Website design by Carr Manor Support Services © 2023
Website design by Carr Manor Support Services © 2023
Website design by Carr Manor Support Services © 2023
Website design by Carr Manor Support Services © 2023
Chief Executive Officer, Leeds Rhinos and LLA Ambassador
Chief Executive Officer, Voluntary Action Leeds
Anna Martin is a senior charity leader and Chief Executive Officer with more than 15 years’ experience spanning the voluntary, education, financial services and public sectors.
Currently CEO of Voluntary Action Leeds, Anna leads strategic development, governance, partnership working, income generation and organisational sustainability, while championing equity and collaboration across the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
A qualified teacher with a PGCE and a strong background in operations, programme delivery and organisational change, Anna has led large multidisciplinary teams, managed complex contracts and budgets, and developed services that improve outcomes for communities across Leeds and beyond. Her previous leadership roles at Leeds Mind, Community Links and Teach First included overseeing major service portfolios, safeguarding leadership, strategic partnerships and large-scale operational improvement programmes.
Known for her collaborative leadership style, Anna combines strategic thinking with practical delivery expertise. She is an experienced coach, mentor and trainer, with a passion for developing people, strengthening organisations and creating meaningful social impact. She also serves as a convenor for Leeds Ambitions, helping to bring partners together to improve opportunities and outcomes across the city.
Director General & Master of the Armouries, Royal Armouries
Nat Edwards joined the Royal Armouries in October 2022 as Director General and 22nd Master of the Armouries. He was previously Chief Executive Officer at Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds.
Prior to that, Nat worked in museums, heritage and visitor attractions for over 30 years – institutions such as the British Museum, Science Museum Group, National Library of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, and Glasgow Museums.
Principal, Carr Manor Community School
Lucie Lakin is known for her work in inclusive education, restorative leadership, and school improvement. She serves as Principal of Carr Manor Community School, an all-through school in Leeds recognised for its community-focused and relational approach to learning.
Prior to this role, she was seconded to Wetherby High School as Headteacher between 2014 and 2020, where she helped lead the school through a successful Ofsted inspection and significant academic improvement.
Lucie has spent more than a decade in senior educational leadership and is widely associated with inclusive practice and strategies that support pupil wellbeing alongside academic achievement.
Alongside her school leadership work, Lucie has contributed to wider community and youth initiatives. She was appointed as a trustee of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation in November 2024, reflecting her commitment to inclusion, young people, and community development through sport and education.
Director of Leeds Health and Care Academy and Strategic Workforce
Kate is the strategic lead for workforce across the Leeds Health and Care Partnership and provides overall leadership and accountability for the Leeds Health and Care Academy.
With a career spanning education, skills and health across local and national organisations, she is passionate about bringing people together to create positive and lasting change. A strong advocate for social justice and health equity, Kate champions collaborative leadership, sustainable innovation and partnership working to improve outcomes for communities.
Entrepreneur & co-founder of Northern Bloc
Dirk Mischendahl is a Leeds entrepreneur who believes organisations succeed when everyone in them has a voice – great businesses are made up of great people.
He started out as a car mechanic before earning a BSc in Psychology at the University of Leeds. He then founded the events agency Logistik and grew it to 120 staff and £20m turnover by building a culture people wanted to belong to. He went on to co-found Northern Bloc, growing it from scratch to £12.5m turnover through the economic upheaval of Covid. More recently he is one of the founding partners of Make It Playful.
He has also led The Tetley Art Gallery, helped turn around Left Bank Leeds, and now works with Armley Pride and Place supporting residents and organisations to gather around a shared vision. He holds an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from Leeds Beckett University.
Head of Responsible Business, Stone King LLP
Felicia Linch is Head of Responsible Business at Stone King, a national, purpose-driven law firm that supports purpose-driven clients across a wide range of sectors, with particular specialisms in charity, education and faith.
A qualified solicitor with an MBA, Felicia is also Director of Kitch International Ltd, a management consultancy that works internationally. Her leadership journey began as a salaried partner in a UK law firm, and she went on to spend more than 20 years leading public sector reform across the Caribbean. She brings 30 years of global leadership experience, holds EMCC Senior Practitioner and Team Coach accreditations, and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD, having begun her career as an organisational design and development specialist. She is the author of The Invisible Leader: Stepping Up, Stepping Out.
Passionate about community empowerment, Felicia is committed to giving ordinary people, including our youth a voice. She served as Governance and Operations Lead for the Grimsby Pride in Place programme, the government-programme which backs local people in overlooked communities over ten years to lead their own regeneration.
Retired Bishop of Leeds & member of the House of Lords
A professional linguist (German, Russian and French at GCHQ) before ordination. Served in parishes in Kendal and Leicestershire. Bishop of Croydon (2003-11), Bradford (2011-14) and Leeds (2014-25). Writer and broadcaster. Currently researching a historical biographical book on Poland.
Strategic Consultant
Jonny Uttley has spent nearly 30 years working in education, including 20 years in senior leadership roles. He has been a Headteacher, Director of Sixth Form and, most recently, spent eight successful years as CEO of a multi-academy trust in Yorkshire.
Throughout his career, Jonny has been driven by a clear and consistent purpose: to make the lives of young people, staff and communities better. As CEO, he built a thriving trust around a simple but powerful philosophy – a great teacher in every classroom, and adults who are supported to be brilliant at their jobs without having to sacrifice their family lives. Jonny is a prominent national voice on inclusive education and leadership culture. He is regularly sought out by policymakers, charities and think tanks, and previously sat on the DfE’s National CEO Advisory Group.
He is a trustee of SHINE and a Visiting Fellow at The Centre for Young Lives, where he leads work on how schools and trusts can sit at the heart of truly inclusive communities. In 2020, Jonny co-authored Putting Staff First: A Blueprint for Revitalising Our Schools with John Tomsett. He continues to write and comment widely for TES and Schools Week and recently wrote A New Settlement for Education, a vision for community and place-based education. Jonny recently founded Jonny Uttley Education, a consultancy with a difference, using a thought-partnership and narrative-based approach, working alongside schools, trusts and organisations to strengthen leadership, culture and inclusion.
His work is deliberately humane and capacity-building, aiming to leave organisations more coherent, confident and self-sustaining – places where both adults and young people truly thrive.
Strategic Consultant
Jonny Uttley has spent nearly 30 years working in education, including 20 years in senior leadership roles. He has been a Headteacher, Director of Sixth Form and, most recently, spent eight successful years as CEO of a multi-academy trust in Yorkshire.
Throughout his career, Jonny has been driven by a clear and consistent purpose: to make the lives of young people, staff and communities better. As CEO, he built a thriving trust around a simple but powerful philosophy – a great teacher in every classroom, and adults who are supported to be brilliant at their jobs without having to sacrifice their family lives. Jonny is a prominent national voice on inclusive education and leadership culture. He is regularly sought out by policymakers, charities and think tanks, and previously sat on the DfE’s National CEO Advisory Group.
He is a trustee of SHINE and a Visiting Fellow at The Centre for Young Lives, where he leads work on how schools and trusts can sit at the heart of truly inclusive communities. In 2020, Jonny co-authored Putting Staff First: A Blueprint for Revitalising Our Schools with John Tomsett. He continues to write and comment widely for TES and Schools Week and recently wrote A New Settlement for Education, a vision for community and place-based education. Jonny recently founded Jonny Uttley Education, a consultancy with a difference, using a thought-partnership and narrative-based approach, working alongside schools, trusts and organisations to strengthen leadership, culture and inclusion.
His work is deliberately humane and capacity-building, aiming to leave organisations more coherent, confident and self-sustaining – places where both adults and young people truly thrive.