Jason is CEO of Mission 44. After starting his career as a teacher in East London, he has held leadership roles in the non-profit sector, including at Teach First, the #iwill campaign and Youth Futures Foundation. Jason also served as a senior local councillor in London. He holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Masters in Education from the University of Cambridge.
Yeonju is Senior Partnerships Manager at Mission 44 and manages corporate and foundation partnerships. With 10 years of experience in nonprofit, government, and philanthropy sectors, she brings extensive skills and knowledge to her role. Prior to moving to London, Yeonju called Chicago home and earned her Master’s in Nonprofit Management from the University of Chicago.
Beatrice is a Partnerships Manager, who manages relationships within Mission 44’s education pillar and will be playing a key role in developing our reimagining education strand. Beatrice’s background is in fundraising within the international development sector with a strong passion for girls education and gender based violence.
Xavier is Digital Communications Manager at Mission 44, responsible for content production, brand and managing our digital platforms. Xavier previously worked in the non-profit sector at social mobility charity upReach, before joining Mission 44 in July 2022. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in History.
Nazia is People and Culture Manager at Mission 44, playing a central role in building an outstanding workplace culture for our talented and diverse team. She has previously held the position of People and Culture Advisor at AllChild and People Generalist for Victoria and Albert Museum. Nazia has experience leading on talent and HR roles for organisations with multi-country operations.
Emma is the Senior Events and Engagement Manager at Mission 44, supporting the delivery of the events strategy to cultivate and steward relationships with investors to keep driving income generation forward. She has previously held roles at Football Beyond Borders after graduating from the University of Bristol with a degree in Psychology.
Hannah is Chief of Staff at Mission 44, supporting the CEO, Board and Senior Leadership Team across Governance and Strategy . She joined Mission 44 in January 2022 as Operations Manager, having previously held roles at The Jo Cox Foundation and Ark Ventures. Hannah is also a Local Governor at a primary school in north London.
Cara is Chief Impact Officer at Mission 44, leading on our grantmaking, research, evaluation and advocacy work. Cara started her career in the private sector at Procter and Gamble, and has held various senior leadership positions over the last 15 years, most recently serving as the CEO of a youth justice charity and before that, as Head of Business Development for Teach First.
Jacqueline is a Partnerships Manager, leading relationships with funded partners within Mission 44’s Employment pillar. Her expertise cuts across science communication & early-career experiences. A passionate documentary photographer & filmmaker, she is also a founding member of the Black Scholarship Collective.
Chiara is Head of Impact Partnerships (International), leading on Mission 44’s international expansion. She has over a decade of experience documenting and analysing human rights challenges and opportunities across multiple geographies. Prior to joining Mission 44, Chiara co-led the Women’s Rights programme at the Sigrid Rausing Trust. Chiara holds an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of St Andrews and a BA (Hons) in Communications and Psychology from John Cabot University (USA/Italy).
Jamie is Chief Growth Officer at Mission 44, leading the organisation’s global expansion efforts and fundraising team. After starting her career as a teacher and school leader in Houston, Texas, Jamie has held a number of leadership roles in the non-profit sector, including at The Robin Hood Foundation and Teach For America. Jamie also spent significant time in the private sector, designing and advising on social impact initiatives for Clayton, Dublier, and Rice, and as President of Maverick Capital Foundation. Jamie holds a BA in Communications & Media Studies from University of California, Berkeley and a Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Leicia is Associate Director of Communications and Campaigns at Mission 44. She is an award-winning communications professional and a specialist in reaching underserved communities. Prior to joining Mission 44, Leicia held national roles at NHS England leading on activity to drive health equity. Leicia is passionate about reducing inequalities and is also a Board Member for Black Health Initiative; a charity working towards equity in her hometown of Leeds.
Kayley is Head of Engagement and Events, leading Mission 44’s global events strategy, as well as donor stewardship and engagement programs. She has a multi-disciplinary background across events, strategic projects, climate policy and impact campaigns and has spent years working within the not-for-profit, elite sports, education, and private sectors.
Sharon is Head of Impact Partnerships (UK) at Mission 44, responsible for overseeing our grant-making approach. She has a long history in grant-making, having worked for The National Lottery Community Fund, Children in Need and Youth Futures Foundation amongst others. She is Vice Chair of the Co-op Foundation and as a proud northerner also sits on the Board of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Rob is COO at Mission 44. Having started his career as a grantmaker, Rob then spent over 15 years as a British diplomat, serving overseas in Brazil, France and as High Commissioner in Malta. Most recently he was COO at purpose-driven communications consultancy Social. Rob is passionate about enabling organisations to maximise their positive social and environmental impact.
Aisha is Team Coordinator at Mission 44, responsible for supporting the Finance and Operations team with office management, HR and governance. Aisha previously worked in Operations for a non-profit organisation known for tackling environmental change. She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics from Goldsmiths University.
Keith is the Fundraising Operations and Data Manager at Mission 44, supporting system improvements and operational efficiency. Prior to this, he worked in the non-profit sector building partnerships aimed at promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. He holds a BSc in Economics from Northeastern University and an MSc in Local Economic Development from the LSE.
Josh is Impact Coordinator at Mission 44, supporting the grantmaking team. Joshua has a postgraduate degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of York. He has worked primarily in the non-profit sector focusing on addressing environmental and social challenges, through grantmaking and utilising Human Rights Law. He is alo a volunteer with Restorative Justice for All.
Amy is Head of Communications at Mission 44, leading the organisation’s communications and engagement programme. Amy has over a decade of experience in the non-for-profit sector, with a particular focus on young people, collaborating with global brands on multimedia change-making campaigns. Amy graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Sociology.
Olivier is Head of Finance and Operations. He has worked in the private and public sector, in France and the UK, and has been a theatre producer for many years. Olivier is a Chartered Accountant and recently held finance roles at Somerset House Trust, Soho Theatre and Artsadmin. He holds a Master’s degree in Executive Engineering and is currently doing an MBA at Warwick Business School. He is also the Vice-Chair of Talawa Theatre Company and a Trustee of Paines Plough.
Deshni is the Senior Youth Participation Manager, leading the organisation’s youth empowerment strategy while supporting Mission 44’s Youth Advisory Board. Deshni has over 15 years of experience working in the third sector for various charities and social impact organisations. Outside of work, she serves on the board of directors for the social enterprise Saffron Music, a music tech education platform that supports women and non-binary individuals by addressing the gender imbalance in the music tech industry.
Tom is External Relations Coordinator at Mission 44. Tom comes from a sporting background where he has both playing and coaching experience at the pro level. He has held roles in Diversity and Inclusion and social change through sport and activity. Tom also holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Management.
Stephanie is Senior Development Officer at Mission 44 and an Associate Sporting Director for Team X44. Stephanie is a former Senior Trackside Fluid Engineer who co-managed the Petronas Trackside Laboratory. Prior to Petronas, she was an asset care engineer at BASF PLC, where she was responsible for asset reliability and the general coordination of asset management plans.
Sophie is Senior Research and Evaluation Manager at Mission 44, leading on the development of our impact and evaluation framework and cultivating a culture of continual learning, curiosity and improvement both within our organisation and more broadly. Sophie held previous roles at Turn2us and Unlocked Graduates where she designed and delivered various evaluation projects. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with an MA in Political Economy.
Mark Hamlin is Chair of Project 44, Lewis Hamilton’s management company.
Born in Johannesburg, Mark was deputy Chairman of Cable and Wireless Communications plc. For the last eight years, Mark has acted as an advisor to a global humanitarian organisation headquartered in New York.
Ajaz founded the design company AKQA aged 21. Today, AKQA is one of the world’s most awarded agencies. With clients that include Nike, Apple and LVMH, AKQA employs around 6,000 people around the world. AKQA is also the winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation.
Ajaz won the Spear’s Impact Award for Philanthropy in 2022 for the contribution of his charitable foundation ajaz.org. He also serves on the board of trustees for non-profit organisations including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Virgin Unite, and The Royal Foundation’s Mental Health Innovations. He was made an MBE in 2018. Ajaz has published three books and his essays and publications are available here.
Ajaz has extensive marketing and communications experience as well as experience on the Board of a grantmaking organisation.
Aziza Ajak is currently Vice Principal and a science teacher at a school in London. She’s had the chance to be part of the founding leadership team of a new school and has helped to establish the school as one of the best in the borough. Aziza’s recent voluntary experience includes being a trustee on the Teach First Board.
Aziza grew up in an environment similar to those of the young people Mission 44 seeks to serve. A successful school experience led her to successfully complete graduate and postgraduate qualifications at universities like Durham and Imperial College. As a result, she’s passionate about the transformative power of education.
Dawid is Co-Founder of Redington, Mallowstreet and 10,000 Black Interns.
Dawid qualified as a barrister and spent 16 years in investment banking. He was named Black British Business Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 and is on the Prime Minister’s Business Council 2022.
He is passionate about mentoring young people and helping them learn to speak confidently in public so that they can tell their story and ‘hold the room spellbound’. He believes that every child needs in their life at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about them.
Anne is Vice President, Content at Netflix UK, where she leads the teams across all genres. Prior to this, she was Director of Drama and Sky Studios at Sky UK, Head of Independent Drama at the BBC and Head of Drama for BBC Scotland. She oversees all Netflix UK commissions including BAFTA, Emmy & Golden Globe award winning Netflix drama The Crown and BAFTA award winning Netflix series Sex Education.
Anne is a trustee of Into Film, as well as a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Anne was named Britain’s third most influential Black person in The Powerlist 2023.
Anne has experience in the creative industries as well as experience of organisational growth.
Izzy Obeng is an entrepreneur and business consultant. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foundervine. At Foundervine, Izzy leads a consultancy for creating systemic change in entrepreneurship. Foundervine has launched accelerators in the UK that support early-stage companies, providing entrepreneurs from under-represented communities with mentorship, training, and access to capital. By 2022, Foundervine had helped over 5,000 leaders to start, scale new businesses or raise capital.
Izzy acts as an Advisor to Lloyds Banking Group, Big Issue Invest & Unltd. She has been featured in the BBC, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and in 2022, Izzy was listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact.
Matthew Otubu is a Senior Strategist at the Cabinet Office, where he collaborates with fellow civil servants across the UK Government to plan and coordinate the design, development and delivery of the Prime Minister’s domestic and foreign policy priorities through strategic communications and campaigns.
In addition to Mission 44, Matthew volunteers as a Board Member at NCG Corporation – the leading nationwide group of seven colleges enabling social mobility and economic prosperity
through exceptional further and higher education.
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.
She chairs the government’s Business Innovation Forum and St. Andrews Prize for the Environment and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on Black representation in UK motorsport.
Hayaatun is NXD at Laing O’Rourke and the UNBOXED festival; trustee of EngineeringUK and Foundation for Science & Technology; member of the Levelling Up Advisory Council; and advisor to EQL:HER and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. She has been named as one of the ten most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a PhD in Biochemistry and was made CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019.
Coming from across the UK with a broad range of expertise, our Youth Advisory Board members are at the heart of everything we do, collectively helping us to empower young people to overcome social injustice and succeed.
USA
Outside of the USA
