Grant Gordon is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur. He established the Ethos Foundation, working to help build a society in the UK where people and communities thrive. He also chairs the Cabrach Trust, a charity based in a remote part of Scotland’s North East, promoting community resilience and regeneration.

Larissa is a non-executive director of international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys; a non-executive director of search firm Saxton Bampfylde; Chairman of the trust board of international architecture practice Hawkins\Brown; a Non-executive board member of Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and a non-executive director of the Law Society of England and Wales. In her pro bono portfolio, she is Chair of The Foundling Museum; Chair of Social Business Trust (a consortium of Clifford Chance, Permira, Bain, EY, FT Group, Schroders and others) and a Trustee of the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation.

Previously the Director for the Centre for Early Child Development, Merle is a community education expert who led the multi-agency Blackpool Better Start initiative, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. Merle leads the only Harvard Frontier of Innovation in the UK and is an honorary member of University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry. She has worked in Government Office as a Regional Child Poverty Adviser.

Dr Julian Grenier is the Senior Content and Engagement Manager – Early Years at the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). At the EEF, he works on making research evidence accessible and actionable for early years audiences. Julian is also a member of the Department for Education’s SEND inclusion in education expert group Previously, Julian was the headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre in Newham, East London. During that time, he was a National Leader of Education and was also the Director of East London Research School. Sheringham led the Brighter Start Stronger Practice Hub, the Mayor’s Early Years Hub for East London, and the East London Early Years and Schools Partnership, a National Teaching School. Other roles include senior Early Years Adviser in Tower Hamlets and one of His Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI) and Early Education Lead at Ofsted. Julian was awarded a CBE for services to Early Years Education in 2022.