Senior Management Team
Jim Donnelly
Joint Chief Executive
Having started his career as a sessional worker, Jim is extremely proud of his position as the Director of Programmes for Active Communities Network. The Ballymurphy-born director spent 6 years as the manager of the Belfast project which grew from small three person team to now a leading Charity with over 15 full-time members of staff.
Jim, who was jailed aged 22, says his Belfast childhood fuelled his desire to make things better for today's young people. He bore witness to the Springhill shooting in 1972, when Fr Noel Fitzpatrick died after being carried injured into Jim's parents' home. And as a 14-year-old he was shot by a plastic bullet.
I got involved in this work so many years later so that my kids and others did not experience things like I experienced. I thought using sport would have a positive impact on young people and the wider community. Our work transcends borders and barriers. I have seen young people go from being at the very edge of life, being threatened by armed groups and having suicidal thoughts, to getting involved in our programmes, engaging and turning their lives around completely.
Oliur Rahman
Joint Chief Executive
In 2006, Oliur Rahman was working on a local community sports initiative in south east London when he came together with other like-minded grassroots project workers to form a strategy to reach more people. The charity London Active Communities was born, and as co-founder Oliur took a leading role in managing its sustainable expansion with a specific focus on how it could improve outcomes for young people.
Being one of the co-founders Oliur is extremely proud of where Active Communities Network is today and looks forward to seeing what happens in the future.
I grew up on an estate in Elephant and Castle in south east London and I knew firsthand the power of sports and physical activity to engage young people and build relationships. When we set up London Active Communities we simply wanted as many people to get involved as possible. Soon we had more than 300 young people engaging in our football programmes. This in turn helped build trust with the parents as they saw their children enjoying themselves. Creating those connections gave us the chance to develop our work to start programmes that tackled obesity, such as educating groups about diet and wellbeing.
Shinead Philpott
Director of Programmes
Director of Programmes and Co-Founder of Active Communities Network formed in 2006, following her work for the national Government programme ‘Crime Concern’ which was set up to help the Home Office, police and local authorities reduce crime and help communities feel safe.
With 20 years project management experience, Shinead has a wealth of knowledge and experience in responding to complex needs of young people, families and developing youth engagement programs.
Maintaining key skills in partnership building with strategic agencies and capacity building of grass root groups. Having worked through all key stages of youth development, initially a Project Manager for the Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIP) funded by the Youth Justice Board, working on the ground delivering projects directly to at-risk young people. Shinead has gone on to manage a range of successful local and national youth and community programmes.
Currently leading on the Southwark VRU My Ends intuitive, which aims to include the voices of young people, parents and the community, in shaping how we collectively tackle and understand youth violence.
Rachelle Mccurry
Director of Programmes
Louise Haughian
Director of Finance
Trustees
Ed Hepworth
Chair of Trustees
Ed Hepworth is currently Chief Financial Officer for the Six Nations rugby championship and the Chair of Active Communities Network. He is a senior Finance Executive with over 25 years’ experience gained at various top tier companies, including the NBA, PwC, Reuters, Sainsburys and British Airways. Ed has a proven track record of transforming finance functions to drive growth and operational efficiencies. His passion is combining his finance expertise with the excitement and challenge of the sports industry. Having worked for the NBA in both the UK and America sport has always been at the forefront of Ed’s career and one of his overarching passions. He’s a strong believer in using sport to change people’s lives for the better.
Professor Claire Alexander
Trustee
Claire Alexander is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, and Associate Director of the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity. Claire has researched and written on racial and ethnic inequality in Britain for over 30 years, with a particular focus on Black and Asian youth. She is author of ‘The Art of Being Black’ (1996) and ‘The Asian Gang’ (2000). More recently, she has worked on South Asian Muslim Migration to Britain, and is co-author of ‘The Bengal Diaspora’ (2016). Claire is currently working with colleagues on racial inequality in Higher Education, the history curriculum and the ‘Indian’ restaurant trade in Brick Lane, East London.
For the past decade, Claire has worked with the Runnymede Trust on issues around education and the history curriculum, and was project lead on the award winning ‘Our Migration Story’ website/resource (www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk). She is Vice Chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation.
Harry Connolly
Trustee
Harry Connolly is the Director of Fáilte Feirste Thiar, a local tourism development agency tasked with the responsibility of developing West Belfast’s tourism offering and building sustainable tourism infrastructure. Previous to working in tourism development, he worked for a number of years in youth, sport and community development across the greater Belfast area. Harry is the former vice chairperson of the West Belfast District Policing & Community Safety Partnership (DPCSP), a body established as a result of the developing political process which acknowledged the critical role of policing and justice in the North of Ireland.
William Houngbo
Trustee
William Houngbo was raised in France. Originally from West Africa, William now lives in the London Borough of Southwark and has done for over 20 years and is currently a Councillor for the London Bridge and West Bermondsey ward. He runs his own business and has previously worked in local government. He is an active member of local Residents’ Association, police panels and cultural events champion across London. He has a Masters’ degree in International Security and Global Governance. William’s has a love for running and he completed the New York City Marathon and London Marathon. William believes the power of sport is vital in helping young people staying positive and bring communities together.
Sam Evans
Trustee
Sam Evans is the Relationship Manager for Business in the Community NI, working with some of the biggest business in Northern Ireland to support their Corporate Social Responsibility agendas. He has also worked as both a CSR manager for an international law firm and a Corporate Fundraiser for a national charity. His experience in all roles gives him a broad and balanced understanding of Corporate Community Investment. Sam has also been a judge for Community Awards, lectured on CSR at St Marys College and as a native Liverpudlian spends a lot of his spare time defending why he supports Everton over Liverpool.
Mary Clarke
Trustee
Mary Clarke has over thirty years’ experience in the Community and Voluntary Sector. Mary is the Director and Centre lead for Newstart Education Centre in Belfast, her passion and leadership for working with young people in Education (otherwise than at school) has witnessed the success of an invaluable provision in Belfast for young people most in need within the city. Through the 12 years leadership and management within the sector Mary is an Associate Assessor with The Education and Training Inspectorate in Norther Ireland. With a specific expertise in Child Protection and Safeguarding Mary is the ACN Trustee lead for Safeguarding.