THE ACCESS PROJECT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Sales and Partnerships Senior Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Corporate Partnerships Manager
After graduating from the University of Warwick in 1994, with a Mathematics degree, Andrew became a Mathematics teacher in inner city Birmingham. He worked in a number of different schools, all in challenging circumstances, as his passion is making a difference for the children who need good teachers. Andrew became Principal of Ormiston Forge Academy in 2012. He then went on to lead a number of academies as an Executive Principal and then worked regionally for Ormiston Academies Trust, leading and supporting Principals. Andrew now works for Brooke Weston Trust as Education Director and works with a number of schools facing challenging circumstances. Andrew was the first in his family to go to university and signed up to The Access Project to give the children at his academy the same opportunities he was afforded.
After first studying international politics at the University of Southampton, Anna moved into education practice and research, growing a deep passion for and commitment to improving social mobility and reducing barriers for young people to access quality education. Anna has spent many years living and working overseas and in global roles in education and leadership with the British Council, before joining Education Development Trust as an executive director. Anna is also a trustee in a global education charity and volunteers with a local community group.
Ashwin spent his early career as a quantitative strategist at Goldman Sachs in New York followed by a decade as a commodity derivatives trader at UniCredit Bank in London. He is now COO of a fund distribution company. In his work with company boards his focus is governance, finance, risk management and growth strategy. Ashwin is passionate about addressing sources of inequality in society. He mentors social impact entrepreneurs through his associations with the LSE and Geovation impact accelerators. He is also a trustee of The Economist Educational Foundation. He holds a BSc in Maths from The University of Chicago and MScs in Maths and Financial Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Tuition and Coaching Manager
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- University Events and Student Enrichment Manager ( Maternity Cover )
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- Programme Manager, London
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- Senior University Partnerships Manager
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- University Access Officer / Ashfield School
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- Senior University Access Officer / City Academy
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- Transformation and Change Specialist
Devyani Gupta is a Transformation and Change specialist with 17+ years of consulting experience. She specialises in strategy, operating model change and performance improvement for the Transport sector. Devyani has worked at North Highland, PWC, EY and at the Department of Health. Devyani has an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- University Access Officer
- University Events and Student Enrichment Manager
Emily is Director of Delivery at The Access Project. Previously she worked on setting up National Citizenship Service programmes for Twin Group and The Challenge. She has a degree in English Literature and Politics from the University of Liverpool.
Job Titles:
- University Access Officer / Darwen Vale High School
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- University Access Officer / Aldersley High School
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- University Access Officer / Central Foundation Boys School
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- Senior Enrichment Officer
Fatos Nacakgedigi is a Senior Manager at Adobe, leading Business Operations for the VP of Adobe's Global Education Sales and the UK Express organisations. As one of the first students on The Access Project upon its founding in 2008, Fatos has maintained a profound connection with the charity throughout its evolution over the past 17 years. After university, she began volunteering as a tutor in 2017, before joining the Trustee Board in 2018.
Education and Social Mobility stand as deeply personal causes for Fatos, shaped by her own journey and experiences. She remains passionately dedicated to advancing The Access Project's mission and enthusiastically welcomes conversations about the transformative impact The Access Proejct has had on her professional trajectory and personal development.
Job Titles:
- Sales and Partnerships Administrator
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- Programme Manager, London
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- University Access Officer / the Workington Academy
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- Head of Safeguarding and Compliance
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- Chairman of the Board of Trustees
John is the Chair of the Board of Trustees. John is a retired partner and COO of Independent Franchise Partners, LLP, and a non-executive director of a number of companies. With a background in asset management and banking in Europe, South East Asia, Australia, and the USA, John has seen the difference that access to quality education makes to everyone. He is passionate about improving the quality of education generally and ensuring that all students have access to the best possible resources and curriculum. He holds a BSc in Finance and a BA in German, both from the University of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- University Access Officer
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- Design and Quality Manager
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- Senior Finance and Operations Coordinator
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- Senior University Access Officer / La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls School
Job Titles:
- Head of Tuition and Coaching Delivery
Miguel has been working on inequalities in education in the UK and abroad. He has helped set up several philanthropic and government-funded projects to address barriers faced by students from under-resourced backgrounds. Having started his career as a member of the faculty at Nova School of Business and Economics in his native Lisbon, he later became experienced in public policy and regularly writes and speaks at various media outlets. He is also a Governor of a primary school in central London. At The Access Project, Miguel leads our Fundraising, Sales, Partnerships, Communications, and Policy & Research functions.
Mike is a Director at Public First, a consultancy specialising in public policy, where he carries out research for a range of educational organisations. He has worked on education policy for over a decade, including 2 years as Head of Education in the 10 Downing Street Policy Unit and as Director of Education at New Schools Network, overseeing support for free school founders across the country. Mike started his career as a history teacher in inner city Birmingham, where he trained via the Teach First programme. Having volunteered as a tutor with the Access Project in the past, he is now excited to contribute to the charity's mission and make a difference for the young people it supports. Mike holds Masters degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick.
Job Titles:
- Tuition and Coaching Coordinator
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- Senior University Access Officer / Highbury Grove School
After completing a degree in maths and artificial intelligence at Leeds, Neil started his career in education as a maths teacher in the centre of Leeds. In 2010, Neil joined the Future Leaders Programme and joined Dixons Academies Trust. His first role was as an assistant principal at Dixons Allerton Academy, an academy serving over 1900 students in Bradford. Whilst at Dixons Allerton, Neil transformed the KS5 provision and the outcomes for students placed them in the top five in Bradford. Neil was then promoted to deputy principal with a responsibility for curriculum and teaching. In 2015, Neil was appointed as principal of Dixons Kings Academy. Within two years, the school moved from an Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement to Outstanding and the progress measure placed the school in the top 50 nationally. Neil's final role in Dixons was as deputy chief executive, working across all 17 academies and leading the executive directors for education across all of our regions. Now, Neil is CEO at Mercia Learning Trust, a seven-school trust in Sheffield.
Job Titles:
- Tuition and Coaching Coordinator
The Strategy, Finance and Operations team partners with colleagues across the organisation to develop solutions supporting delivery of our programme and scaling of operations.
Job Titles:
- Senior University Access Officer / City of London Academy Islington
Job Titles:
- University Access Officer
Patrick has over 30 years experience in Financial Services and Consulting gained from a number of organisations. Areas of subject matter expertise include risk management, operations leadership and business transformation. Patrick has tutored Maths and Science subjects with The Access Project for many years. He was in the first generation of his family to go to university and so has first-hand experience of how education can create lifelong opportunities. He holds an MEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from Bayes Business School.
Job Titles:
- Head of School Partnerships and Enrichment
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- Small Business and Technology Tax Consultant
- Specialist
Peter Denison-Pender is a specialist small business and technology tax consultant, working with small business clients on operating and tax issues. He has more than 20 years of operating and investing experience in early stage technology companies. Peter is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and read Economics and Economic History at the University of Exeter. He puts these financial skills to work as Treasurer for the Access Project. He was a trustee of the Royal Albert Hall from 2004-2015, where he chaired the commercial trading operations, and was a secondary school governor in Brent from 2000-2007.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director, Programme Delivery
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- Senior University Access Officer / Hornsey School for Girls, Bishop Douglass Catholic School
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- Head of Strategic Projects
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- Programme Manager, Midlands and North
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- Senior University Access Officer / Oasis Academy
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- Tuition and Coaching Coordinator
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- Head of Programme Development and Quality
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- Senior Online Delivery Officer
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- Partner at Bain & Company
- Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
Subash is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. Subash Viroomal is a Partner at Bain & Company, a global Strategy Consultancy. He is a leader in the firm's UK Public Sector & Government and Advanced Manufacturing & Services practices with 10+ years of consulting experience. He focuses on major programme delivery, strategy and performance improvement, helping public and private sector organisations across EMEA achieve their economic and social goals. Subash is part of Bain's social impact team focusing on sustainability & education, where he supports corporates, non-governmental organisations and start-ups seeking to improve futures for underserved populations. Before joining Bain, Subash worked at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Social Market Foundation think tank in Westminster. He holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- Account Director at M & C Saatchi World Services
Tahmid Chowdhury is an Account Director at M&C Saatchi World Services, a specialist communications agency working to tackle some of society's most complex issues around the world. His responsibilities include finance, client relations, and project management. He is also the Co-Founder of Here for Good; a charity providing free immigration services to European citizens and their families living in the UK caught up in the aftermath of Brexit. The charity has supported tens of thousands of individuals and developed partnerships with the EU Delegation, UN Migration Agency, and Mayor of London; with Tahmid's leadership recognised through his inclusion on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2020. Tahmid read Law with English on a full scholarship at New College of the Humanities in London, where he was valedictorian in 2016. As an alum of The Access Project, he knows firsthand the impact the charity can have on young people's lives. Tahmid is also a Trustee of TASO and a Judge at the Charity Times Awards, which he balances with his one true love Arsenal FC.
Job Titles:
- Head of Technology and Insights
Wikus has a passion for equal opportunities in education, born from seeing firsthand how good quality education can transform not only individuals, but also communities. As a finance professional, he focuses on delivery of strategic objectives and operational excellence. Wikus has gained his skills in commercial and charity sectors, is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant and studied degrees in Accountancy and Theology at the University of the Free State.