Our people
Stephen Jacobs
Chair, Old Ford Housing Association
Stephen was brought up in the East End of London, and has held a variety of senior positions within housing departments in London Local Authorities. He established the largest not-for-profit regeneration company in London, and was community lead in the successful Olympic bid team.
Steve Donkin
Community Advisory Board
After 25 years working in the utilities business, Steve went on to develop and deliver learning programmes in the public and private sectors, and is now a self-employed VCS Consultant in Sunderland, providing critical support at board and operational levels in the BME Community.
Steven Dhondt
TNO
Stuart Haw
Civic Scholar
Stuart is a community development consultant with experience of events, research and development in federations and local authorities. He worked at Vivacity, a charity providing ownership and management of previously local authority-owned assets in sports, arts, and cultural services.
Sue Griffiths
Chief Executive Officer
Joining The Young Foundation in March 2026, Dr Sue Griffiths’ previous roles included Managing Director of Social Development Direct, Executive Director of Global Partners Governance, and nine years at the House of Commons. She has served as an Independent Member of the Overseas & International Honours Committee since 2024, and a Non-Executive Director at Global Partners Governance Foundation since 2020.
Summer Simpson
Senior Researcher
Summer brings expertise in qualitative research and community engagement, driven by a commitment to tackling inequality and strengthening social infrastructure, connectedness, and place-based approaches.
Tania Carregha
Senior Research Manager
Tania previously worked in consultancy for the health sector, and her background is in social psychology and social innovation. She has worked in Mexico City, Chicago, Rome and London, giving her an international perspective on community challenges. She is at her best when working creatively to develop solutions that improve people’s lives.
Tate Gronow
Research Project and Communications Manager
Tate oversees and manages key project processes to develop our Peer Research Network. She also works with the Communications and External Affairs Team to support, create, deliver and maintain communications outputs and events.
