Alumni Leadership Board Meeting October 2022

On Saturday 8 October 2022, our Alumni Leadership Board (ALB) met for the first meeting of the new term, and to welcome the newest members. Having been founded in 2017, our Alumni Leadership Board now consists of 18 members, undertaking a two-year term. Each summer, half of the Board step down and we recruit a fresh group of members to join, and they form a core group of our alumni volunteers who engage with the Trust in all areas of our work.  

 

 

“It was great to see new and returning ALB members, Sutton Trust staff and my fellow Co-Chairs at last week’s Autumn meeting. There was a clear sense of optimism for the year ahead and an acknowledgement that the Trust has a key role to play in helping young people across the U.K. navigate their educational journey during this cost of living crisis.” 

Rory Daniels, UK Summer School 2014 – current Co-Chair of the ALB. 

 

 

 

 

Welcome and looking  ahead to the next year 

The newest members were briefed on what the ALB has done up until this point – and were given a broader overview of the Trust’s work to date, and its current areas of focus. At the Trust we rely on ALB to be our ‘critical friend’ and share their views across our work – whether through commenting on policy recommendations we put out, or feeding ideas into scoping for a new programme.  

The day continued with a range of breakout discussions – including on topics such as raising the profile of the ALB and the future of it’s role, the Trust’s anniversary campaign, and how to create meaningful event programming for alumni.  

We had some great ideas shared, many of which will be taken forward over the next few months. A few highlights included having more regional visibility (with some possible events planned in NI, Wales and Scotland), a TedX style series of talks to spotlight different alumni speakers, and more digital signposting of resources for the wider community to help support alumni through the cost-of-living crisis.  

 

“With alumni representation from all four nations of the UK, it was inspirational to hear the ideas of ALB members, and the exciting ambitions they have to drive forwards the Trust’s mission to champion social mobility. I look forward to future discussions with ALB members, as we work together to support all of our alumni community. The alumni community is the Trust’s greatest asset, and its vital that we continue to meet, support and learn from each other.  Its going to be a busy year ahead – I can’t wait to get started!” 

Tom Seddon, UK Summer Schools 2013 / Pathways to Law Plus 2014 – current Co-Chair of the ALB. 

 

 

 

Meet our ALB  

If you’re interested in finding out who they are – read their profiles on our website. Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing more content on our Instagram and LinkedIn page, featuring members of ALB – so you can get to know them better. And finally – they’ll often be joining us for Trust alumni career or meet-up events, so do look out for them and make sure to say hello. 

Interested in joining the Board yourself? Look out for updates next summer, when some members will be retiring, and we’ll be recruiting for more.