Judges for the Innovation Award
We are delighted to have had a stellar panel of judges evaluate applications to the Innovation Award 2024. These expert judges come from a range of backgrounds and have varied expertise within education.
Shortlisting Judges
Rachael Martin, Venture Partner, Purposeful Ventures
Rachael is a Venture Partner at Purposeful Ventures. Purposeful Ventures partners with organisations working with disadvantaged young people, providing individualised support and access to funding. Rachael works in the children and families portfolio, looking at mental health, children in care and children in and around the criminal justice system. Rachael was previously a Senior Manager at Bain & Company.
Roxanne Lashley Allen, Deputy Head Teacher, Consultant
With nearly two decades dedicated to the field of education, Roxanne's journey has taken her from the classroom, to leadership positions, culminating in her most recent position of Acting Co-Headteacher at a prominent London secondary school. She is currently a Trustee at Education Support which is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff. In addition, Roxanne recently made a significant contribution to the educational field with the publication of a report investigating the factors influencing the departure of Black and Ethnic Minority senior leaders from schools, thereby elevating the discourse surrounding diversity and representation in education leadership.
Steve Meadwell, Regional Manager, Centre For Social Justice
With over 20 years of experience, Steve has worked with some of the most vulnerable people in society, as well as with leaders, head teachers, service managers, business leaders, CEOs, and philanthropists. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed positive working relationships that have yielded positive results, created partnerships, built networks, coordinated and informed change. Steve’s passion to see greater change for people's lives has developed from first-hand experience of the many challenges faced by these groups. He has created and formed key relationships and links across the Midlands and the wider United Kingdom with charities, organisations, authorities, and leaders.
Kristy Evers, Director of Impact Partnerships, ImpactEd
Kristy has over ten years of experience across the education and impact evaluation sectors and currently works as Director of Impact Partnerships at ImpactEd Evaluation, a social enterprise focused on supporting schools and education organisations to measure their impact and make evidenced-informed decisions. Here she leads their work supporting education organisations in particular. She has previously worked as a teacher in Singapore, as a researcher for a major educational publisher and at a start-up focused on research impact.
Joe Howlett, COO & Founder, One Degree Academy
Joe is a qualified teacher and headteacher with extensive experience in the education sector, leading at both Secondary, Post 16, and Primary. He currently serves as the part-time Chief Operating Officer of One Degree Academy, an ‘outstanding’ free school. He worked with the school’s trustees to found One Degree Academy and is responsible for the operations of the Trust. He works closely with a network of schools supporting them in operational improvement and delivering outdoor education training. Joe grew up on a rural dairy farm. He won a scholarship to study for the International Baccalaureate in India.
Michelle Grannell, Head of Primary, King Solomon International Business School
Michelle has spent much of her working life interacting with children. She spent many years working behind the scenes in children's television and with a variety of programmes in roles varying from researcher to associate producer. Once beginning her own family, she retrained as a primary school teacher and has taught in a variety of Birmingham and Sandwell schools. She is a great believer in giving children the opportunity to access a fantastic education and has spent years bringing learning to life in her classrooms. Michelle is trained as a Lay Reader with the Church of England (a layperson is licensed to preach and to conduct some religious services) and enjoys her church life in the Birmingham diocese. She is also an Assistant Warden of Readers. Now a headteacher and safeguarding lead, Michelle is committed to giving children a firm foundation for their educational journey.
John Hind, Director of Education and Leadership, Rank Foundation
As Director of Education and Leadership at the Rank Foundation since June 2021, John works in three main areas. The School Leadership Award each year supports 25 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK who show potential as leaders. They provide both a leadership development programme and financial support in the form of a maintenance grant for higher education studies. The Rank Fellowship aims both to offer mutual support to members and to inspire Fellows in the spirit of our Founder’s philanthropic generosity to consider their impact on the wider society. Finally, their education inequality fund is a recent development which looks to support charitable organisations working towards addressing issues faced by disadvantaged students. John’s previous career was in teaching, latterly as Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools in Newcastle upon Tyne (an independent school operating the diamond model of school organisation) between 2004 and 2020.
Iman Haji, Investment Manager, Impetus
With a passion for social justice and a dedication to evidence-based practice, Iman is committed to advancing impact measurement methodologies that capture the transformative potential of interventions aimed at closing the disadvantage gap in education, employment and beyond. Now an Investment Manager at Impetus, Iman spent six years at Khulisa spearheading the organisation's research efforts, developing robust methodologies to assess the effectiveness of programmes in improving the life-long outcomes of young people facing social and school exclusion. From developing the organisation's Theory of Change, to testing it through a series of internal and external evaluations, Iman excels in translating complex data into actionable strategies and is deeply experienced in leveraging data to inform programme design and policy advocacy.
Dr. Anne Murdoch OBE, Senior Advisor, College Leadership, ASCL
Anne is Senior Advisor for College Leadership at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), having been General Secretary of the Principals Professional Council and, for 17 years, a Principal and Chief Executive of a Further Education College. Anne qualified as a Primary School teacher following a degree in Social Sciences. Her PhD, in Education, was followed by work, as a University Researcher. Anne joined an FE college as a teacher, then moved to leadership roles and to Principal and CEO. Anne has an MBA and is a School Governors. Her OBE was awarded in 2012 for services to Further Education.
Michelle Man, Global Head of Impact and Learning, Client Earth
Michelle is Global Head of Impact and Learning at ClientEarth, an environmental NGO that uses the power of the law to achieve systemic change. Having worked extensively with non-profits, funders, public sector organisations, private companies, and investors, Michelle supports organisations to maximise their social impact by advising on strategy, data and research, and evaluation and learning. She is a board member of The Politics Project and The London College of Political Technology. She also co-founded the Centre for Democracy to develop the ecosystem of organisations working towards a better democracy.
Saradia McCahon, The Fair Education Alliance, Impact & Evaluation Manager
Saradia is Impact & Evaluation Manager at the FEA, where she supports Award Winners to strengthen their impact, evaluation and research capacity. She holds an MA in Education and Psychology from UCL Institute of Education, where she specialised in the sociology of education, child development and social research methods. Before joining the FEA, Saradia spent three years at ImpactEd Evaluation, worked with various organisations and charities across the education sector. During this time, she designed and delivered end-to-end impact evaluations and fostered the development of impact and evaluation capacity within the wider sector.
Erica Fraser, Assistant Headteacher, Clapham Manor Primary School
Erica is an educator with over 14 years of experience. Currently an Assistant Head Teacher and SENDCo in Lambeth, with previous leadership experience in both primary and secondary school settings, encompassing roles in private and locally maintained organisations. As a Chartered Manager with a Master's in Education Senior Leadership and a Level 7 qualification in Senior Leadership, Erica's career is marked by a steadfast dedication to educational excellence and inclusivity.Within business development, Erica has been a part of initiatives aimed at enhancing race representation and promoting social mobility within education, driven by her profound passion for equity for all and wider-representation.
Thomas, Youth Steering Group member
Thomas is a 15-year-old student currently taking his GCSEs. He aspires to study politics, philosophy, and psychology at sixth form. Thomas is deeply passionate about addressing and breaking barriers within education and tackling educational disparities. His goal is to advocate and campaign for equality in education. Driven by this passion, he explored the education system and factors influencing intelligence as part of his HPQ qualification. Thomas is enthusiastic about starting his role on the FEA YSG and looks forward to contributing to the cause.
Angel, Youth Steering Group member
Angel is a 17-year-old from the East Midlands, currently studying Sociology, English Literature, and Philosophy and Ethics. She holds the title of Miss Teen Nigeria UK and has a great passion for writing. Angel aspires to become an author and work within the education system, focusing on addressing racial discrimination, prejudice, and systemic racism in schools in both the UK and US. Her drive lies in tackling educational inequality by empowering young individuals to dream and aspire, all while breaking free from the societal constraints that seek to define them.
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Final Judges
Karin Woodley CBE, Chief Executive, Cambridge House
Karin is Chief Executive of Cambridge House; Chair of the Race Equality Foundation; a non-executive director of the Ministry of Justice’s Office of the Public Guardian; trustee of the Felix Project; a member of the National Lottery Community Fund England Committee; and a core member of the Better Way Network. She is a lived experience leader and was honoured as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours list for her services to social justice, and received the prestigious Lifetime Achiever Award at the 2016 Excellence in Diversity Awards.
Sufian Sadiq, Director of Talent & Teaching School, Chiltern Learning Trust
Sufian Sadiq oversees four SCITT provisions, two regional Hub areas in the South East of England, as well as Behaviour and Attendance Hubs. Chiltern Teaching School is one of the largest providers of CPD to the sector nationally. He is a passionate activist within the educational landscape around race, equity and inclusion. He is a serving Ofsted Inspector. Sufian is a proud Fellow and Board Member of the Chartered College of Teaching, as well as a Fellow for the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. He plays an active role in numerous charitable organisations as a Trustee and also holds key governance roles within educational organisations.
Ryan Shorthouse, Founder and Executive Chair, Bright Blue
Ryan is the Founder and Executive Chair of Bright Blue. He was Chief Executive from 2014-2023.Ryan was appointed a Commissioner of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at King’s College London and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Bath. He is also a trustee of the What Works Centre, Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO).
Lisa Raftery, Head of Grants, Social Investment Business
Lisa has over 20 years’ experience working across the charitable and public sectors and is Head of Grants at Social Investment Business (SIB) Lisa leads the delivery of a number of programmes supporting charities and social enterprises to improve sustainability and resilience such as the Enterprise Development Programme, supporting charities and social enterprises to develop their enterprise ideas, and the Reach Fund supporting organisations to become investment ready, working with a wide range of Social Investors across England.
Vik Verma, Director of Education, Bristol City Council
Vik is passionate about delivering exceptional services for children and young people. He is an experienced strategic leader with a demonstrated history of success in significant roles in the public sector as a Corporate Director of Children’s Services and Corporate Director of Education. He is currently Director of Education in Bristol City Council.Throughout his career, Vik has been dedicated to championing initiatives to combat racism, inequality, and disproportionality for children.He serves as a Board Trustee of The Mix, an outstanding charity providing invaluable support, advice, and guidance on mental health matters to children and young people.
Lindsey MacDonald, CEO, Magic Breakfast
Lindsey is passionate about tackling inequality to unlock the potential of all children and young people. With a career that has spanned international development, homelessness, and youth employment services, Lindsey recognises that so many opportunities in life come from education and believes that no child in the UK should be too hungry to learn.
A lover of learning, she achieved her MBA with distinction at Bayes Business School having previously earned her doctorate at Brunel University. Keen to support social change organisations to understand, evidence, and share their impact Lindsey is Vice Chair of DataKind and of the Sport for Development Coalition.
Alexander Clifford-Turner, Global Head - Financial Solutions Knowledge Group, Bloomberg
Alex currently leads a global team, who design, develop and deploy training, enablement and engagement programs across the Bloomberg Support and Sales Groups. Previously Alex has led a variety of groups including Bloomberg's Data and Market Specialist Division in EMEA.
Mama, Youth Steering Group member
Mama is 18 years old. Currently, she is studying International Relations and Arabic at university. In the future, she hopes to enlighten people about injustices in education, mental health, and human rights around the world. She would love to start an NGO to tackle issues that governments worldwide ignore and give a voice back to those who are ignored and disenfranchised.
Keira, Youth Steering Group member
Keira is 14 and currently in Year 10. She is from SW London and aspires to go into Law and Politics. In the future, she hopes to work closely with education, as she is very passionate about closing the disparity between low-income households and the education system, specifically surrounding exclusions in schools.