Our team
Our team
Jenny Foster, Project Lead
Jenny Foster has 15 years’ experience in international development and campaigning, as Bristol and South West Fairtrade Co-ordinator and Regional manager at the Leprosy Mission.
Jenny is a qualified social worker and managed Housing and Community Care teams in London and South Gloucestershire. She has also worked in theatre-in-education, working with schools on environmental and social justice issues.
Mark Jacobs, Development Lead
Mark is an environmental scientist, documentary maker and educator. He was Executive Producer and Project Lead at the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol and Commissioner for the Open University and BBC in London. He has delivered large scale training initiatives and specialises in emerging media and new formats.
Working with David Attenborough he produced an award-winning interactive film, one of the first to use virtual and augmented reality for the Natural History Museum, London. He has a BAFTA for his work in interactive media and has supported students at UWE and academics at Nottingham as Professor of Practice.
Manu Maunganidze, Education Lead
As a teacher for 10 years, Manu has engaged with hundreds of children and families to raise awareness of sustainability issues, coordinating events and activities through schools to raise awareness and drive action.
He set up and runs Nature Youth Connection & Education, providing ecological education for marginalised young people in Bristol. Manu is a Director of Bristol Green Capital Partnership, focusing on engaging young people and other diverse communities with nature and the environment.
Dr. Verity Jones, Associate Professor and Educator
Dr Verity Jones is an Associate Professor at the University of West of England Bristol.
Her international research focuses on young people and sustainable futures in relation to education, fast fashion, food production and consumption, drought and well-being.
Alice Flannery, Digital & Design Lead
Alice is an experienced charity communications professional and freelance graphic designer.
She is motivated to create engaging and thought-provoking content that educates and inspires audiences, ultimately working to address some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Elle Placide, Bookings Manager
Elle is a youth and community worker, who works across the sector in youth empowerment, mental health, homelessness and substance abuse. She is passionate about lived experience and empowering those voices to be heard.
Wigs (Rebecca) Wingate-Saul, Fundraising Lead
Wigs has worked in fundraising for over 16 years, mainly for start-up charities. She specialises in setting up systems, trust and foundation fundraising, individual giving, strategy work, and generally mucking in when needed. She used to help organise a family-friendly festival, so feels very at home in Sparks!
Lucy Willoughby, Sparks Volunteer Coordinator
Lucy has worked and volunteered for charities, NGOs and social enterprises for over ten years. She has worked on projects addressing many of the Sustainable Development Goals including inspiring young people to take action on the goals on projects in Tanzania and Nepal. Lucy also runs Good Things, a social enterprise encouraging people to make choices that are kinder to people and planet.
Jehad Alrefaie, Sparks Volunteer Consultant
Jehad has over 10 years of experience in the humanitarian and development fields, working to empower the most vulnerable groups and promote equality and diversity. Jehad has an MBA and is studying Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc at Bristol University. At Sparks, he is working to develop a network of community champions and enhancing the social interaction of different communities in Bristol, especially those that are often excluded.
Sara Bjerking, Finance Manager
Sara has a circus performer background working for traditional circuses in both the UK and abroad. For the last 5 years she has been working with finance for limited companies and charities and has in that time completed a Level 3 AAT diploma in Accountancy and Bookkeeping. Sara also works for Artspace Lifespace, a charity who specializes in meanwhile use buildings providing affordable studio, gallery and training spaces for artists.
