Elders Council for Social Entrepreneurs: Staff
CEO: Chris Underhill MBE
Founder of Thrive, BasicNeeds, citiesRISE and Mentor Services
Chris Underhill MBE is a social entrepreneur, professional mentor and a global expert on mental health delivery.
In 1978 he started his first social enterprise. This is called Thrive and it is the UK organisation that uses gardening to bring about change in the lives of those living with disabilities or ill health. In 1985 he founded Action on Disability and Development (ADD) that works with disabled people in developing countries. In 1995 he was invited to be the CEO of the Intermediate Technology Development Group, now known as Practical Action and in 2000 he went on to found BasicNeeds the mental health charity working in developing countries which he retired from in 2016. Currently he is building his mentoring practice Mentor Services.
Chris is a Senior Ashoka Fellow, and a recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and of the Schwab Foundation award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2000 he was honoured by HRH the Queen with an MBE for services to disability and development.
Operations Director: Katelynne Kirk
Katelynne has been with the Elders Council for Social Entrepreneurs almost since its beginning. She has helped build the membership, developed their communications and built the Insight website.
Katelynne has worked in various roles within the charity sector including as Campaign, Communications and Admin Assistant for Jubilee Scotland and International Network Coordinator for the Homeless World Cup Foundation, leading on their Cities Ending Homelessness initiative.
She began her career as graphic designer with a love of causes and brands making a positive difference.
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Elders Council for Social Entrepreneurs: Board of Trustees
Andrea Coleman
Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees
Andrea Coleman is co-founder of Riders for Health and founder of CEO of Two Wheels for Life. Riders for Health has built systems for managing motorcycles and motorised vehicles to ensure health care is delivered – predictably and reliably - however harsh the conditions or however remote the community. Money is saved and people are employed and trained to a very high standard. Riders works in 5 African countries - Lesotho, Nigeria, Malawi, Liberia and The Gambia ‘Introducing innovations for vehicle management in Africa to deliver health care requires persistence and an impatience with the status quo. I have both in abundance’ she says.
In 2013 Andrea won the Women of the Year Award, sponsored by Barclays. In 2004 she won the Sage/Daily Telegraph Best Business Leader award and in 2006 won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award. Andrea was selected to join the Schwab Foundation network of social entrepreneurs in 2004 and Andrea has been a fellow of the Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship since 2005 and is now a senior fellow of Ashoka.
Mel Young
Co-Founder and Trustee
Mel Young MBE is President of the Homeless World Cup, which he co-founded in 2003. He is an active social entrepreneur. He is a Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum, a Senior Ashoka Fellow and a Board member of the Catalyst Now network.
He is a lover of sport and a firm believer in the power of sport to create positive change. He is author of two books: Home Game; A Ball Can Change The World, which he wrote with Peter Barr, and Social Entrepreneurship: A better Way of Thinking About a Sustainable Future, which he wrote with Alexandra Matthews. Previously he worked as a journalist; co-founded The Big Issue in Scotland in 1993 and co-founded Senscot (Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland). He is former President and Honorary President of INSP (International Network of Street Papers) and also set up City Lynx magazine and New Consumer Magazine. He is also Co-Founder of The New Ism.
He has five Honorary Degrees from Scottish Universities. He has received several awards including an MBE and the prestigious Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award. He is a lifelong supporter of Hibernian FC.
Therese Drammeh
Trustee
Mrs. Therese Drammeh is Gambia Country Director for Riders for Health. She worked in The Gambia Civil Service for 25 years 1976-2001 and she rose through the ranks to the position of Permanent Secretary. Therese worked as PS Personnel Management Office, PS Interior, PS Local Government and Lands and PS Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Taking early retirement from the civil service in 2001, she joined Riders for Health in 2002, helped to set up The Gambia country program and has been leading the program to date.