I am the Chief Executive of City Year UK. Our mentors (aged 18 to 25) complete a full-time year of service as role models and tutors, supporting pupils from disadvantaged communities to enjoy and succeed at school. We help 1,600 pupils a year in 25 schools across the UK. Over the course of their year, more than 160 mentors have the opportunity to develop as leaders, with the values, experience and skills to lead transformational change in their communities long after their year of service.

My Fellowship in Australia investigated how to support school to work transitions, by making apprenticeships and vocational training more accessible and attractive to young people. As a result I founded and ran for seven years the charity ThinkForward, to put into practice the lessons I learnt, by intervening earlier to improve the chances of the young people most at risk of dropping out. Young people are given a 'super-coach' from age 14 through to 19. The coaches work one-to-one providing personalised, sustained support to overcome challenges at home and at school. They help young people decide what they want to do when they finish school and to build the skills they will need to get there.