Our people
John Thackara
Senior Fellow, Royal College of Art.
John curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years, in Amsterdam and India, and was the first director of the Netherlands Design Institute in Amsterdam. He has served on start-up teams for new institutes around the world, and was commissioner of the social innovation biennial, Dott 07, and the ecological city biennial, City Eco Lab.
Jon Alexander
Director, The New Citizen Project
Jon wrote ‘Citizens: Why the key to fixing everything is all of us’. He is director and co-founder of the New Citizenship Project, an innovation company, generating and delivering creative projects which promote the role of the citizen, inspiring and encouraging participation in society. He has three Masters degrees and has represented Great Britain in two sports.
Jon Huggett
Social Innovation Advisor
Jon has led five social enterprises – among them the Social Innovation Exchange, All Out, Khulisa and others. He now advises social innovators globally. Jon has written for The Guardian, and has visited half of the countries in the world.
Jonathan Crowley
Social Impact and Innovation Lead
Jonathan joined The Young Foundation in 2024. He has extensive cross-sector experience as a consultant, leading projects across the innovation space. Skilled in strategic thinking and practical action, he advocates for creativity and collaboration through ‘play.’
Jonathan Retter
Managing Director, UBS Investment Bank
Jonathan has over 22 years of Investment Banking experience, of which the last 12 years have been with UBS.
Jonny Sobczyk Boddington
Founder and Group Director, ImpactEd
Jonny is the Founder and Group Director of consulting and software organisation, ImpactEd, working in the education sector. He previously held Director positions at Accenture and BCS Consulting, and is former CEO and Chair of the Peter Jones Foundation.
Josh Ryan Collins
Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Jude Fransman
Consultant
Judith Parry
Civic Scholar
Judith is studying the wellbeing impact of grassroots ‘community-led’ housing for her PhD. Her work is focused on green space and infrastructure.
Julie McLaren
Interim Director of Sustainability and Just Transition
With leadership experience from across the research and innovation system, Julie is passionate about democratising place-based innovation to recognise the ingenuity of citizens and communities in shaping their neighbourhoods, towns, and cities.