square mile of Dyke House and, beyond that, wider Hartlepool. Sacha is Chair of Community Organisers and is working with Locality to champion their Communities in Charge campaign, and has been a national spokesperson interviewed by United Nations, The Guardian, Al Jazeera News and Le Monde on the political impacts on low income communities. Peter Holbrook CBE Peter became CEO of Social Enterprise UK in January 2010. Social Enterprise UK is the national trade body for social enterprise and represents a wide range of social enterprises, regional and national support networks and other related organisations. SEUK works to promote social enterprise as a model for changing both business and society. SEUK inform the policy agenda, continue to influence the political agenda, promote the benefits of social enterprise through the media, campaigns and events, and undertake research to expand the social enterprise evidence base. Peter has established, developed and supported hundreds of diverse social enterprises over his career. He has advised government taskforces in the UK and overseas and chaired the Social Enterprise World Forum, the global network of social businesses until 2015. Peter has previously worked for Oxfam, Greenpeace and various disability charities. He has experience of working in overseas development, community development and public health. Peter started his career with Marks and Spencer PLC and also spent several years with Body Shop International. He was appointed a CBE in 2015. Ed Mayo Ed is Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, the national association for co-operative and mutual enterprises, as well as Chair of the democracy and participation charity, Involve. Ed was one of the team that started the Fairtrade Mark and is former Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council and New Economics Foundation. He is currently also an elected Vice President of Co-operatives Europe. Ed is author of the 2012 report Global Business Ownership; an analysis which was first to show that worldwide the number of member owners of co-ops was greater than the number of shareholders of listed companies. His book Values: how to bring values to life in your business was published by Routledge in 2016. In November 2017, his book A Short History of Co-operation and Mutuality was launched in two languages at the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance. Ed is also co-author of the books Poverty, Social Exclusion and Microfinance and Consumer Kids. Lucy Siegle, writing in The Observer in October 2014, said, “Ed has played a leading role in almost every environmental and ethical business initiative over the last two decades.” Fay Selvan Fay started working as a social entrepreneur in 1991, and established The Big Life group in 2002. Fay completed an Honours degree at Sussex University before moving to Manchester in 1980. She also achieved an MSc in Strategic Leadership in 2001 at Salford University. In 1999 Fay was appointed Executive Sponsor for the Manchester, Salford and Trafford Health Action Zone. In 2001 she took up appointment as Chair of Trafford North Primary Care Trust (TNPCT) and led the Trust until taking up the Chair of Trafford Healthcare Trust (THT) in January 2006. in 2001 she Chaired the Trafford Children and Young peoples Board, leading it through development as a Pilot Children’s Trust; and in 2012 Fay took up post as a Non Executive Director on the Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). As a result of her work developing The Big Life group Fay won the Social Enterprise Leader Award for England in 2011. Cllr Janette Williamson Janette is Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on Wirral Council, and Cabinet member for Finance and Resources. She is leading on Community Wealth Building and excited to be working with Preston City Council and Liverpool City Council on a regional community bank. Passionate about rebuilding the local economy from the grassroots, Janette is seeking to grow community businesses and cooperatives, believing that Community Wealth Building will help to create an ethical, sustainable and socially just economy.
Vidhya Alakeson Vidhya is the founding Chief Executive of Power to Change, an independent trust established in 2015 to support the growth of community businesses across England as a means to creating more prosperous and cohesive communities. To date, Power to Change has invested over £60 million and supported 1,000 community businesses through targeted grants and support programmes. Vidhya has extensive policy experience, having worked in a number of think tanks and in government in both the UK and US. Prior to setting up Power to Change, Vidhya was Deputy Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation, a leading public policy think tank working on issues that affect low and middle income families. Vidhya is a board member of More in Common, a global initiative seeking to reduce polarisation in developed societies, and a trustee of the Young Foundation which aims to develop better connected and more sustainable communities across the UK. She regularly advises organisations, including local and national government, on the role of community business in promoting regeneration and writes and speaks regularly on issues relating to community-led development and inclusive growth. Sacha Bedding Sacha is the Manager of The Wharton Trust, a small estate-based community business in the Dyke House area of Hartlepool. Rooted in community organising, the charity seeks to work with the local community to build on what they care about and change the things they don’t. This manifests in many different ways, from social activities to campaigning. As the Locally Trusted Organisation for the Dyke House Big Local, a Social Action Hub and Member of the National Academy of Community Organising in the Community Organisers Expansion Programme and a catalyst for the Power to Change Empowering Places Programme, Sacha is working to weave together the national opportunities and distil them into the square mile of Dyke House and, beyond that, wider Hartlepool. Sacha is Chair of Community Organisers and is working with Locality to champion their Communities in Charge campaign, and has been a national spokesperson interviewed by United Nations, The Guardian, Al Jazeera News and Le Monde on the political impacts on low income communities. Peter Holbrook CBE Peter became CEO of Social Enterprise UK in January 2010. Social Enterprise UK is the national trade body for social enterprise and represents a wide range of social enterprises, regional and national support networks and other related organisations. SEUK works to promote social enterprise as a model for changing both business and society. SEUK inform the policy agenda, continue to influence the political agenda, promote the benefits of social enterprise through the media, campaigns and events, and undertake research to expand the social enterprise evidence base. Peter has established, developed and supported hundreds of diverse social enterprises over his career. He has advised government taskforces in the UK and overseas and chaired the Social Enterprise World Forum, the global network of social businesses until 2015. Peter has previously worked for Oxfam, Greenpeace and various disability charities. He has experience of working in overseas development, community development and public health. Peter started his career with Marks and Spencer PLC and also spent several years with Body Shop International. He was appointed a CBE in 2015. Ed Mayo Ed is Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, the national association for co-operative and mutual enterprises, as well as Chair of the democracy and participation charity, Involve. Ed was one of the team that started the Fairtrade Mark and is former Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council and New Economics Foundation. He is currently also an elected Vice President of Co-operatives Europe. Ed is author of the 2012 report Global Business Ownership; an analysis which was first to show that worldwide the number of member owners of co-ops was greater than the number of shareholders of listed companies. His book Values: how to bring values to life in your business was published by Routledge in 2016. In November 2017, his book A Short History of Co-operation and Mutuality was launched in two languages at the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance. Ed is also co-author of the books Poverty, Social Exclusion and Microfinance and Consumer Kids. Lucy Siegle, writing in The Observer in October 2014, said, “Ed has played a leading role in almost every environmental and ethical business initiative over the last two decades.” Fay Selvan Fay started working as a social entrepreneur in 1991, and established The Big Life group in 2002. Fay completed an Honours degree at Sussex University before moving to Manchester in 1980. She also achieved an MSc in Strategic Leadership in 2001 at Salford University. In 1999 Fay was appointed Executive Sponsor for the Manchester, Salford and Trafford Health Action Zone. In 2001 she took up appointment as Chair of Trafford North Primary Care Trust (TNPCT) and led the Trust until taking up the Chair of Trafford Healthcare Trust (THT) in January 2006. in 2001 she Chaired the Trafford Children and Young peoples Board, leading it through development as a Pilot Children’s Trust; and in 2012 Fay took up post as a Non Executive Director on the Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). As a result of her work developing The Big Life group Fay won the Social Enterprise Leader Award for England in 2011. Cllr Janette Williamson Janette is Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on Wirral Council, and Cabinet member for Finance and Resources. She is leading on Community Wealth Building and excited to be working with Preston City Council and Liverpool City Council on a regional community bank. Passionate about rebuilding the local economy from the grassroots, Janette is seeking to grow community businesses and cooperatives, believing that Community Wealth Building will help to create an ethical, sustainable and socially just economy.