Ralph is a military veteran with 15 years of service and more than 40 years of active involvement in his local community of Sale West. For the past 12 years, he has chaired the Sale West Big Local, helping strengthen resident leadership and local decision-making. He is passionate about teamwork and believes ACT is building a national network that gives residents a strong voice in both strategic and practical conversations about their communities.

Barbara has spent her life in education, teaching mainly in primary schools but also working with all ages — from babies learning to swim to older adults. She spent 18 years overseas, teaching for nine years in private schools in Hong Kong and nine years in Belize with the British Forces Schools Service. Alongside her career, Barbara has always been an active community volunteer, involved in many organisations since her teenage years. After retiring and moving to Derbyshire, she continued her community work and was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours, which she describes as a great honour and privilege.

Bill left school at 16 to join the Armed Forces, and after his service worked as a machine fitter in several local factories. He married his wife Michelle in 1987 and they have two sons. In 1999, Bill was elected as an independent councillor, a role he proudly held for 25 years while continuing to work locally. He became involved in Big Local around 2014 and supported the programme through to its conclusion. Now retired, Bill enjoys giving his time to ACT and supporting communities through his experience and commitment.

DescripWaqas is a founding Director of ACT and has been involved with Bradley Big Local since 2010. He is guided by the values of SCALE — Simplicity, Community, Affordability, Locality and Equality — which shape all of his work supporting residents and local partnerships. Waqas has helped develop community-led projects, build strong relationships and create opportunities that bring people together. He was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his commitment to community development. His work continues to focus on collaboration, inclusion and ensuring that everyone has a voice in shaping their community’s future.tion goes here

Sue has over 40 years’ experience working in the third sector across Cheshire and North Wales. Her work has supported people of all ages, from toddlers to older adults, at both grassroots and strategic levels — including chairing a cross-county partnership. She has worked with charities, not-for-profit organisations and as a trustee. Sue has over 25 years of experience as a Guider, alongside roles in playwork, family support, youth work, social and therapeutic horticulture, environmental projects, the reuse sector, focus groups, community marketing, craft groups, Citizens Advice and animal charities. Her experience reflects a lifelong commitment to supporting communities.

Emma is a human rights lawyer who began her career as a legal aid solicitor at Imran Khan and Partners, supporting families and vulnerable people through inquests, judicial reviews and civil actions against the police and the state. She now focuses on international work as a Legal Advisor at the Blockchain Climate Institute and is completing an Advanced LL.M. in International Children’s Rights at Leiden University. Emma believes strongly that meaningful change must be community-led, which drew

James is a resident-led community organiser who works to help local people shape fairer and greener neighbourhoods in Barnet and beyond. He previously chaired Grange Big Local, a ten-year National Lottery programme in East Finchley, where he supported residents to turn their ideas into lasting improvements for the area. His work now focuses on developing practical projects, building strong partnerships and influencing policy to support community-led change. James brings experience, creativity and a firm commitment to putting local people at the heart of decision-making.

Kate has spent much of her career in learning and development, events and engagement, designing programmes that help people grow, connect and share experiences. Her background includes delivering training and workshops, coordinating events of all sizes and supporting membership organisations to strengthen relationships across their networks. She has worked with a wide range of community groups and volunteers and is passionate about co-production, ensuring that lived experience shapes decisions and practice. Kate is committed to creating accessible learning opportunities and turning people’s needs into practical sessions, activities and resources. At ACT, she will be focusing on building stronger connections across the membership, supporting the Member Forum, developing resources led by members’ priorities and celebrating success across the network. She is looking forward to continuing the Big Local legacy of community-led leadership.

Adam has spent his career in education and community development, working as a headteacher and primary education lead before moving into roles within community interest companies. His work has focused on creating opportunities for children, families and neighbourhoods, and helping communities connect, collaborate and grow. Adam is passionate about supporting local leadership and believes strongly in the power of shared stories to strengthen communities. At ACT, he is leading work to improve communications, celebrate the achievements of member groups and develop sustainable income streams to support ACT’s long-term future. He is looking forward to working closely with members and highlighting the positive work happening across the network.