I am currently Mayor of Ilfracombe and a town and district councillor.

My voluntary journey started at a young age, similar to the guys from Spark UK. I was organising various sports teams and events within my community from around the age of 16. I am a chartered accountant and soon got involved as treasurer on many committees. Having grown up in Ilfracombe I was always frustrated with the lack of services and facilities so got stuck in fund-raising and fighting to improve them. I founded Ilfracombe Sharks Youth Rugby in 2014 when my Children were young, where we have given hundreds of children the chance to enjoy the many benefits of sport, both physical and mental over the years. I also own a Home Care business with my wife, Kerry, Combe Home Care Ltd and we led the Town in becoming a Dementia friendly Town. My journey includes Band leader, Scout leader, School Governor, Councillor, Manager of various sports teams and Director of One Ilfracombe a pioneering group to help our community in all areas including Environment, Health, Mental Health, Youth and Businesses.

Personally I have suffered from Anxiety and would say my high functioning anxiety has probably helped me achieve most of the above. However I am very aware it is a tough journey and after years I am in a good place and understand first hand how it works. This has given me a passion to explore mental health and try and help anyone on their journey. Combined with my passion to help my community, especially the Youth’s I am excited to be involved with Spark UK who I have been following since they started all their amazing work.

Paul has worked in the youth sector for 20 years after qualifying as a Primary School Teacher. He has worked with Young Offenders as a Youth Justice Practitioner as well as Project Managing Mental Health Recovery Programmes for Young People, an LGBTQA+ Support Network and has spent the last 10 years as Programme Manager for the Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme as part of The Diana Award.

Paul is committed to unlocking the potential of any young person to achieve their ambitions, develop their confidence and thrive at any chosen vocation or cause they are passionate about.

Paul is delighted to be part of the Advisory Board to help SPARK UK to support them in their future ambitions

Hi, I'm Cristina Castro, co-founder and partner at Grow Your Brand With Impact and Ignite Your Offer. I have also been working for the last decade on a personal project to help revolutionise the education industry. My background is in International Commercial Strategies across several industries from Australia, Asia, the USA and Europe.

Mum, wife, friend and mentor

Donna runs a successful wellbeing company called 'Smile Box' and is Mum to a teenage son and a crazy border collie dog. She is also an NLP Practitioner with experience of coaching in a team environment and on a one-to-one basis. By delivering solutions to the corporate sector and within the education space, Donna helps raise awareness around positive mental health action and is passionate about removing the stigma around mental health and is really excited about joining the Spark UK Board and making a difference to mental health provision for adolescents.

Laura works in widening participation at Birkbeck University of London, collaborating with community partners to break down barriers to education. Breaking the stigma around mental health in all communities is paramount and Laura is passionate about co-producing with those who have lived experience to support better lives at a grassroots level. Championing disabled learner's access, Laura has made practical changes for inclusive outreach and chairs the NEON Disabled Learner's working group. Previous experience includes a master’s degree in Social Justice and Education; and creating and facilitating workshops around issues of power and oppression, including racism, homophobia and Islamophobia. Committed to inclusive pedagogy, Laura focussed on specialist provision such as Pupil Referral Units and Special Education Schools. 

Laura is looking forward to bringing these insights to the Spark UK advisory board as mental health conversations are so important for all.