Operations
Jude Williams | Chief Executive
I’m the Captain at The Literacy Pirates. Oddly, I couldn’t read until I was ten years old, so I’m motivated to give every child a chance to become a reader and writer, and to succeed at school. Now I enjoy non-fiction and a good graphic novel!
Chelsea Haughton | Head of People and Operations
I enjoy working at The Literacy Pirates because I’m motivated by impact and the opportunity to create lasting, positive change for others. A lifelong love of stories and reading lead me to a rewarding career path in education. I truly believe in the power of reading for pleasure and my favourite books usually have a bit of magic to them – my favourite is 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Veronica Ghobert | Systems Manager
I believe that helping children is the only way towards a more equal society, where everyone can thrive based on their potential, with equal instruments. I love reading and writing but have never been academically good at it and I wish someone outside of school had taught me that you can do it just because you enjoy it!
Evie Warren | Office Administrator
I want to help to build equal opportunities and encourage children to discover the joys of reading and writing. Growing up with dyslexia I always preferred looking at the pictures over the words. With time I have discovered just how interesting these words can be and how far they can take you, I just wish I knew sooner!
Tim Jarvis | Director of Finance
I’m the part time Director of Finance for The Literacy Pirates. I have worked here since 2017 and enjoy helping behind the scenes so that the charity can deliver impact with the Young Pirates. I read fantasy fiction to unwind and world/travel non-fiction for interest.
Sara Woodward | Bookkeeper
The Literacy Pirates is important to me as I truly believe in equality for all and I see education as a foundation for this. I’ve always enjoyed reading since discovering Enid Blyton stories as a child, through to The Handmaid’s Tale, which I’m currently enjoying. I also enjoy writing poetry and rhymes – often amusing, sometimes thought-provoking – as an enjoyable escape and a contrast to the largely numerate tasks of my working role.
Education
Lily Eastwood | Director of Learning & Impact
At The Literacy Pirates, I love seeing children leave feeling that they have not just improved their reading and writing, but that they have positive memories of being a reader and writer in a fun and supportive space. I love working on programmes that add resource to the issues I was facing in school as a teacher. I’ve also let go of lots of my internalised reading snobbery and enjoy immersing myself in fun and silly children’s fiction.
Hannah Preston | Schools Partnerships Manager
As a primary school teacher working in Hackney, I’m passionate about supporting children who needed specific support to meet their full potential. I was drawn to continuing this work on joining the charity and feel exceptionally passionate about our mission. I love reading a diverse range of fiction based in the current day, and I enjoy supporting our Young Pirates to discover a love of reading.
Katy Parkes | Programme Coordinator
As a child characters in books encouraged me to put my hand up in school. As a young adult choosing library books was an act of early independence. Reading books allowed me to travel all over the world and gave me access to stories that are different from my own. Those stories gave me the confidence to start writing, to listen and to speak up. I believe every child should have the confidence to write, listen and speak, so I work here.
Ryan Connier | Education Team Session Delivery Coordinator
I first started volunteering whilst studying. I have a passion for children from all backgrounds receiving the same level of education and care, and decided that The Literacy Pirates was the perfect place to commit to in making a difference in my local community.
Ruth Wallis | Education Team School Coordinator
I was raised by two librarians, but really struggled at school when I was younger, and so I’ve had to figure out my own alternative way of learning. I was drawn to working here at The Literacy Pirates because their focus on confidence and joy is what was missing from my own experience with school all those years ago. At The Literacy Pirates, I’ve been able to see first-hand children go from avoiding books to proudly reading aloud their own published work!
Rhi Thornton | Creative Projects Coordinator
Before joining The Literacy Pirates, I was involved with community-based arts projects and I am passionate about the intersection of social equality and creative expression. Reading and writing matter to me because I believe that having the language to describe inequality and lived experience is essential to empowerment. I’ve been able to grow through access to education that supported me – I’m proud to give that access to others and I enjoy helping Young Pirates to feel like legitimate writers with exciting published products.
Volunteering
Angele Tilly | Volunteer Manager
I didn’t have a great time at school but I got myself hooked on reading. I was a very shy kid so I would have loved to be on a programme like The Literacy Pirates to come out of my shell and be more confident!
Meggie Ambrose-Dempster | Volunteer Coordinator
I try to always apply the creative lens to life and have a passion for poetry, philosophy and people. The mission of the organisation and helping children reach their educational attainment level makes me proud to be a pirate and to contribute to positive social change. Having been a barista in a past life I am always up for a coffee, a chat or a cheeky slice of cake!
Franca Filipik | Volunteer Coordinator
I work at the Literacy Pirates because I believe strongly that every child should have access to additional education, no matter their personal circumstances. I love that our work gives less confident children the chance to thrive in a safe, fun-filled environment. I have always loved to read and will read anything and everything. I particularly enjoy translated literature as I enjoy learning about other cultures and ways of storytelling!
Amelia Logue | Volunteer Coordinator
I’m a huge fan of books and believe every child deserves the support they need to thrive in literacy. That’s why I love being part of Literacy Pirates—it combines my love for reading with my passion to help kids who might be struggling. I loved being read to as a child, and now I love getting book recommendations from friends and family and chatting with them about what I’m reading.
Partnerships
Nanette Onu | Head of Partnerships and Development
I grew up in a house filled with books, computers, languages and encouragements from parents and teachers, and I used to write and illustrate bedtimes stories for children around me. This is why children’s rights in general, and the right to education in particular, are close to my heart. The Literacy Pirates’ physical and virtual ships offer children a unique journey to literacy, wellbeing, and personal growth – who gets to be a published author, join a crew, and travel every day before age 12?! And just like ships reach new shores thanks to different types of wind, I look forward to working with the Literacy Pirates’ trailblazing partners to empower even more young pirates. Get on board as we set sail!
Lorna Cumming-Bruce | Senior Communications Manager
I’ve loved words since I was a kid. I can remember the joy of being able to read the STOP sign on the road and doubled down on reading by studying English Literature at university. Being able to read continues to open up the world I live in and so many other peoples’ worlds besides. But it’s not a given. Not enough people know that literacy is a major issue in our society. I’m working at the Literacy Pirates to change that by spreading the word and sharing the solution that is the brilliant Literacy Pirates programme.
Sam Straker | Senior Trusts & Foundations Manager
I have a passion for helping all children experience success in learning. A keen reader, I learned to read from Judy Blume books and I believe in the power of the right book to spark imagination and enjoyment in reading. I enjoy working as part of the fundraising team, helping to bring funders closer to our work and support our Young Pirates on their adventures in learning.
Tom Backhouse | Trusts and Foundations Officer
As my former teachers can attest, writing is something I’ve not always enjoyed. Over time however, I have grown to enjoy it and now see stories crop up in so many unexpected places that I wouldn’t have noticed before. My favourite stories are the ones we tell ourselves and each other: about how the world is, how it was, and how people change it. I’m proud to be able to contribute to the story of change of The Literacy Pirates and help others learn to find the joy in writing as I did.
Issy Williams | Corporate Partnerships Manager
Growing up in East London, I’ve seen and experienced the educational disadvantage gap first hand. I’m really passionate about working with incredible corporate partners who make significant contributions to supporting our fun and impactful programmes. My favourite part of my role is having supporters visit our magical ships and asking them to find our secret passageway!
Anna O’Donnell | Corporate Partnerships Officer
I work at The Literacy Pirates because educational inequality continues to facilitate entrenched hierarchies in society, which is something I want to work towards eliminating. I’m passionate about helping children develop the belief in themselves that they are capable of anything they put their mind to. Outside of work, I read about human rights and new things happening around the world, as well as good restaurants.
Meet Our Trustees
Nick Canning | Chair of Trustees
Nick is Founder and Chief Executive of Kizazi, a global non-profit organization supporting local teams to run networks of great schools in under-resourced communities all over the world. Previously Nick was COO for Teach for All, and Deputy Director of Prime Ministers Strategy Unity between 2004 and 2009.
Fiona McAuslan | Vice Chair of Trustees, EDI & Governance
Fiona is a journalist, and a marketing and communications consultant. She currently works at Getting on Board, a trustee recruitment and diversity charity, and Action for Trustee for Racial Diversity. Fiona has also worked in secondary education in the library and careers departments.
Mel Exon | Trustee, Communications
Mel is a board advisor & trustee with 25 years’ operational board experience working in non-profit and commercial creative organisations. She is also a fiction writer, who was lucky to grow up as an unapologetic bookworm.
Lea Mladineo | Trustee, Technology
Lea is a passionate technologist currently working as a software engineer at FundApps, a London based regtech company that is proud to be the UK’s first tech B Corp. Lea started volunteering with the Literacy Pirates In 2018. As a non-native English speaker, she found it both challenging and rewarding, learning as much from the Young Pirates as they from her.
Funmbi Ogundiwin | Trustee, Communications & Technology
Funmbi is a Senior Account Executive at Salesforce and has over 20 years’ sales experience working in technology companies. He has been a regular volunteer at the Literacy Pirates since 2019, and is passionate about coaching and mentoring, with particular focus on disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.
Aisha Miller-Dyer | Trustee, Safeguarding & Governance
Aisha is a specialist public health school nurse. Aisha delivers health promotion sessions, and supports children with chronic health conditions in school. She is a parent of a Young Pirate and has seen first hand how children develop their skills with our support.
Daniel Levy | Trustee, Education & Governance
Daniel has enjoyed a mixed and varied career as a primary school teacher, corporate lawyer, charity leader, and founder of his own niche consultancy firm. He is now a consultant with Q5, designing and implementing creative solutions to organisational challenges. He specialises in M&A in the education sector.
Amanda Salloum | Trustee, Education & Governance
Amanda was a French teacher before moving into policy in the Department for Education. Over the last 5 years, she has worked across a variety of government departments, leading projects in education, trade, science and security. Roles have included Head of International Engagement for the C-19 Response and Head of the Windrush Programme, one of the largest change programmes in the Home Office.
Chady Jouni | Trustee, Finance
Chady is an Executive Director and Senior Multi Asset Investment Manager at J.P. Morgan, based in London. He is responsible for the development and management of portfolios with a focus on idea generation and cross asset research as well as constructing risk efficient multi asset portfolios.
Helene Williamson | Trustee
Helene has an MBA in finance from Wharton and started her career at Bankers Trust in New York in 1977. She later moved to Bankers Trust in London and subsequently worked in fund management, leading investment teams at F&C and First State Investments until 2019. She was a board member of an emerging market charity (EM Power) from 2008 to 2019 and joined the Literacy Pirates as a volunteer in 2022 to share her love of reading with the children on the programme.
Phil Aldis | Trustee, Finance & Technology
Phil Aldis has a background in finance and technology and was most recently a Partner at Goldman Sachs. Phil joined the Board in 2023.