Meet the team

Karen is a (Scottish!) Chartered Accountant who worked as a tax adviser for almost 40 years before moving in to a second (and more gentle) phase of working life, working with charities as a trustee and volunteer and supporting businesses and individuals as a coach/mentor and a non-executive director. During her time working in tax Karen held various leadership roles, including running the tax business nationally for Grant Thornton UK LLP and being a member of the Executive Team running the UK business. Karen trained as a coach and one of her favourite parts of her job was working to support team members in their career progression – something she brings with her into this second phase of her working life. She has strong governance experience having served on governance boards and as a school governor for 6 years. Social equity and social mobility have always been important to her. She was the SLT sponsor for social mobility for 4 years and has worked with charities in that area for many years. Coming from a working class family in Glasgow she recognises how the support and encouragement of others helped shape her life opportunities.

Sir John Timpson is chairman and owner of Timpson, an advocate for upside-down management and children in care, a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and a prolific author. He was awarded a CBE in 2017 for his services to business and fostering and is WeMindTheGap’s first patron.

In July 2022 Ali took on the role of CEO, bringing 29yrs Public Sector, Community Sector, and Charity Trustee experience. Ali is an accomplished transformation and improvement leader across public and community sector organisations, with Board level experience in systems leadership, organisational and social system change. With a career history featuring the Police Service, NHS and Local Authority Transformational change and Directorships of her own businesses Ali is passionate about population health approaches, lived experience and intelligence led re-design of services which meet the needs of communities, supporting services and organisations to re-imagine ways of working. Ali also manages to be a supporter of the Scouting community, enjoys amateur theatre and is a choir member with Handbags of Harmonies.

Rachel is an entrepreneur, community builder, and long-time champion of social mobility. She co-founded Moneypenny in 2000, growing it from a simple idea into an international business known for it’s people-first culture. In 2014. Rachel founded WeMindTheGap to help under-served young people move from being prisoners of circumstance to pilots of their own lives. Her work now spans philanthropy, place-based change, and heart-led leadership, including WhatWeAllAgreeOn and her role as Chair of the Wrexham City Board. Across everything, she’s driven by a simple belief: generosity, love, and opportunity change lives. Rachel says “Building Moneypenny showed me how culture and kindness can transform not only businesses but lives. That same belief led me to create WeMindTheGap, starting from a simple question: what becomes possible when young people are met not with judgment, but with love, structure, and belief?”

Karen brings with her a valuable blend of commercial and charitable endeavours. Having trained as a Chartered Accountant with PwC, she moved into Corporate Finance with Ernst & Young and has since played a key part in the leadership teams of several ambitious and growing businesses. In addition, Karen is a mentor for UnLtd supporting social entrepreneurs, sits on the Board of a not-for-profit contemporary craft company, GNE and has been a school Governor for a number of years.

Kirsty is the Executive Partner for DWF's largest office in Manchester and is additionally the gender lead on DWF's Diversity Committee. As an employment practitioner, she is highly recommended for her client-focused approach to the delivery of legal services and a coordinated legal solution. Kirsty has been recognised by legal directories as a leader in her field for over 15 years and is in the Hall of Fame.

Brittany Brown is the Founder of Consory, where she works alongside early-stage founders and CEOs to make the decisions that shape their businesses, and themselves. A Chartered Accountant, burnout-informed executive coach and angel investor, she has spent over 15 years at the top table across M&A, strategy, finance and governance, and brings the courage to ask difficult questions with care. Brittany's commitment to young people and social mobility runs through her wider work. She is a former Chair of Governors, an Independent Chair of Panels for a Multi-Academy Trust and a mentor to young people from underprivileged backgrounds. She is proud to serve WeMindTheGap as a Trustee and Chair of the People and Safeguarding Committee, helping protect and develop the young people and staff at the heart of the charity. Based in Manchester, she shares WeMindTheGap's belief in walking alongside young people with love, care and curiosity, so they can belong, thrive and make real choices in their own lives.

Daniel works at Westminster think tank- The Centre for Social Justice. He first encountered WeMindTheGap three weeks into his current role, whilst in the preliminary stages of a research project looking at the root causes of school absence. Through this and other work, he was compelled to support the charity. With a desire to contribute to the outstanding work of WeMindTheGap, he will bring skills to help strengthen our organisation. His professional experience in research brings analytical skills to design strategy and a keen eye for detail and accuracy. He knows the political space well through his role at the CSJ and is well-placed to advocate for and champion WeMindTheGap, and to connect the charity to the right people.

Jade is a strategic fundraising and business development leader with over 15 years of experience across health, education, culture and community sectors. She has delivered transformational income growth, including being instrumental in building a team and charity from scratch, taking charitable income for the region’s cancer hospital from £300k to over £3m. Jade is Chair of Governors at Queens Park High School and brings strong governance, partnership-building and capital appeal experience. Passionate about inclusion and widening access, she is well networked across the North West and nationally recognised as a fundraising speaker and panellist.

Samantha Lubanzu is a HR and inclusive leadership expert, CIPD Level 7 fellow, qualified with over 20 years experience across recruitment, employee relations and organisational development. She is the former Chair of CIPD Manchester and founder of Crown Leaders Co and Inspired Ripple Impact CIC. Samantha supports leaders to build equitable, people-centred workplaces and is passionate about unlocking potential, especially for those who may not have had traditional access to opportunity. A mother of seven, she brings compassion, resilience and a deep belief in practical action to help individuals and organisations thrive.