Our Trustees
Our trustees are a group of volunteers who take overall responsibility for everything Urban Uprising does.
They are responsible for ensuring the mission and long-term aims of Urban Uprising are met. Trustees have a legal responsibility to ensure Urban Uprising is complying with current legislation and governance best practice.
Our trustees bring a wide range of knowledge, expertise and experience to the organisation and approve our Strategic and Business Plans, Annual Budget and Annual Report and Accounts.
STUART GREEN, FOUNDER
“Climbing is a hook that enables disadvantaged young people to engage in something which is constructive, both mentally and physically challenging, fun and, above all, empowering. Many of the young people we work with wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to participate in this great sport.”
It all began back in 2013 when Stuart was visiting Rio De Janeiro and got involved with a grass routes climbing school working in the Rocinha Favela. Stuart started to ship donated climbing gear from the UK to the school. That set him thinking about the possibility of starting a registered UK-based charity and led to him forming a small team to start Urban Uprising. The charity is now exclusively UK-focused and has gradually grown in size year on year.
Stuart got into climbing while studying at Dundee University and it’s been a constant theme in his life.
TOM RAY, CO-FOUNDER
Tom was one of the co-founders with Stuart in 2014. He is another keen climber and brings a wealth of technology and business experience to Urban Uprising.
He loves the great outdoors and the positive influence it’s had in his life: “Challenging yourself, pushing what you think is possible, is an invaluable life skill. We hope the young people will take this and new friendships from the Urban Uprising programs offered.”
SARAH HAYDEN
Sarah joined Urban Uprising as a trustee in 2014. She was working for the Duke of Edinburgh Award and has a wealth of experience with charities and youth development.
Her hobbies include walking, climbing and foraging in the Scottish countryside.
JULIA JACKSON
Another keen climber but also hill walker and sea kayaker, Julia is often seen at her local walls in Cumbria. Having worked for many years as an accountant and IT consultant in both the public and private sectors, she brings a wealth of financial knowledge to the charity and covers all things accounting for Urban Uprising.
"I’ve seen how climbing changes people's lives and gives them purpose, self-confidence and self-esteem. I believe that Urban Uprising can help young people, through climbing, to find these essential elements of a 'good life'.”
NIKKI HORWOOD
Nikki has been obsessed with climbing since the '80s. She is responsible for marketing-related activities at Urban Uprising, working with a small team of volunteers to keep the website and social networks up to date, the creation of campaigns and materials.
“I'm passionate about climbing and the outdoors and believe that it's a great way to give young people confidence and a sense of purpose. I wanted to give less-advantaged young people the opportunity to discover the benefits I’ve found in climbing.”
Our Staff
BEN CAMPBELL, PROGRAMME MANAGER
Ben brings a lot of experience from working with not-for-profits in various parts of the world. He has a particular focus on growing the charity, developing our programmes and reaching more young people to maximise our impact. He loves to climb and is passionate about the benefits climbing can bring. In his spare time, when he is not climbing, he can probably be found practising parkour or spending time in nature with his family.
“Climbing can teach you so many valuable life skills and we see this in our programmes with young people growing in confidence and resilience. When you're climbing you often spend more time failing than you do succeeding. Dealing with failure, learning from it and adapting over and over again, can be very powerful in creating a great mindset to take to any aspect of your life.”
TOM ABELA, PROGRAMME SUPPORT OFFICER
Thomas has over 10 years working with young people, teaching guitar and music workshops in
primary and secondary schools throughout the UK. He started climbing a few years ago to help
rehabilitate his injured shoulder and soon became obsessed with the sport.His passion for working with young people through music inspired him to want to do the same with climbing which led to him volunteering for Urban Uprising.
Tom is honoured to work for Urban Uprising and looks forward to seeing the charity grow and offer opportunities to many more young people throughout the UK.
“The climbing community is incredibly friendly, gentle and encouraging which can only be an excellent environment for young people to feel safe and develop skills as well as improve their mental health and thrive as they grow. Like music, climbing really helps expand and focus the mind but I also like how climbing adds a physical element and exposes young people to risk in a well-managed setting.”
PHYLLIS MARTIN, FUNDRAISER
Phyllis has been raising money for youth, arts and community projects for 15 years, working with groups of all sizes across Scotland. Climbing got her through some tough times as a kid and she knows what a difference it can make. Phyllis has strong ties to the circus and loves to work on projects that reconnect people to their bodies and their capabilities. Circus and climbing communities share an encouraging, compassionate approach that Phyllis is excited to help Urban Uprising bring to young people across the country.