The Partnership Group is a group of experts from the charity sector that advise the Foundation on its charitable purpose and aims. As leading figures within the charity sector, they are able to provide guidance and best practice on how best to operate the Foundation’s charitable mission. The group is composed of directors and executives from a variety of charitable organisations, and who also serve as the independent Judging Panel for the Foundation’s MP of the Year Awards.
Shabir Randeree CBE
Prince’s Trust Council Member
Shabir Randeree is Chairman of the DCD Group, an investment company with 30 years of experience in Real Estate, Venture Capital, Banking and Finance. He is also the Deputy Chairman of Al Baraka Bank South Africa and served as Chairman and founding director at EIIB, European Islamic Investment Bank plc (2006-12) and as founding director at IBB, Islamic Bank of Britain plc (2003-07). Shabir is an Advisor to the UK Government’s Asia Task Force and the IFTF, Islamic Finance Task Force (2013). He served on the Ethnic Minorities Business Task Force (2007-09) and co-founded Edutrust, a multi Academy sponsor. Recently he was elected Chair of Governors at the Westminster Academy and Deputy Chairman of the HRH charity MOSAIC. He is also a champion for 3FF, Three Faiths Forum. Shabir was awarded a CBE in HM The Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2013 in recognition of his services to both business and education, as well as for his philanthropic support of charitable causes.
Rt Hon Lord Simon Woolley Kt
Founder, Operation Black Vote
Simon Woolley is one of the founders of, and Director of Operation Black Vote (OBV). OBV is the first comprehensive campaign that addresses the Black political democratic deficit. Simon sits on the board for the National Coalition for Black Volunteering; is an Executive Member of String of Pearls; is a member of the London Commission for Sustainable Development; sits on the GLA Equality Commission, and is an ECHR Commissioner. Simon was one of the founders of the London Civic Forum and is a contributor to Equanomics UK, which has seen him participate in a UK tour with Reverend Jesse Jackson. He has a number of awards and accolades to his name, including being voted onto the Grassroots Powerlist 2002, which was published by the Big Issue; being awarded the Men of Merit Award in 2003; and being listed in the Telegraph’s Top 100 Left List in September 2007 and 2008. Simon has a broad range of expertise including political empowerment; Black civil rights; policy research and development; campaign strategy; fundraising; public speaking; and the implementation of citizenship programmes within the community. Many government departments such as the Home Office, the Electoral Commission, Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Justice call on Simon Woolley to advise on areas of race and politics.
Lord Woolley received a Knighthood in the 2019 Birthday Honours for his services to race equality. He was created Baron Woolley of Woodford by Prime Minister Theresa May on 14th October 2019.
Sereena Abbassi
Equity & Inclusion Consultant
Taking activism into the corporate space, Sereena Abbassi is committed to creating organisational transformation that is grounded in a deep-seated belief that all our liberations are tied to each other; her approach is both creative and strategic. Sereena is an Independent Equity & Inclusion Practitioner, Belonging Researcher, Holistic Coach, Public Speaker and Writer, and was formerly the Worldwide Head of Culture & Inclusion at M&C Saatchi Group.
Some of the organisations Sereena has worked with are Sony Music, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, The Modern House, Facebook, Soho House Group, English National Ballet, LEGO, Hanover Comms, Intelligence Squared and The Mill. She has spoken on CNBC and BBC Radio and has spoken at The Guardian, European Parliament, D&AD, Google, UCL, LSE, Clear Channel, Viacom and Monzo, to name but a few. She has written for Campaign Live, Communication Arts, The Drum and has been featured in The Observer and Stylist Magazine, and has contributed to titles such as Biracial Britain by Remi Adekoya, F*ck Being Humble by Stefanie Sword-Williams and The Reset by Elizabeth Uviebinene.
Sereena has sat on Advisory Boards for Hudson Bec Group, Hidden, OK Mentor and The Other Box. Over the years, she has done extensive charitable work in her previous role as Board of Trustee for the charity Sour Lemons, judging awards for D&AD New Blood, Great British Businesswoman and the Patchwork Foundations’ MP of the Year Awards – and as a motivational speaker for Be Her Lead and Speakers For Schools.
This year Sereena became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Sereena is British, Persian-Iranian, Jamaican –– and has lived and worked in the U.S., the Netherlands, Iran and Spain. Sereena has a B.A. in Visual Art, Performance and Music from The University of Brighton and an M.A. in Postcolonial Culture & Global Policy from Goldsmiths University, London. She lives in Bristol with her partner Pete.
Matt Hyde OBE
Chief Executive, The Scouts Association
Matt Hyde is Chief Executive of the Scouts, the UK’s largest coeducational youth movement. Formerly Chief Executive of the National Union of Students (NUS), he has undertaken a number of leadership roles in the charity sector and as Chief Executive of the Scouts has contributed to a period of record membership growth since he joined in 2013. He has overseen the development and delivery of a rebrand, award-winning campaigns and has spearheaded work to support the growth of Scouting in areas of deprivation.
Matt is also a trustee of Comic Relief, a Patron of UNLOCK (the charity for people with convictions) and was previously Vice-Chair of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). He developed the world’s first degree apprenticeship for social change which launched at Queen Mary University of London in 2019.
Matt was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Years Honours List and an Honorary Fellowship from Queen Mary University of London in 2012. He was named as one of the 25 most influential charity sector leaders by Charity Times in 2019.
Jo Youle
Chief Executive Officer, Missing People
Jo has led the charity Missing People for over eight years, awarded ‘Rising CEO by the Third Sector in 2014’ and Top Social CEO on social media in 2015 and 2016. She was previously Director of the Services team at the charity. Jo was on the Board of Brook Young People and Deputy Chair until November 2020. She is a 2018 Grant Thornton Face of a Vibrant Economy representing an organisation with “innovation, growth and purpose at its heart!” Jo is a trained coach working with people across sectors including education, the charity sector, with Uprising supporting young people and also with Meyler Campbell, trained Business Coach.
Jo supported suicidal people as a Samaritan for 10 years, later as a director of the Central London Samaritans in the heart of Soho. She also had a career in the music industry as a writer with Chrysalis and was a performer in the band Scarlet, signed to Warner Music in the 1990’s and best known for hit single ‘Independent Love Song’ which also featured in the film ‘Bed of Roses’.
She is a proud mum of Louis 15, and Eadie 14, a completer of charity challenges (but not out of planes), an avid reader, piano player (only after a glass of wine), interested in everything politics, a tweeter and Tedx speaker. Jo is an alumna of Windsor Leadership having participated on the Experienced Leaders programme (2017).