City Gateway is made up of talented and dedicated people, passionate about serving communities most impacted by social and economic inequality. Every member of our team, whatever their role, is central to seeing this vision realised.
We place every individual young person at the heart of what we do and work as one team in order to deliver the best support we can to meet their unique needs.
/ senior leadership team
CEO
‘I’m an ambassador and an advocate for enabling social mobility and equal access.’ Originally an accountant, Diane has over 25 years’ leadership experience in not-for-profit organisations that provide specialised social support, often to those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable, or who live with additional needs. Her passion is completely aligned with City Gateway’s vision, to see young people grow and reach their full potential, no matter the place they start.
Head of Education and Inclusion
‘I am passionate about using my expertise to support my team in the delivery of traineeships and provision that meets the needs of vulnerable learners so they can succeed’. Mark has a wealth of senior leadership and management experience in a diverse range of settings including a further education college and a national provider working with both disadvantaged adults and young people. Mark chairs a local network of work-based providers and is also a governor of a secondary school with responsibility for safeguarding.
Head of Marketing and Outreach
‘My team and I are passionate about breaking down barriers that the people we serve may have faced and giving them access to opportunities to achieve their ambitions’. With over 12 years’ experience of marketing in the charity sector, Jenny leads on all Marketing and Outreach activity, spreading the word about the successes and achievements of those who have come through our programmes and encouraging others to access these same opportunities, no matter what their starting place might be.
Head of Fundraising
‘Given the opportunity and resources, I believe everyone can reach their full potential. As a newcomer to the country, I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue my commitment in fundraising and education’. With over 10 years’ of fundraising experience in the charity and education sectors, Wesley is leading the fundraising team to explore monetary resources as well as establish trustful ties among all stakeholders to secure long-term support for City Gateway’s services.
If you would like to join our team check out our latest vacancies >
/ our safeguarding team
Executive Designated Safeguarding Lead
Designated Safeguarding Lead
/ our trustees
Kenny is a social entrepreneur and activist. He is the co-founder and Managing Director of ClearView Research Ltd, a leading-edge research company who specialise in research focussing on young people and underrepresented communities. Over the past 3 years Kenny has brought passion, insight and expertise to the board and wider City Gateway team specifically supporting our marketing and outreach activity, bringing insights into our target audience and how best to engage them.
Yvonne Bajela is a venture investor and was previously a Senior Investment Manager at Mitsui, which is one of Japan’s largest trading and investment companies with over $100 billion in assets. During her time there, she executed over $200m worth of investments in technology companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Yvonne is also an adviser for the Mayor of London’s Access to Finance programme and is a board member and Trustee for various charitable and private sector organisations. Yvonne is a Charted Financial Analyst and a Shaper for the World Economic Forum. She has joined our board of trustees as our Finance Trustee and will be using her investment experience to support our finance team.
Clive is an experienced HR and Recruitment Manager, and Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. Working in People and Culture (HR), Clive now manages a large part of the UK contingent workforce operation at Warner Bros. Discovery. He has recruited in the private, public and third sectors and remembers what it was like leaving school to complete an electrical apprenticeship at age 16. Clive is our Apprenticeship lead trustee.
Adam is an experienced Management Consultant with Deloitte. Adam brings a wealth of experience in change management, strategy and operations transformation gained through over 15 years working across many Banking and Investment firms. Through his role at Deloitte he currently leads the EMEA change function for a large global Investment Management firm.
Adam is passionate about creating a world where any young person, regardless of their background, can aspire to and succeed in the world of work – on a personal level he has worked with several charities in this space and holds a key role in Deloitte’s ‘One Million Futures’ initiative.
Adam is Chair of our Quality and Impact committee.
David was CEO at City Gateway for four years and during this time he demonstrated incredible devotion to his team, alongside great commitment and passion for helping the young people we serve.
Having held many leadership roles in both commercial and non-profit sectors, David is passionate and experienced in driving organisational transformation and developing and empowering teams to deliver vision and impact.
Barri Disu, a native of East London, brings a wealth of work experience across diverse fields. With over 15 years of expertise in education, spanning primary, secondary, and further education, Barri excels in teaching, management, pastoral care, and safeguarding leadership. His involvement in Community Development, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion further underscores his commitment to fostering inclusive environments. As the creative director of a lifestyle clothing brand, Barri’s innovative content captivates a broad audience.
Now, as Education Trustee at City Gateway, he channels his educational experience and deep passion for empowering young individuals and providing them with career opportunities to support and uplift the organisation.
Rafaela Amusu leads a Government Financial Business Support Team.
Formally a Practice Manager and Paralegal at a Law Firm, Rafaela witnessed first-hand the disadvantages faced by parents from limited educational backgrounds and the likelihood for their children to be removed from the family unit. Despite these odds, Rafaela maintained a high success rate in reuniting children with their families through making compelling arguments to the Courts.
With over 5 years’ experience within the Civil Service, Rafaela is familiar with strategic financial planning in varying and challenging economic climates.
Rafaela has joined our board as a Finance Trustee and will be utilizing her experience to support our Finance Team.
To read more about the committees our trustees support, click here >
