Our people

Lucy is a qualified psychotherapist, trained in integrative, systemic and family therapy. She is passionate about nurturing the well-being and potential of young people and bringing a new creativity, emotional intelligence and inspiration to the fields of education and youth work.

Ana joined LIFEbeat as intern in 2015 and found the organisation to be the perfect fit for a combination of her personal and professional goals. She graduated from Seville University with a degree in Psychology. She has a passion for music and musical theatre and performs with amateur companies in her spare time.  Ana brings clarity; experience and a wonderful spirit to this work.

Sola is strongly committed to inspiring and motivating young people to develop ‘Creative Confidence’ in fulfilment of their own potential. As an educator and community worker his professional experience includes many years Programme Leading and Management at Haringey Youth and Community Arts charity, plus Learning Mentoring and small group teaching, working with ‘challenging’ young people in in both primary and secondary schools: Sola draws on over a decade of international delivery as a Creative Facilitator, professional storyteller and cultural arts practitioner in his craft: to co-create impactful personal growth group experiences for the young people and adults that LIFEbeat serves.

Kitty studied English at Edinburgh University and began her career as an arts journalist. In 2011 she became the Assistant Editor at IdeasTap.com, a youth-focused organisation helping young people to find pathways into the creative industries. She helped IdeasTap to form working partnerships with The Old Vic New Voices Program and The National Youth Theatre. Having fallen in love with youth-focused work, Kitty took the role of Head of Digital at Partners for Youth Empowerment, where she worked for 3 years helping to create an online network for partners around the world. At LIFEbeat Kitty takes the role of Partnerships and Outreach Manager, helping to grow the organisation’s connection with local and national youth-serving organisations.

Mark is Chief Investment Officer, EMEA and Global Head of Equities at Columbia Threadneedle, where he is responsible for the investment performance for all EMEA investment strategies and for equities globally. He chairs the company’s Asset Management Committee and is a statutory Board member. Prior to this, Mark was Head of Equities at Legal and General Investment Management and held senior roles at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management. He gained a degree in Economics and Philosophy from Keele University and is an associate of the Institute of Investment Management and Research.

He became Chairman of LIFEbeat in 2016 and is passionate about creating positive opportunities for young people.

Hugo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Longwater Partners which is focused on headhunting for senior City and boardroom roles. He attended his first LIFEbeat camp as a staff volunteer in 2011 and became a Trustee the following year. Hugo is the Founder and former Chairman of Knightsbridge School Education Foundation.

Jemma joined as a trustee in October 2018 after attending a LIFEbeat Summer Camp and witnessing first-hand the transformational power of the LIFEbeat programme on young people’s lives. Jemma is a communications professional with over twenty five years’ experience in all areas of communications, most recently at a senior level in financial services, but also in the optical and forestry sectors. Jemma is looking forward to utilising her expertise to ensure that the LIFEbeat community keeps growing and able to benefit many more young people.

Charles completed his military career as Defence Attaché in the British Embassy in Washington DC and Head of the British Defence Staff throughout the USA. Since retiring, he has worked as chairman of three companies and has combined a commitment to a variety of voluntary organisations with his role as a strategic adviser on political risk to a number of UK and US companies.

A corporate associate at the US law firm Brown Rudnick LLP, Peter has worked in Poland, Russia, China and the US, bringing to the Board diversity and strong multicultural experience. Away from Law, Peter has strong background in Musical theatre having performed on the West End, at the Royal Albert Hall and toured across North America. He is excited to push LIFEbeat to grow to its next level.

With more than 40 years experience in the financial world and a wealth of experience in offering financial advice to a broad range of clients, from high net worth individuals to small businesses, Tina brings her invaluable insight to the board. Tina joined the LIFEbeat Board of Trustees as Treasurer in January 2018, her financial background and passion for LIFEbeat’s work will be crucial for the growth of the organisation in the next phase.

Mark Cheng is founder of Chelwood Capital, an advisory firm which works with social enterprises seeking to access the capital markets. He is also the UK Director of Ashoka, the global network of leading social entrepreneurs. Mark is also a founding member of the Clearly Social Angels network in the UK, which provides early stage seed capital to social businesses.

My name is Gurbinder but I am also known as ‘Happy’. I live in West London and I went to LIFEbeat a few years ago. I am really hoping to go back to the camps again when I get a chance. I currently work at London Heathrow.

I’m Gbolahan and I’m from south London. I have been to 2 camps, which were full of positivity. At the end of the residentials, I became a better version of myself – someone who sees more to life and does not take things for granted. For me, LIFEbeat is a place where I am enlightened about what I’m capable of and can be out of my comfort zone without feeling judged, whilst at the same time meeting new people and having fun.

I am a portrait and lifestyle photographer and cultural producer. I have attended 4 camps since 2013.  LIFEbeat has proven to me time and time again that it has the tools to connect people no matter what their age or background, encourage people to live in their creative power and to create a foundation for how to be a thriving community that supports the next generation.  This is why I keep coming back, and I take what I learn at LIFEbeat into many aspects of my working and personal life.

2018 marks my fifth and final year attending LIFEbeat camps as a young person before I head to university in the autumn to study English Literature (and hopefully get involved as a peer mentor!). Being a part of this community has given me both a second family and encouraged me to pursue my interest in writing and think creatively in ways that I might not have otherwise considered. It’s a wonderful, supportive community of people who have shaped who I am today, and that’s why I’m so happy to be involved in the Council process!

Choosing to go to LIFEbeat offered a kind of fulfilment I haven’t got from anything else before. I have found a family I can rely on and truly be myself with, and have since undertaken creative risks in all aspect of my life – especially around my two strongest passions which are horse-riding and slam poetry. LIFEbeat has allowed me to step into my power and use it for the better good, and find gratitude in everything I do.

LIFEbeat has helped shape me for the better and allowed me to make friendships I never thought I’d have. Camp is like a safe haven that allows you to be who you are and can also guide you if you need help. Before LIFEbeat I was a shy depressed teen who didn’t know what I wanted in life, now I’m much happier after seeking help and currently studying Health and Social Care. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without LIFEbeat.

My journey with LIFEbeat taught me how to be a leader and a role model for young people. I learnt how to lead my own workshops and how to plan and deliver a creative community project. The best thing about LIFEbeat is forever being connected, even after camps the support continues.

I want to be part of a world where people care. LIFEbeat has played an instrumental part in creating the person I am today. I have such a great sense of family and community from LIFEbeat. I know who I am and what I want from life a lot better and I also feel a little less lost since receiving the love and support that LIFEbeat oozes. I’ve learnt so much and grown so much as a person through my time at LIFEbeat.