Kelly has been leading the team since 2019 and together with them is focused on fulfilling our mission of supporting media under threat, promoting diversity in the media and empowering children and young people to engage with the news.
Kelly started her career in data and worked with several different media organisations before joining The Guardian in 2014 to focus on change and transformational programme delivery. Kelly came to the Foundation after a period of working with the team to develop concepts around the preservation of independent quality news and quality journalism globally, and through this developed a broader passion for the full portfolio of the charity and its work with young people. This was the catalyst for her to make the switch into leading the organisation and driving forward its essential work.
Esmat Jeraj is the Director of Programmes at The Guardian Foundation, overseeing the programmatic delivery and operations. Contributing towards building an inclusive world where all people can tell their stories, access the truth and hold power to account is what drew her to the Foundation. Esmat has previously held roles across the charity sector; including leading a national Commission exploring barriers to participation in public life, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer at a charity focused on building confidence and resilience amongst young people from underserved communities while promoting their participation in British democracy and civil society.
Outside of work, she acts as a strategic advisor for several community organisations and charities. Esmat is a skilled trainer, community organiser and facilitator with a keen interest in EDI and social mobility.
Charlie is responsible for overseeing The Guardian Foundation's communications, making sure that as many people as possible know about, support and get involved with the charity's work. She also assists on many aspects of the day to day running of the charity.
She previously worked for the NSPCC's creative team, where she realised both her love for charity comms and her passion for supporting young people. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Sheffield.
Emma project manages the Incubator for Independent Media in Turkey and the Scott Trust Bursary as well as other smaller projects within the Foundation. She works closely with the various partners and stakeholders, and oversees project activities. Working with aspiring journalists from a range of backgrounds is one of the aspects of her job she enjoys the most.
She has previously worked in research, communications and education. She has a BA in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science.
Elli leads the NewsWise news literacy programme. She is passionate about making the world of news and media accessible to all young people, raising aspirations and giving them opportunities to make their voices heard.
She has worked in news literacy for over a decade, developing particular expertise in digital literacy and critical thinking. Previously, she was an English teacher in London comprehensive schools as well as in various special educational needs settings.
Sorcha is the NewsWise programme coordinator and is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the programme for all teachers, pupils and journalists involved. She was previously the NewsWise volunteer coordinator, creating opportunities for children to meet real journalists.
She has several years’ experience of running education programmes targeted at underprivileged young people, including running employability skills programmes for secondary school pupils in east London. Before this, Sorcha studied French at UCL.
Margaret manages the Foundation’s award-winning Behind the Headlines programme, based at the Education Centre at the Guardian offices. She loves devising and teaching news, media and digital workshops for secondary and university groups, teacher training seminars and conferences, and opportunities for young people to engage with the media industry.
She sets up educational partnerships and is passionate about expanding the reach and impact of the charity in empowering young people to understand, critically analyse, engage with and participate in the media. Prior to setting up the news and media programme in 2002, Margaret was Head of History and Careers in a London secondary school.
Angela Green is the administrator for the Behind the Headlines programme. She manages the school booking process and helps teachers prepare for a visit to the Education Centre as well as virtual workshops. She also deals with teacher conference bookings and a whole range of general enquiries. She ensures that everything that the programme does runs smoothly.
Angela was previously Head of Registration for the London Stock Exchange.
Mena facilitates workshops in the Education Centre and loves being able to combine two things that are important to her: teaching and current affairs. She updates digital content and has enjoyed developing the centre’s social media presence, as well as researching and writing articles linked to the Guardian Archive. She has also developed and currently oversees the centre’s features workshop for Year 11 and sixth form students.
Before this, Mena was an English teacher and KS3 Lead at a secondary school in London. She also has experience of mentoring and delivering training sessions to new teachers.
Philippa manages the Guardian News & Media archive on behalf of the Guardian Foundation. She has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the archive, which collects and preserves the historical business records of The Guardian and Observer. The role includes coordinating acquisitions, appraisal, cataloguing, preservation and access to the archive, as well as outreach activities designed to promote the histories and values of the newspapers.
Philippa began her career as The Guardian’s first trainee archivist and went on to complete her MA in archives and records management at UCL. She worked in the archives at SOAS, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Royal College of Surgeons of England before returning to The Guardian News and Media archive.
Emma is a professionally qualified archivist and works part-time alongside Philippa Mole in the day-to-day running of The Guardian News & Media Archive. Her role includes collections management, outreach and supporting volunteers and researchers in accessing the archive.
Emma has over 15 years experience of working in the information and heritage sectors including roles in local government, higher education and museums. She loves engaging people with history and has a particular interest in 19th and 20thcentury history and politics.