AMBITIOUS ABOUT AUTISM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of External Affairs
Andy has spent his working life in education and training. He completed his teacher training at Manchester University and began his career as a secondary school English teacher, before moving into further education by joining Manchester College. His first senior management role was as Director of Widening Participation at Oldham College and he went on to be Vice Principal of Blackpool and the Fylde College.
He has since served as Principal of four colleges: Hertford Regional College, the College of Haringey Enfield and North East London (CONEL), City and Islington College, and most recently City of Bristol College.
As Principal of CONEL he was involved in the partnership which established the first Ambitious College campus. He is a UCAS Trustee and Chair of the Board of UCAS Media Limited. Andy has a degree in English from Cambridge University, and a PGCE and Diploma in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester.
Cath's background is in engineering and technical roles, and they have also worked on gender equality projects for women in science, engineering and technology.
Cath is an experienced autism and employment consultant and trainer and has worked with employers and employees nationwide as a specialist optimising autistic people's strengths at work since 2014. Cath also speaks at conferences and events, and regularly contributes to articles and interviews to promote the recruitment, retention and progression of autistic people in the workplace. Cath was diagnosed autistic in 2015 and has an adult autistic child.
In their spare time, Cath enjoys advocacy and building peer support networks for adults to bring together autistic autism professionals, parents, jobseekers, creatives, artists and other professionals to address some of the shortfalls in the support available around diagnosis, accessing healthcare and services and generally living well as an autistic person. Cath is a passionate about her work, bringing communities together and bridging the gaps between parents, autistic adults and support professionals.
Charlotte is a Level 6 qualified careers advisor with over 20 years' experience and is a Registered Careers Development Profession (RCDP). She has worked in secondary schools, sixth forms, further education colleges, and university providing all age guidance.
Charlotte is part of the Autism Exchange team; her role is to enable autistic young people to apply for our work experience placements. This can include developing job-hunting skills, understanding disclosure and workplace adjustments, exploring career direction and different options.
Charlotte is an author, journalist and mother of three sons, two of whom have autism.
Her 2004 book George and Sam was published to huge acclaim and was immediately regarded as one of the key books on autism. It chronicles what daily life is like for a family with autism.
After a varied career spanning 15 years within further education, Clare moved to Ambitious about Autism and has developed a range of programmes and services including Treehouse School sixth form careers development; Learner and Family Engagement; Youth Participation; Autism Exchange and now oversees the development and implementation of the national Employ Autism programme.
Clare is an experienced leader, speaker and trainer as well as a passionate advocate for diversity, equality and inclusion everywhere.
Corinne has her Level 4 Information Advice and Guidance qualification. She is working towards completing her Level 6 qualified careers advisor qualification. She has 20 years' experience working with autistic children and young people in various settings. Corinne. She is part of the Autism Exchange team, and her role is to enable autistic young people apply for work experience placements, identifying adjustments and prepare for the workplace. Find out more about Corrine by reading her one page profile.
Job Titles:
- Director of External Affairs and Development
- Director of Fundraising and Development
Danae joined Ambitious about Autism in September 2017 as Director of Fundraising. She is responsible for delivering our ambitious strategy, leading the fundraising team and helping to develop our highest level partnerships to achieve even greater impact and guide our fundraising to new heights.
David has 16 years' experience working with autistic young people in a variety of education, training, employment and IAG settings. He is part of the Employ Autism team, and his role is to support and enable autistic young people to apply for work experience placements, identify adjustments and prepare them for the workplace. Find out more about David by reading his one page profile.
David is the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas.
He and his wife Keiko Yoshida translated the books The Reason I Jump and Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 - written by Japanese author Naoki Higashida who is autistic and non-verbal.
He said: "As a parent to a son with autism, it is heartening almost beyond words to see the brilliant work the charity Ambitious about Autism is doing to make education possible for children and young people with autism."
Elizabeth is often the first point of contact to young people and employers and is always professional and reassuring in providing the information that you need.
Elizabeth is a recently retired Ernst and Young (EY) partner. She graduated in Mathematics before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. She moved overseas after qualifying, returning to the UK in 1986 when she joined EY. In her career with EY she was an audit partner on a wide range of FTSE listed clients. She has lead Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), bid/defence work and large fraud investigations. She also held various management roles most recently being responsible for Risk Management in the assurance practice for the UK and Ireland. She is a Governor of Cranleigh School where she is a member of the Finance, Strategic Planning and Risk Management committees.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager
- Programme Manager for Employ Autism
Felicity is a Programme Manager for Employ Autism. She manages a team to deliver information advice and guidance to autistic young people applying for a work experience placement. Felicity provides information and advice to employers to design their work experience placements, adapt their recruitment process and support employers throughout internships.
Felicity has wide-ranging expertise in project management, customer service and delivering presentations and training.
Job Titles:
- Training and Consultancy Officer
Gil has worked for many years in HR and has got a special interest and experience in learning, training, and skills development.
He successfully designed and delivered the Face-to-Face Befriending training service at Scope UK, aimed at parents of disabled children in five East London boroughs who accessed the service for emotional support in coming to terms with their child's diagnosis. He also implemented Positive Action programmes at some London local authorities, bringing a diversity of approach in the recruitment and promotion of talents in some London local authorities as well as in the Fire Service.
Job Titles:
- Business Engagement Officer
After spending the last 15 years in retail management, Harry made the decision to join Ambitious about Autism, working within the Employ Autism team, Utilising all of his experience to connect and build relationships with employers that share his passion and drive to get Autistic people into work.
Harry has a wide range of expertise in Operational management, People & Project management, and Recruitment. And with a history of living and working with Autistic people, Harry knows firsthand how much of a positive impact Autistic people can have in both your private and professional life.
Hayley is a qualified teacher and therapist who has been involved in teaching for over 20 years. She is a long-standing supporter of our work and has lobbied government extensively for the rights of children with autism.
Hayley said: "I'm ambitious about autism because having worked with the amazing children at TreeHouse School, I know how much more they, and the thousands of children like them, deserve."
Helen currently works in the Covid Task Force in the Cabinet Office and before that worked in a range of crisis management roles and on EU Exit. Helen trained as a musician and an academic before joining the Civil Service so sings in the BBC Symphony Chorus and plays in the Whitehall Orchestra.
Helen was diagnosed autistic about four years ago and has become an active campaigner in the public sector for more understanding of autism and acceptance of autistic colleagues.
Jack is an autistic advocate and highly experienced with roles across the charity and health sectors for over a decade. From 2015-19, he was a member of Ambitious about Autism's Youth Council. He is a co-author of the award winning 'Know Your Normal' research co-produced with UCL in 2017. From 2018, Jack was appointed as Chairperson of Royal Mencap Society's Voices Council, which is made up of people with lived experiences of learning disability to inform and support the governance of the organisation.
Within healthcare, Jack sits as an advisor for NHS England on issues relating to learning disability and autism, as well as being a member of a public engagement group for NHS Dorset CCG. For four years, until this year, Jack was an independent advisory group member.
Jack served on the Ambitious about Autism Youth Council from 2015-19 and during that time he became a Vice-Chair of the group. Whilst he was on Youth Council, he became a co-author of the ‘Know Your Normal' research, which was co-produced by the Centre for Research in Autism and Education and has won multiple awards since then.
Currently, he serves as the Chair of the Voices Council at Royal Mencap Society and advises NHS England on their Learning Disability and/or Autism advisory group.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager ( on Maternity Leave until Summer 2023 )
Jade has worked for more than 10 years with business and education to help prepare young people for their future careers. Building on this experience Jade is now working across the country to establish and deliver the Employ Autism programme, bringing together employers and partners from education, local authorities and support agencies to ensure autistic people can access paid work experience.
From campaigning to podcasting, Jaz has long been a part of the Ambitious about Autism family. Since their first involvement in 2015, Jaz has been involved with many of Ambitious' youth led projects, such as Autism in the Workplace through to Know Your Normal. Recently involved as a consultant for the award-winning film 'The Reason I Jump', they are deeply invested into media representation of autism, and accessibility within media facilities.
Joanna was part of the initial proposer group for The Rise School. Joanna is a corporate lawyer and is also a Trustee of The Foundation Years Trust. She is also involved in various outreach projects in East London.
Job Titles:
- Account Manager
- Account Manager for Our Employ Autism
Joe is the Account Manager for our Employ Autism programme working with corporate partners to transform their businesses for autistic people.
Joe has many years of experience working on large scale and multi-faceted corporate partnerships in health and homelessness charities.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Chief Executive and Accounting Officer
- Chief Executive of Ambitious
Jolanta is Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, including the School Trust. She Chairs two sector infrastructure bodies - Autism Education Trust and the Autism Alliance. She is a Trustee of UK Youth. Her career includes Director roles in national voluntary sector organisations, including I CAN and the Governance Hub (a national body set up to support the governance of the third sector).
The revered journalist and Channel 4 News presenter is a long-standing supporter of our work.
He said: "Autism touches so many lives - those with it, and those whose families who care for them. Ambitious about Autism is precisely what its name says, and is relentlessly ambitious for these young people - working tirelessly to ensure they have an equal chance at achieving a meaningful education, access to employment and a brighter future. That's precisely why I am proud to support them."
Jules is an actor best known for playing autistic character, Jason Haynes, in the BBC medical drama, Holby City.
Jules is autistic and was a member of Ambitious about Autism's Youth Council where he helped raise awareness of autism and advocate for his peers at a national level.
Job Titles:
- Author, Screenwriter and Journalist
Kathy is a best-selling author, screenwriter and journalist. Her novels have been translated into seventeen languages around the world and many have been adapted for stage and screen.
Kathy is also a tireless autism advocate and supporter of our work. Her son Jules was a member of Ambitious about Autism's Youth Council.
Boyzone singer and actor Keith Duffy has made a huge contribution to increasing autism awareness in both the UK and Ireland.
Keith's daughter Mia has autism and over the years he has used his platform to tirelessly fundraise for a host of autism charities, including Ambitious about Autism.
Keith supported the launch of our Talk About Autism forum - the UK's largest online autism community - and he has also paid a visit to our TreeHouse School.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant
- Trustee
- Expert in Financial Regulation at the Bank of England
Kumar is a subject matter expert in financial regulation at the Bank of England (Prudential Regulation Authority) which is responsible for the safety and soundness of the UK financial system. Kumar is focused on challenging industry to ensure good risk management, satisfactory controls and procedures and strong governance. Kumar previously worked in industry to establish these procedures and controls.
Kumar is a chartered accountant and holds a number of professional banking qualifications.
Kumar has an autistic son who is currently transitioning from school to adulthood.
Laura has 18 years of experience in education. She is the Team Around the School Manager for Surrey County Council. The Team works closely with schools, Council services, Health services, the Mental Health Alliance and the voluntary sector to ensure that the additional needs of children and young people are met at the earliest opportunity.
Laura has an autistic son who attends The Rise School. She has direct experience of the barriers children, young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families encounter with accessing services. She is passionate and motivated to bring about positive change. As a parent, she is invested in removing barriers, promoting inclusion and being a champion for children and young people.
Lesley has many years' experience at very senior levels in the public sector, both in the UK and overseas. She has been a member of the Department for Education Board, initially as Director General with responsibility for young people, working with the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, police and Youth Justice Board to deliver positive outcomes for young people. She then moved on to lead the change programme that among other things, saw the successful delivery of the Academies programme. Lesley's career before then included several years working for the Employment Service, an arms-length body of the Department for Employment. She spent time working in New Zealand as the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Education.
Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE is the President of Ambitious about Autism. He was Chair of the Board of Trustees for seven years, at a time when the charity's focus was on securing the resources to build a permanent national centre to house both Ambitious about Autism and TreeHouse School. Lord Clement-Jones is a Consultant of the global law firm DLA Piper where former positions held include London Managing Partner (2011-16), Head of UK Government Affairs, Chairman of its China and Middle East Desks, International Business Relations Partner, and Co-Chairman of Global Government Relations. Tim was Chairman of the Association of Liberal Lawyers 1982-86 and then of the Liberal Party from 1986-88 and played a major part in the merger with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats. He was made CBE for political services in 1988.
Lord Tim is supported by eleven Vice Presidents, most of whom are founding parents of TreeHouse School who set out on a mission in 1997 to transform education provision for all children with autism. Each of them played a critical role in establishing, developing, and growing TreeHouse School and we are very proud to have them as Vice Presidents of Ambitious about Autism. They are:
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Planning and Company Secretary
Louise joined Ambitious about Autism in early 2022 and is responsible for the finance, planning and governance functions at the charity. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having qualified as a chartered accountant with audit firm BDO LLP. She has spent the last 13 years working in the voluntary sector, most recently as Director of Finance and Resources at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. She is a firm believer in business partnering and empowering colleagues to grow and develop within their roles.
Louise has been an active volunteer throughout her professional life working with children's charities, disability charities and charities with a focus on supporting refugees and homeless people. Prior to a relocation she was a Trustee at Croydon Mencap. She is currently a Beaver Scout Leader, and is passionate about providing equitable access to scouting for all young people.
Lucy has over 20 years' experience working in schools and educational management. This includes working in special education and with children from 4 to 18. Lucy has worked for local authorities and within an academy chain. Currently, she is employed by LB Enfield as the Head of School and Early Years Improvement. Lucy is also a qualified Ofsted inspector and has co-authored the LDA book, Assemblies to Teach the Golden Rules.
Job Titles:
- Actor / Actor Luke Treadaway Won a Best Actor Olivier Award for His Portrayal of Christopher Boone in the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Time
During preparation for the role he visited TreeHouse School and spent time with one of our Youth Patrons. Luke also arranged a theatrical fundraising event in the West End to raise money for our work.
Maria is a PhD student at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), at UCL Institute for Education. Maria's PhD research project is tracking and evaluating the Employ Autism programme to improve knowledge and practice about how to support autistic people into employment and provide evidence to support a final framework of the Employ Autism programme. Maria has a range of experience in developmental psychology and autism research and has worked on projects about Education Health and Care plans, transitioning to secondary school and developing a Research Passport to support inclusive, autism-friendly research. Find out more about Maria by reading her one page profile.
Matthew Davis and Eliza Mischon are parents and passionate autism campaigners. Their son Issac was diagnosed with autism aged 3 and they have another daughter, Tabatha. Matthew has written beautifully about his and Eliza's experience as parents watching Issac grow up in his blog called My Son Isaac.
Matthew co-owns creative agency Red Brick Road and has worked with us to increase and promote neurodiversity within the company. He and Eliza support our work in many different ways, from supporting events to fundraising on our behalf, and beyond.
Job Titles:
- Administrator
- Administrator for the Employ Autism
Melissa is an Administrator for the Employ Autism programme; she is also often the first point of contact for young people looking to apply for opportunities through the Employ Autism programme.
Through her previous job and volunteer roles Melissa has experience supporting autistic children, young people, and adults in various aspects of their lives. She is committed to providing professional and personalised support and customer service.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Solicitor and Senior Legal Counsel at TalkTalk
Michael is a solicitor and Senior Legal Counsel at TalkTalk. Before this Michael spent over 10 years in national and international private practice advising businesses on a wide variety of matters, giving him a wide breadth of experience to draw upon. Michael was Vice-Chair of his local primary school board of governors. As a parent of a child of Autism Michael understands the challenges that still exist in seeing that all children have access to the opportunities they need to learn and thrive. When he has a free moment he is either lost in a good book or out trail running (slowly).
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of Ambitious about Autism Board and Chair of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust Board
Neil had a highly successful 40 year career in the Leisure and Hospitality industry. Since 2014 he has followed a portfolio career focussed on his keen interest in promoting Social Justice through equal opportunities in Health, Housing and Education. He is Chair of Clarion Housing, the UK's largest Housing Association, Chair at Nottingham Trent University and Chair of the Finance Committee at healthcare charity Sue Ryder, in addition to his work with Ambitious about Autism.
Distinguished stage and screen actor Niamh Cusack starred as Siobhan in the Olivier Award-winning production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Alongside her co-star Luke Treadaway, she visited TreeHouse School while researching her role and met with staff and autistic young people.
Nicky Clark is a prominent campaigner and champion of disabled people's rights. In 2008, Nicky launched a campaign called Don't Play Me Pay Me, a site that promotes authentic portrayals of disability on the large and small screen. Nicky also campaigns on behalf of carers and against disability hate speech.
Nicky is autistic (receiving her formal diagnosis in 2015) and has two autistic daughters. Nicky's daughter Lizzy was the first autistic actor to play a character in a major TV drama with autism (Poppy in the BBC's Dustbin Baby). Last year Lizzy also appeared as an autistic character in the well-received BBC Radio 4 drama, Indigo Children. Nicky's youngest daughter Emily has a learning disability and epilepsy.
Job Titles:
- Account Manager - Employ Autism
Nicole started her career in education and respite support for disabled children before moving into the charity sector. She led on strategic development at the charity KEEN London, supporting short breaks activities for disabled children and young people. An experienced facilitator, she has delivered training to hundreds of volunteers on autism understanding and acceptance. Outside of her professional work she volunteers with refugee projects and feels passionately about creating a fairer, more equal society for all.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive
- Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer for the Trust
Paul is the Deputy Chief Executive at Ambitious about Autism. Prior to this, he was the Chief Executive of Action on Hearing Loss from 2012-2018. He is the Honorary Treasurer of NCVO and a past Chair of the Disability Charities Consortium and of Charity Finance Group. He is a passionate advocate for volunteering and social change.
Sam is a visual artist who works with illustration, book works, film, photography and sound. She is a graduate of Wimbledon School of Art. Sam was the Co-Chair of the Ambitious about Autism Youth Council, and Autism Education Trust's Youth Advisory Panel from 2015-2018. In 2018, she co-presented the Channel 4 documentary 'Are You Autistic?'
Sam is currently a member of the Neurocultures Collective, collaborating with Steven Eastwood and research project Autism through Cinema, on the co-creation of a feature length film and multiscreen artwork.
Sam is an Ironman triathlete who has competed all over the world. He is also autistic and describes autism as his ‘super power' because it gives him his incredible focus and drive to finish everything he starts. Sam, who is from London, is also a brown belt in Judo. He completed a BSc degree in Sports Science at St Mary's University. Sam says: "I want to become the first professional Ironman triathlete with autism. If I can achieve these goals it will hopefully change the world's perception about people with autism."
Sophie's background is in research and education, with a particular interest in increasing pupil and staff well-being in schools. Sophie has worked closely with autistic pupils in primary schools, helping to individualise education plans to cater to each learner, using her own experience as an autistic person to guide her practice. Prior to becoming a teacher, Sophie worked in research and analysis in both the academic and private sector.
Sophie is responsible for the delivery of training products and consultancy services at Ambitious about Autism. She is passionate about raising the understanding of autism, particularly in education and work settings, in order to promote the strengths of autistic people of all ages. Sophie's experience as a teacher of both neurodiverse and neurotypical children drives her to create a more inclusive world for all.
Sophie spends her spare time volunteering as a rock-climbing coach to young people, walking in the mountains, visiting miniature and model railways or building her own. She also enjoys meditating, cooking and reading.
Viv joined Ambitious about Autism in May 2014. She has spent the last 22 years working in the further education (FE) sector in various guises - volunteer, lecturer, coordinator, manager and Head of Department. Her experience is across the sector - FE colleges, Local Authorities, Universities and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Viv is motivated by social justice, social inclusion and equality and always works from this value base.
Zoe joined Ambitious about Autism in September 2008 and is currently responsible for leading and managing the People team to ensure we can attract, engage, train, develop and retain talent across the organisation. She has worked across the private, public and third sectors in a range of leadership roles having started her career in education. She has recently retired as a Trustee for SOAS, University of London and as a Trustee from the Arts Pension Fund. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.