#FaithinPartnership Week

11th – 15th September 2023

See what happened during our week celebrating and championing cross-sector working!

Meet the Team

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Daniel Singleton, National Executive Director

Daniel Singleton has been the National Executive Director of FaithAction since 2007. This role has seen Daniel forge close working relationships across a number of national government departments, as well as local statutory and voluntary-sector bodies. As part of FaithAction’s mission to connect national and local government with grassroots organisations, Daniel also meets regularly with FaithAction member groups to help them develop in their social action.

Daniel regularly speaks on such topics as the role of faith in local services, how community groups can partner with government, and how to engage the community in local action. As a member of the UK Government’s Places of Worship Taskforce, Daniel has played a key role in helping government and faith leaders navigate the challenges and implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly as it has impacted the countries grassroots, seldom-heard faith communities.

Before his work with FaithAction, Daniel worked as a history teacher in a London secondary school and later as training and development manager for a large voluntary-sector organisation in East London.

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Dr Anne Smith, Creative English Lead Trainer

Dr Anne Smith is the Lead Trainer and Founder of the Creative English programme. In this role, she writes session plans and materials, trains facilitators and supports those delivering Creative English. She is responsible for developments of the Creative English programme, including variations to support Health Professionals and Creative English: Family Learning.

Anne created the Creative English programme after seven years of research with refugees and migrants, exploring how approaches to drama-based learning could build community and increase participants’ sense of belonging. This resulted in her being awarded a PhD from Queen Mary, University of London in 2013. She has more than twenty years of experience in the formal and informal education sector, as a teacher and workshop facilitator in schools, universities and community settings. She has presented at conferences nationally and internationally on facilitating belonging. Recent conferences include University of Manchester, University of Cork and New York University. She has published extensively on facilitation techniques, language education and building community. Some of her publications can be accessed via this website. As a researcher, she is passionate about identifying and disseminating good practice.

Jeremy Simmons

Jeremy Simmons, Policy and Programme Manager

Jeremy works to raise the profile and voice of the faith-based sector in policy making and gather evidence of local faith-based solutions. He leads FaithAction’s programme of work with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England, and is part of the team supporting FaithAction’s secretariat role for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Faith and Society, and Faith Covenant. He is passionate about helping the faith-based sector work in partnership with other agencies.

Jeremy originally studied theology, as well as art history, and maintains an interest in art practice and the intersections between faith and culture – as well as good coffee!

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David Simmons, Senior Project Coordinator

Having spent the first years of his professional life in the City of London, David has spent the past 19 years working in the Voluntary Sector, as a children and family practitioner, and latterly as a social researcher, for which he was awarded a PhD in 2013 with the University of Greenwich.

He runs his own company, Absolute Communication, and has worked with Cinnamon Network, Eido Research, Future Perfect, REACH Community Projects, Refresh in Weymouth, Yeovil 4Family, and Sussex Police, among others.

David is also a musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, having co-produced three musicals, and has also produced a one-man version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

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Martin Smith, Engagement Coordinator

Martin has worked for FaithAction and its parent organisation Lifeline Projects for over 6 years and has held numerous roles, including Project Manager, Project Delivery Officer and Data and Technical Support Officer. His background is IT Management, holding an MCSE, ITIL foundation cert and Prince 2 project management qualifications.

He has previously spent 4 years working in Mozambique as an aide development worker and speaks Portuguese. Other interesting notes are that he is an ex-professional photographer, he loves fishing, golf and generally collecting hobbies!

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Jenny Hadgraft, Project Assistant

Before having three daughters, Jenny worked for a health insurance company. Full time mum until 2013, she went back to college and completed a degree in English Language and Communication. Afterwards, she began volunteering with the National Autistic Society, which lead to a temporary position within the Care and Support Alliance as a policy and campaigns assistant. Finally, she joined the administration team here at FaithAction as she wanted to be involved in an organisation that is focused on providing solutions for local people. Jenny provides the secretariat for one of FaithAction’s projects THIFF, the Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum. Jenny also supports our work with the Department of Health. In her spare time, Jenny loves spending time with family, reading and exercising.

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Andrew Welsby, Project Officer

Andrew is one of FaithAction’s Project Officers.

Andrew is leading on our Barking and Dagenham Faith Leaders Network, supporting local faith leaders delivering social action projects in their community. He also supports hubs on our Cafe Connect programme, helping new arrivals from Hong Kong.

Andrew has also been involved in project managing our Community Champions Programme, directly recruiting and working with our Community Champions. He was part of the Faith COVID Response Project, arranging focus groups and becoming the team’s go-to person on the places of worship guidance.

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Charlie Gibson, Engagement Officer

Charlie works across multiple FaithAction projects supporting the organisations we work with to deliver their work in their communities. She trains and supports volunteers to run Creative English, as well as co-writing the course material with Anne—most recently focussing on Creative English for Health: Caring for my Family.

As part of her client-facing role, Charlie loves visiting the projects and organisations we work with and can often be found joining in with Creative English sessions, having her blood pressure tested, doing a yoga class, or even cycling nine miles around London parks on our Faith Health Action Partnership project in Tower Hamlets.

In 2020, she completed a Masters in Applied Theatre: Drama in Education, Community and Social Contexts at Goldsmiths, University of London. Outside of work, Charlie lives with her husband on a 62ft narrowboat, which is painted the same colour as their favourite bird—the kingfisher.

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Faaria Ahmad-Younis, Project Adminstrator

Faaria has a degree in Criminal Justice and worked full time within healthcare- specifically Criminal Justice and Substance misuse. In 2022 she became a first-time mum and decided to leave her management role in order to concentrate on her young family.

She recently joined the FaithAction team on a part time basis in late 2023 as she wanted to be involved in an organisation that supports the local community and makes a positive impact on society.

Faaria provides administration support to the FaithAction team and is involved in multiple projects across the team.