Founding friends
Jan has been supported in the development of The Hazels through the insights, critiques and practical support from numerous individuals, and would like to thank the following ‘Founding friends’
Georgie Holmes and Karen Thomas
Led by Georgie and Karen, with a combined experience of over 40 years, Pemberley instinctively knows what makes an event stand out from the crowd and they are looking forward to helping create a magical experience for all attendees, nominees and winners at the inaugural Hazel Awards.
Pemberley Events deliver bespoke events for corporate clients specialising in the healthcare and medical sectors, as well as industry associations and charities. Our small but experienced team has the knowledge and skillset to create, manage and deliver exceptional events. With a professional yet personal approach we quickly become an integral part of our clients' team. Meticulous attention to detail means we consistently exceed expectations and pride ourselves on working with our clients for the long term.
Elise Lewis
Programme Director
Elise is a dynamic, driven and focused interim Programme Delivery Director. She is an expert in improving front line services and maximising efficiencies in the public and private sectors, including commercial, charitable and Whitehall environments. Elise Implements robust governance and quality assurance and benefits strategies to all programmes and improves productivity and secures return on investment by defining deliverables vs. corporate strategy.
Charlie Young
Founder of Upstream
Charlie is a mechanical engineer with a background in spacecraft propulsion, launch system heavy engineering, and launch campaign management. He has the ambition of ensuring NewSpace is a successful business sector in the UK by focusing on safety, quality and productivity improvement.
Imogen Butterworth
Climate Associate
Imogen is an Associate at a climate-related hedge fund and has previously worked as a Responsible Investment Analyst in equity funds and as a Power Analyst at a large solar developer. She started her career by evaluating the use of spatial data for the valuation of natural capital with the London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute (LSE GRI). Imogen gained MSc Climate Change Finance & Investment from the University of Edinburgh and BSc Geography from the University of Exeter. Imogen’s academic and professional journey to date reflects a deep commitment to delivering innovative and impactful investment strategies that shape a sustainable future.
Dr Sara de Freitas
Co-founder of Weypoint
Sara is an international expert, specialising in the innovative use and development of digital and immersive technologies and online education. Sara has held Professorships in immersive environments, digital education, and digital technologies (in 8 universities in UK and Australia), and has authored 40 books and over 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. She has also held roles in industry, including as a Company Director in an AIM-listed PLC and has worked with a wide range of governments, universities, and businesses. Sara is currently Governor at Sunderland University where she sits on the Board and Audit and Risk Committee, with special responsibility for the London Campus. She also holds several active honorary roles, including visiting Professorships at the Open University and South Wales and as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of London. She holds fellowships at the Royal Society of Arts, Business Excellence Institute and is Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Helena Traill FRSA
Creative Director and Founder of nooh Studio
Graphic designer, healthcare designer and visual storyteller with a fresh perspective on design. Central Saint Martins and Royal College of Art graduate. Helena also writes The Ideas Machine - a weekly blog discussing what it’s like to be a young female founder, explaining how she’s built her business around her brain, and sharing ideas to push your own creative practices.
Tony Blake MBA FCCA
Financial management and planning expert
Tony has extensive experience in financial and management accounting in the commercial and charity sectors, including 18 years in various roles within IBM, both at national and international levels, working closely with non-finance managers and teams. He then spent several years as a charity treasurer as well as being the Head of Finance and Administration for a major military charity; Tony provides financial management and strategic advice to small charities. Tony gained his MBA from Cranfield University, School of Management.
Tony combines ingrained commercial awareness with a charitable ethos. He is a proactive decision maker, effective at implementation of strategic vision; an effective communicator at all levels; a results focused financial management and planning expert, with clear strategic vision who has a successful track record of working with both finance and non-finance people to manage change.
Tony has a deep interest in astronomy and science, speaks several languages, and is also an experienced TEFL qualified English language teacher.
