Dame Julia Cleverdon

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE is a passionate and practical campaigner who has gained an international reputation for ‘connecting the unconnected’, inspiring individuals and organisations to work together for the common good.

Having been Chief Executive of Business in the Community from 1991 to 2008 where she worked closely with the President, HRH The Prince of Wales, in building a movement of 850 member companies, she is now Vice President of Business in the Community working particularly on encouraging responsible business practice in disadvantaged communities. After stepping down as Chief Executive of BITC, Julia served as Special Adviser to The Prince’s Charities and, in particular, focused efforts on disadvantaged communities such as Burnley, Tottenham, Redcar and Burslem. Her objective, through all her work, is to build a more robust civil society by promoting collaboration among senior leaders from business, government, education and communities.

Julia also plays senior leadership roles in charities aiming to transform education and opportunities for young people. As Chair of Teach First from 2006 to 2014, and now Vice Patron, Julia has pioneered efforts to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers in low-income communities across the UK. In addition, Julia is Vice Chair of the Fair Education Alliance – an association of education and business organisations to drive action at local and national level to make education and life chances fair for all young people. Julia was appointed to chair the National Literacy Trust in 2013.

Following her 2012 government review on increasing young people’s engagement in social action, Julia co-founded Step Up To Serve, which was convened by HRH The Prince of Wales. Step Up To Serve, targeted getting 60 per cent of young people involved in practical action in the service of others by 2020. Julia served as a Trustee for the duration of the campaign and remains on its Partnership Board. Julia is also a Board member of the Careers and Enterprise Company and Youth Futures Foundation. Julia chairs Transform – an alliance of Teach First, Police Now, Unlocked, Think Ahead and Frontline, to collaborate on the many common issues facing public service leadership, and inspire a whole new generation to take up critical community impact professional roles.