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Meet
YFA's experienced team of consultants and project staff:
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Yvonne Field has over 20 years' experience of working in
community, education and health services with children,
young people and black and ethnic minority communities.
She has led teams at strategic, senior management and
operational levels and has experience of working at community
level. A skilled senior manager, Yvonne is able to work
in highly politicised and complex environments and has
a track record of tackling difficult issues by delivering
pragmatic solutions. Increasingly Yvonne is working to
support organisations to manage change in order to deliver
effective services.
Yvonne
has developed unique approaches to help organisations
work on diversity and race equality issues:
| "
The experience and values staff bring to organisations
can affect its development, their work, and ultimately
the services offered to clients. Organisations can
successfully tackle these issues and YFA has developed
the skills to do this." |
Yvonne
is a highly regarded trainer and facilitator and has developed
nationally accredited training programmes, she believes
that all organisations and professionals can benefit from
training:
| "
Professionals need opportunities to reflect on and
develop their practice, to continually extend their
skills, knowledge and learning networks so that services
to clients are constantly improved." |
Yvonne
has an MA in Social and Community Work, and is also a
qualified social worker and youth worker.
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Brenda
Onatade manages all YFA contracts, finance, and project
resourcing and administrative support. Brenda's career spans
PA, executive officer and administrative work in the private
and public sector in the UK and abroad including working
for UK national voluntary organisations, multi national
companies and managing government contracts in West Africa.
With her extensive experience of complex project management
Brenda ensures that YFA has excellent office support systems.
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Esther
Williams has a background in marketing and communications
and has worked for national companies managing branding,
marketing, PR, events and exhibitions. She is a skilled
researcher able to collate and analyse complex data sets.
Esther is also highly IT literate; competent in a range
of IT packages and database management (she collated the
contacts databases for Lewisham and Lambeth Children's Funds.'
Esther
is a confident communicator and able to manage relationships
with public and professionals alike. She has worked on numerous
launch events and consultation exercises -from large corporate
events through to local events such as the recent launch
of Lambeth Children's Fund. Her career has included working
for the voluntary sector as well as multi national businesses. Esther
has a BA Hons in Sociology.
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Marietta Harrow is an experienced trainer and facilitator
with over 20 years' experience of developing and providing
training for professionals in sectors as various as museums,
housing projects, local authorities and schools.
Marietta
has been involved in a number of research and evaluation
projects that have focused on identifying and developing
good practice. She has developed accredited training programmes
and acted as an external verifier for national qualification
bodies. Marietta considers that training must always focus
on the needs of the learner:
| "
We use creative approaches to enable everyone to participate
and learn. Our courses and events enable reflection
on experience, the understanding and application of
existing theory and the acquisition of practical strategies
to enable personal and professional development." |
Her
strengths include the research, development, piloting
and evaluation of training and educational resources.
She has published numerous training packs on issues such
as human rights, youth work with young refugees, children's
rights, challenging racism, work with young women, moving
away from home, citizenship and managing money for young
people.
Marietta
is a qualified teacher and has a diploma in training management.
She is currently undertaking an MA in Communication and
Design For Education at the Institute of Education, University
of London.
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Sharon Long has 20 years' of experience of working at national
and local level on children and young people's services.
She is a highly confident manager with experience of operating
at a strategic level especially with regard to children's
services. Sharon has managed the development of successful
multi agency partnerships bringing together users, stakeholders
and providers.
Sharon
has worked across London with local authorities advising
on the development of children's services including Children's
Funds, Youth & Connexions Services, Health and Social
Care Services including services for vulnerable children.
She has recently contributed to interim programme management
arrangements for Lambeth Children's Fund and provided
Teenage Pregnancy Programme Management Support for several
London boroughs. She is also an experienced trainer and
specialises in training to promote young peoples participation
and involvement. Sharon's career includes working for
national children and young peoples charities, health
authorities, health action zones and youth projects.
Sharon
has a BA Hons in Creative Arts, an MA in Social Anthropology
and an NVQ level 4 in Management. She has experience of
training internationally, has travelled extensively and
speaks fluent Spanish.
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Louise Flynn is an accomplished management consultant
and trainer who has worked with government agencies and
departments, large corporations and educational establishments.
As Veritas Training & Consultancy she has numbered
among her public sector clients the Home Office, the Probation
Service and several Universities, with Barclaycard, Bass
plc, Specialeyes and ICI from the private sector during
the last fourteen years.
While
working extensively as consultant, trainer and coach in
the area of management and leadership development with
senior, middle and first-line managers, Louise has particular
experience and expertise in effective performance management,
as well as in culture change, diversity and quality improvement
(she is a qualified EFQM assessor as well as being a D32/33
NVQ assessor). She has been involved in several organisational
development projects where she has been concerned with
the promotion of equality and diversity best practice
including researching and developing a new appraisal scheme
for a London PCT; designing and delivering training on
the Diversity Excellence Model for national and regional
organisations and reviewing performance management systems
to take account of recent Race Relations Act and Employment
Act changes.
Louise
has a B.Ed (Hons) Sociology and Physics, a Certificate
in Solution-Focussed Consultancy, a Diploma in Solution-Focussed
Training and an EFQM Assessors Award.
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Yvonne Christie has over 20 years' experience of working
in the public sector and has a particular interest and
expertise in the development in mental health services.
She has worked in social services and hospitals and developed
partnership projects with organisations such as The Sainsbury's
Centre for Mental Health, The Mental Health Foundation
and The King's Fund.
Yvonne
Christie is currently Project Leader for The Breaking
Circles of Fear Team at the Sainsbury's Centre for Mental
Health. This 3 year Implementation Project arose from
a research project & publication aimed at breaking
the cycle that persists in the field of mental health
around African & African Caribbean people.
Yvonne
also has significant experience of work with families,
young people and organisational development. Yvonne has
developed a number of training packages on race, equality
and oppression. She has a keen interest in service development:
| "
Effective services are services that people want and
this means consulting effectively with service users
and just as important, the people who could be using
the service but aren't. It can be hard for organisations
to listen to service users but experience demonstrates
that this leads to better and more equitable service
provision." |
Yvonne
has a MA in the Applied Psychology of Mental Health Service
Development, is a trained counsellor and a qualified youth
and community worker, she has diplomas in Black Therapy
and is currently undertaking a diploma in Intercultural
Therapy.
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Sharon Otoo is a skilled researcher, writer and trainer.
She has undertaken research assignments with the REU (formerly
the Race Equality Unit of National Institute for Social
Work) in London. She has an interest in services for black
and minority ethnic groups and has just finished writing:
| 'Experiencing
Simultaneous Oppression: Black and Minority Ethnic
Disabled People, Their Families and Their Carers'
to be published in Foundations (Joseph Rowntree Foundation).' |
Sharon
is currently finishing a PhD at London Metropolitan University
and has also written numerous discussion papers focusing
on industrial relations and the telecommunications industry.
Current projects Sharon has been involved with at YFA
include writing
business plans for emerging black and minority ethnic
voluntary sector groups and researching and writing project
plans for a leaving care service in London.Sharon has
a BA (Hons) in German and Management Studies, a certificate
in
teaching skills for higher education.She speaks fluent
German and is also an experienced Business German - English
translator
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Lesley Derry is an experienced manager of youth and community
services with over 20 years' experience of youth and community
work including managing a London youth service, policy
development and curriculum planning for youth services;
managing consultation and needs analysis exercises and
leading successful youth projects in inner city areas.
Lesley is an accomplished trainer with proven expertise
in the design, delivery and accreditation of training
for youth workers and she is currently teaching on Connexions
Personal Advisor Diploma Courses. Lesley is particularly
interested in partnership development and has supported
the development of several thriving partnership projects.
Current work at YFA includes reporting on new initiatives
and identifying good practice for a London Connexions
partnership.
Lesley is a qualified youth & community worker and
teacher; with a B.Ed, a Diploma in Community Education
and a Diploma in Management Studies.
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Natasha Reid specialises in consultation with young people
and participation initiatives. She is an experienced mentor
and has worked as a mentor for SOVA and NCH Action for
Children. Natasha is currently a Learning Support Mentor
in a South London School.
Recent
work with YFA includes training and supporting a group
of young people to undertake an audit of services for
young people and organising an event for a Black Child
Care Network.
Natasha
has a BSc in Sociology and Social Policy and a City &
Guilds Learning Mentor Certificate.
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