“Right here [Somerleyton Road] we have a great model to learn from - local people shaping their own future in cooperation with the local council, and working together to deliver between 234-304 new homes. An idea by a local community initiative, Brixton Green, with homes for Brixton families of all backgrounds and circumstances, not separated by poor doors, but brought together in a real community.” Tessa Jowell, Patron.
Following the 2018 elections, our current trustees are:
- Dinah Roake (Co-opted Trustee – Chair): Dinah Roake trained as an architect and has spent the past 25 years working in community architecture, social housing and more recently on the ‘client’ side as part of Internal Consultancy at the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), and now in HCA-ATLAS, advising Local Authorities on social infrastructure provision and long term stewardship for regeneration and growth projects.
- Devon Thomas (Co-opted Trustee): Devon has been an activist in Brixton since the early 1960s when he helped to found its first Black Youth Club, the Allardyce, with schoolmates such as Linton Kwesi Johnson. He came to live here with his parents from their home in Jamaica in the 1950s. He is currently the interim Chair of the Brixton Neighbourhood Forum and a founding Director of Lambeth Enterprise, one of London’s longest established, independent enterprise agencies. He also chairs the Brixton Business Forum and has led many initiatives including the development of the Voice newspaper, Choice FM, the Lambeth Enterprise Centre and many more. He was substantially involved in the Brixton City Challenge having written the regeneration strategy for Brixton after much research in the 1980s. He was also a key contributor to the Future Brixton consultation.
- Fiona Brenner (Community Trustee and Treasurer): Fiona works for Groundwork, a charity that develops partnerships with local people, local authorities and business to promote economic and social regeneration. She has also been responsible for community involvement and economic development for a 5000-home Eco Town in Oxfordshire and worked for the MP for Camberwell and Peckham
- Philippe Castaing (Community Trustee): Philippe is a local resident and active member of the local community. He is a graduate of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, London Leader for Sustainable Development, served on Lambeth First local strategic partnership board and was the co-founder and founding Chair of Brixton Green. He is the owner of Opus Café on Acre Lane and Brixton’s first Michelin award winning restaurant Upstairs.
- Maggie Owolade (Community Trustee): Maggie is a local resident, social housing tenant and parent. She has been actively involved in a wide range of local community campaigns, is a governor of Effra Early Years Centre, Chair of the Rosendale Primary School RCK after school club and a founding member of the Elm Green school Parent-Promoter governing board and currently co-chair of St Jude’s Primary School’s PTA. She also has extensive charity based experience in the drug and alcohol fields, with young people, families and with older people in a career spanning 30 years.
- Paul Flaherty (Community Trustee): Paul grew up in Brixton, lives on Somerleyton Road and worked in the old Granville Arcade. He trained as a civil engineer, has worked on a wide range of large construction projects and for the British Army. He now runs his own business in the lift engineering business and wants to help young people in Brixton to fulfil their potential.
- Abigail Melville (Community Trustee): Abigail is a local resident, former lambeth Councillor and parent. She has worked in local government management, policy development and public affairs. She helped found the New Local Government Network, led the RSA’s work for the Cooperative Councils Innovation Network and trained as a teacher of Citizenship and politics. She is currently developing a social enterprise to connect young people to work through project based work experience. She is a Member of Impact Hub Brixton and a Director of the Elmgreen Parent Promoters Foundation.
- Lamonte Johnson (Community Trustee): Lamonte has been working in the London community for over 24 years as an Art Director and Youth mentor, Art Therapist in a drug rehabilitation centre, Fashion Director and fundraiser at the 90’s Brixton Cooltan Art’s Centre. He now runs a Charity Bling Ya Bike - a young entrepreneur project that works in schools and after school bike projects across the U.K.
- Jane Duncan Ribeiro (details to follow)
- Indar Picton-Howell (details to follow)
- Jeremiah Wiles (details to follow)