Who are we?

Penny Sharland (Trustee)
Penny started her career as a Probation Officer specialising in work with young offenders. She has had a varied approach to work since then, moving to NACRO to do policy work on youth justice and then into private business as a management consultant with the radical collective Framework. After 15 years working with public and voluntary sector organisations Penny changed direction again to lead Oldham Youth Offending Service in 2005. This demanding role has lead Penny to develop her approaches to some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, as well as the most challenging young people in the Borough. She enjoys putting the theoretical analyses about organisations and management that she learnt during her masters at Bristol University in 1994 - 6. She also has several years' experience of working voluntarily as a trustee with various organisations.

John Crossman (Director, Trustee)
After twenty years working in comprehensive schools and further education in Lancashire, John joined Education Extra and then ContinYou, charities which develop and promote learning outside the classroom. He is passionate about the value of young people taking on responsibilities outside the classroom and helped develop national policy and practice in the field over ten years

Susie Wooldridge (Director, Trustee)
As a newly qualified teacher in a challenging London school, Susie ran a Trust Youth project in her school funded by The UnLtd Millennium Awards Scheme, demonstrating the value of involving students in charitable activities and winning a Teach First School Projects Award. She was also commissioned to write a report investigating the provision for, and barriers to adult learning in Winchester. Currently, Susie is working for a charity called School-Home Support, which builds bridges between the home and school to enable children and young people to make the most of their education.

Roger Cooper (Company Secretary)
Roger qualified as a Chartered Accountant (FCA) in 1967. He has spent over 30 years in the financial services sector, culminating in being Finance Director of Towry Law plc and being part of the team that brought this company to full listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1993. Since 1996 he has worked on his own account as a Chartered Accountant specialising in the financial and other management of charities. Roger joined Trust Youth in 2005 as Company Secretary.

Jamie Dear (Project Manager)
Jamie joined Trust Youth in early 2007. Previously he was Director of Jacari, a charity in Oxford providing home teaching for children who don’t speak English as their first language and is currently chair of the board of trustees. He has a varied experience of the voluntary and community sector having managed the Card Aid charity shop in Richmond, West London, for the Charities Advisory Trust. In addition to his responsibilities with Trust Youth Jamie works with Helen & Douglas House children’s hospice, and is currently in the process of setting up a social enterprise company, Oxford Fission.