A Foundation of Trust

Support from Concious Youth

Conscious Youth can bring many links as a Trust partner, including access to local funding, youth-led projects, invitations for students to attend and perform at local events, peer mentoring opportunities, local youth provision and local volunteering opportunities.

Sophie Simpson – Conscious Youth

I am a mother, wife and business owner. I also now have the title of school governor. I was brought up in the Ashbrow Ward but have travelled many places. I studied LLB Law at Leeds Beckett University and proceeded to work as an Operations Manager in a fast paced sales environment.

I am very passionate about young people, their future, how they develop and decided that moving into running my own business as a youth and community facilitator and event organiser was a natural fit.

After the loss of my daughter to anencephaly in 2016, I wanted to help young people be heard, to learn how to find who they are and what they stand for.  This drove me to step out of my comfort zone and set up my own business, alongside one of my closest friends and thus Conscious Youth was born!

Conscious Youth is a community organisation based in Huddersfield, which is led by and for young people. We seek to redress the balance by developing Young People’s skills, knowledge and aspirations. The work we do focuses on creating & delivering preventative youth work through youth clubs, projects, programmes & events for young people between the ages of 13 – 24.  The young people we work with are from hard to reach, disadvantaged, LGBT & BAME communities. Our core aim is to improve the mental and emotional resilience of young people. Our work is centred on three key themes; community cohesion, active citizenship and personal development.

In my spare time I am a volunteer public speaker for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice and I play netball for a local team.

Serena Johnson

TBC

Support from Cummins Turbo Technologies

Engineering apprenticeships, interview skills, science and engineering trips, Interesting Vehicles event, robotics projects

Michelle Duck – Cummins Turbo Technologies

I have been involved with the NHTS for several years, through my Community Responsibilty role at Cummins Turbo Technologies, which has focussed on raising aspirations through various STEM and curriculum enhancement related programs.  We also provide valuable work experience for pupils, which led to us hiring our first Apprentice from NHTS.  I have worked for Cummins Turbo Technologies for 27 years, in several different functions.  I am currently the Global Marketing Manager – my role also encompasses responsibilty for our global demand forecasting process and I am also the Huddersfield Community Involvement Leader.  Education and raising aspirations is something I am very passionate about, so I am looking forward to working with my fellow Trustees and NHTS staff to leverage best practices for both NHTS and also Cummins Turbo Technologies.

Dr Ivan Kaiser

I am a Trust Governor and initially joined the Pupil Needs committee before moving to the Finance committee which also addresses Health & Safety, something I am passionate about. I am really looking forward to working with the team of highly enthusiastic Governors and NHTS Staff specifically in this area and see great potential to leverage best practises at both NHTS and Cummins Turbo Technologies where I have been employed for the last 19 years.

I have worked in multiple departments during my time at Cummins ranging from product engineering through to operations quality and manufacturing engineering where I am currently Manufacturing Platform Leader for new product introduction. It is an honour to serve with such a dedicated team of Governors and school staff and I’m really proud to be associated with the pupils and staff at NHTS and look forward to many more years of collaboration.

Support from Huddersfield Community First

Huddersfield Community First was officially launched in November 2018. The organisation was founded on a vision to establish an organisation which would cater for the entire community, young and old. An organisation open to all without any prejudices whilst working in partnership with establishments nationally. This will result in a community where all individuals, families and neighbourhoods could prosper. Our focus is on the following 4 areas; Education, Inter Faith, Outreach and Youth.

Mohammed A Saleem – Huddersfield Community First

I am a TV Presenter and Community Worker. I began pursuing my studies in Theology and Religious Education at the age of 13 and studied in various institutes across the UK and South Africa. Since my graduation in 2015, I have worked for many community organisations, as I have always had a passion to help others create a better future for themselves and build a community in which everyone can prosper. I have also served as an Imam for 3 years in a local Mosque.

Over the past few years, I have worked very hard to form a bond and rapport with the youth in the Thornton Lodge and Birkby areas of Huddersfield in order to develop and nurture them for a better future. I have always believed in unity, building bridges, community cohesion and helping others. To fulfil this vision, I reached out and worked with Churches, Hospitals, Foodbanks, Schools, Mosques, Local Government (Kirklees) and many other organisations and individuals. To further this cause, I founded Huddersfield Community First with the help of a few volunteers and friends.

In my spare time I love to travel, see new places and experience different cultures.

Support from Huddersfield Town Foundation

TBC

Siobhan Atkinson – Huddersfield Town Foundation

Siobhan has worked in sport since 1999 and has worked for The Premier League, The Football Foundation, Barclays and the Rugby Football League. Prior to joining the Foundation Siobhan was Director of Projects for the Rugby Football League overseeing strategy, Rugby League 2021 World Cup Legacy programmes and international tours and events for England and Great Britain. In January 2017 she was appointed Director of Leicester City Community Trust on a 9 month consultancy basis and overhauled their strategy and project delivery. She spent 8 years at the Premier League supporting the Clubs on their community strategy development and implementation. During this time she lead on Premier League for Sport, a £10m project which created a legacy around London 2012 Olympics. She created Premier League Girls Football, a £3m initiative that created opportunities for over 25,000 young girls. Siobhan was Event Director for the Premier League Schools Tournaments engaging over 10,000 participants and 1,300 schools annually alongside creating a feature programme on the BBC to showcase the event.

Before joining the Premier League she headed up Barclays Spaces for Sports, a £30million initiative that developed 200 new community sports sites across the UK which included a 6 months secondment to South Africa to project managing the first overseas site for Barclays.

Siobhan has also worked on several major international sporting events including the London 2012 Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Boat Race. She gained a BA Hons in Sport and Recreation Studies from The University of Birmingham.

Support from Local Services 2 You

Opportunities for students to undertake placements and volunteer. Joint projects and initiatives with local children and families.

Support from Syngenta

Staff development opportunities, access to apprenticeships, outdoor learning expertise, sponsorship of events, student mentoring.

Carl Sykes – Syngenta

I started my working life as an apprentice with ICI at the age of 16 and continued my education by studying part-time, firstly at Huddersfield Technical College and subsequently at the University of Huddersfield. I attained a first degree in Business Studies and went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management, whilst also becoming a member of the Chartered Institute Personnel and Development. I have held management positions in Human Resources, Communications and Marketing for ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta.

I enjoy spending time with my family, participating in sport and I have a passion for classic cars.

Tim Yates – Syngenta

I am a Maintenance Professionalism Engineer for the global science company, Syngenta. I joined Syngenta (or ICI as it was at the time) having completed an engineering degree at Loughborough University, and am a chartered engineer.  I have done a number of engineering jobs for Syngenta and its legacy companies, most recently for the global arm of the business whilst based here in Huddersfield.

I am married and have three teenage daughters.  I am a member of the Huddersfield Elim Church, I enjoy watching rugby and I have recently started learning audio engineering and stained glass making.

Support from University of Huddersfield

Visits, trips, and speakers covering many curriculum areas, investigative science, careers advice and guidance.

Michael Ginger – University of Huddersfield

I joined the University of Huddersfield as Head of Department for Biological and Geographical Sciences in 2016 and became Dean of the School of Applied Sciences in 2019.

I studied biochemistry for both my first degree and PhD at the University of Liverpool. Following this training, I worked at the Universities of Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester and Oxford on project topics ranging from deep sea biology to tropical disease biology. I then held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at University of Oxford before moving to an academic post at Lancaster University. I still continue to enjoy teaching and in research glancing at the biology of single-celled ‘animals’ with parasitic or applied relevance. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and the Chartered Management Institute.

Outside of work I am married with two children and on a Saturday afternoon, I’m likely to be found with my son watching the fortunes and misadventures of Preston North End or Morecambe FC.