Deborah Jenkins MBE

Deborah Jenkins is particularly interested in the development of partnerships to address complex problems. Over the last thirty years she has held leadership positions in organisations ranging from tiny third sector projects to major healthcare providers and provided consultancy to many organisations in the UK and abroad. She is strongly committed to the North East, where she has been based since the mid eighties. In addition to running her own consultancy, Kindling Ltd and her work as a director of T4C, she is currently CEO of TDI, a charity working to reduce the risk of sexual offending, and chairs NCFE, the UK’s third biggest qualifications awarding body, the Northern Neonatal Clinical Network, and the Cultura Trust, formerly The North of England Civic Trust. Deborah is honoured to be a Deputy Lieutenant for Tyne and Wear. She was a co-founder of Common Purpose, Vice Chair of the Mental Health Act Commission, Chair of a large integrated NHS Hospitals Trust and founding chair of two new companies delivering chidren’s services, Together for Children in Sunderland, and Brighter Futures for Children in Reading. Deborah has pursued an interest for more than thirty years in the importance of manual skills for health, wealth and happiness, including running the Making Sense project in the 2000s. Her long term ambition is to build a network of new Guildhouses across England to support apprentices and journeymen to become skilled artisans.