DAME JULIA CLEVERDON

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE is a passionate and practical campaigner who has gained an international reputation for ‘connecting the unconnected’, inspiring individuals and organisations to work together for the common good in the most challenged communities.

During her tenure as Chief Executive of Business in the Community from 1991 to 2007, Julia worked closely with the President HRH The Prince of Wales in building a movement of 850 member companies. Julia later served as Special Adviser to The Prince’s Charities and focused efforts on disadvantaged communities.

Julia co-founded Step Up To Serve (#iwill), a campaign which was set up to make meaningful social action a part of life for young people across the UK and chairs the #iwill Partnership Board.  As Chair of Teach First from 2007 to 2014, and now Vice Patron, Julia has pioneered efforts to address educational disadvantage. She serves on the Careers and Enterprise Company and Youth Futures Foundation boards, is Deputy Chair of the Fair Education Alliance, and served as chair of the National Literacy Trust from 2013 to 2022.  Julia also chairs Transform Society, which aims to inspire a generation towards public service.  She is Patron of Right to Succeed and chairs Place Matters and has recently been appointed to chair the National Statistician’s Committee on Inclusive Data.