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, are invaluable life skills. 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 had 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 peoples 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, along with 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”

ROB SUTTON

Rob has a long association with the Charity, being one of the initial team members responsible for starting Urban Uprising. He has years climbing experience and is a Manager at The Climbing Academy Glasgow.

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 programs 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 is practicing 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 in to any aspect of your life.”