Our Volunteer Champions are ambassadors that promote volunteering with Media Trust across their regions, networks and organisations; a carefully selected a group of exceptional individuals who have experience of volunteering with Media Trust and feel passionate about the benefits that volunteering can bring to charities and communities.

 

 

Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor,
The Sunday Telegraph

Kamal was appointed Business Editor at The Sunday Telegraph in September 2009, prior to this he was Director of Communications at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Previous roles included Head of News at The Observer where he was one of the key people behind the papers complete redesign and relaunch into the Berliner compact format, during his tenure The Observer was named Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards.

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Basi Akpabio, Creative Director,
The Africa Channel

Basi joined The Africa Channel in March 2010 and is part of the new management team re-launching the channel.  Previous to this Basi’s career spanned promos, programme making and digital, working for all the major terrestrial channels.  Highlights include co-creating The House Doctor for Five and a Creative Directorship at the BBC. His interests include cinema, writing (he’s recently completed writing the first episode of a new sit com) and singing with one of London’s largest choirs.

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Paul Appleby, Chair,
Bristol Media

Paul is a BAFTA-winning producer who worked at BBC Bristol for 30 years, including 20 as a series producer of TV and multiplatform projects in the Natural History Unit (NHU). He has a passion for biology and media that stretches from self-shooting wildlife films to facilitating ideas sessions for top BBC management. In April 2009 he left the BBC in order to be more involved in training, facilitation, digital production and working with new technology as a media consultant with his company, VID.

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Hannah Bayman, Presenter,
BBC Look North

Hannah is a presenter and reporter at the BBC in Newcastle, broadcasting on television and radio in the North East and Cumbria. She has worked for the BBC for eight years, in television, radio and online and in her current role specialises in weather, wildlife and the environment.

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Ben Bland, Political Reporter
BBC Essex

Ben is the BBC's political reporter for Essex, covering politics in the county for TV, radio and online. He has been in the role for two years, having been appointed as one of the BBC's first local political specialists.

Before joining the corporation, Ben spent three years working as a reporter and presenter on Channel M, the Guardian's local TV station for Manchester, which he joined in 2007 as part of the launch team for the new breakfast show. The channel was often hailed as an early example of "ultra local" television, and other cities are due to launch similar channels soon.

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David Brewer, Director,
Media Ideas International

David's journalistic career spans newspapers, radio, TV, and online. Before starting on his local newspaper he spent six years doing voluntary work in Asia. He was a BBC regional political reporter working on TV and radio before becoming a political editor. David was launch Managing Editor of BBC News Online in 1997, moved to CNN in 2000 to set up CNN.com EMEA and CNNArabic.com, and was an editorial consultant for the launch of Al Jazeera English in 2006. David currently works with a number of media development organisations in Asia, SE Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the CIS and Central America. He set up Media Helping Media (www.mediahelpingmedia.org) in order to support media in transition and post-conflict countries and areas where the media is still developing.

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Ben Fox, Director,
Fox Communications

Ben is co-Director of Fox Communications, an integrated full-service agency with offices in York and Leeds offering creative on and off-line services. Fox Communications’ services include brand and graphic design, web design and development, online marketing, social media strategy and campaigns and traditional and online PR. Ben has experience of working across a variety of sectors including tourism bodies, local authorities, B2B clients and charities.

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Matt Hopkins, Director,
The Progress Film Company

Matt is a filmmaker and company director with The Progress Film Company.  Before setting up his film company, he worked in the travel industry for 3 years, heading up a team of filmmakers producing films and photography for hotels and tourist boards around the world.

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Louisa James, Reporter and Presenter,
ITV Central and Daybreak

Louisa currently works for ITV as a reporter and presenter for the Daybreak breakfast programme and Central News in the Midlands, currently she’s either in the studio presenting the news, or out on location filing reports. Louisa is an experienced producer who films and edits her own material, she has previously worked on BBC Radio and at Breakfast With Frost.

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Dan Mason, Multimedia Trainer,
Thomson Foundation

Dan is a consultant and multimedia trainer for the Thomson Foundation, supporting journalists and communication professionals in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He also works with a variety of non-profit and corporate organisations as an independent media consultant.

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Dean Russell, European Social Media Director, LEWIS PR

Dean is EMEA Digital Marketing Director, LEWIS PR - one of the top 5 Global Independent Communications firms – and has worked in the online industry for over ten years. His focus most recently has been on developing communications and social media strategies for many household name clients.

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Anjana Sharma, Filmmaker and Presentation Planner - EMEA,
BBC Worldwide

Anjana is a filmmaker and presentation planner in BBC Worldwide, she currently works on the Polish territory and has previously worked on the Scandinavian region as well as the launch of channels in South Africa. She started off her production career working in BBC World Current Affairs TV and radio.

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Rae Watson, Membership Manager

Neighbourhoods NW

Rae has worked for several public-serving organisations, as well as volunteering for various not-for-profits, since graduating with a degree in Advertising. Her most recent move is to Neighbourhoods NW where she is learning about building strong relationships with clients - adapting their offer to their needs and making sure that for their membership fee they're getting the best possible value for money and performance results from their membership package.

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Charlene White, Presenter,
ITV News

Charlene is a presenter and journalist for ITV News and ITV London. She has previously worked right across the BBC including 1Xtra, Radio 1, BBC News 24, Radio 5 Live, BBC3 and BBC London. Charlene regularly mentors young people, and has volunteered at several community radio stations, schools and colleges to help them with media training. Charlene is a member of the Diversity Panel at ITV News and regularly participates in events for the Cultural Diversity Network.

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