Support Team

I have been working in community development and wellbeing in the Stroud District for 19 years. I co-host the district Know Your Patch networking forum and I’m passionate about working with our voluntary and community sector.  Supporting the develop of the Community Hubs in the Stroud District is an important part of our Council Plan. We have been able to bring funding into the project and I am able to support the Hubs network as part of my role at the Council.

I work for Stroud Town Council as their Community Development Officer, and over the two years I have been in post it has been my privilege to work closely with the Network of Stroud Hubs that operate across our town. I have seen first-hand the vital importance of what they provide – food, social connection, signposting, and activities and spaces for community to come together. I have also seen how powerful it is when hubs come together to support one another as they develop. 

My work with the Stroud District Hubs Network has come out of that involvement, and whilst I don’t receive any external funding to participate in it, I believe passionately that sharing learning, resources and raising a larger collective voice would be of huge benefit across the District. I see my role in this project as one of listening to the priorities of the community hubs that participate, and then working with them to fill gaps, strategize and gain the support that will enable them to continue, and grow, the amazing work they are already doing day-to-day.

I work at Creative Sustainability and provide secretariat support for the Community Hubs support group.  This involves managing a best practice resource library, provide fiscal hosting and helping organise meetings and gatherings.

I have wide ranging connections across the District through my previous work supporting the Transition Stroud Climate Action Network and the Stroud Coronavirus Community Response group. I have administered the Warm Spaces support over the previous two winters.  I currently help organise pop-up Digital Hubs in multiple spaces and deliver Digital inclusion support.   

Hello I am Audrey Harris I’ve worked at GL11 Community Hub in Cam for five years (wearing multiple hats during that time!) GL11 is a thriving Community Hub offering everything from Knit & Natter to Peer Support for Chronic Pain and a million other things.

 I’m passionate about partnership working both between community organisations and between different sectors. We  are much more powerful together. As well as being an Area Facilitator for Stroud District (Funded by SDC,) I am a representative for the community sector on various boards across the NHS and statutory sectors. I also run other networks and partnership projects. I take pride in ensuring that the voices of the community sector are heard at all levels. No-one know a community better than those who belong to it. 

Coming soon!  

I’m the Community Outreach Manager for The Keepers Wotton Area Community Hub. My role has been to create and develop our outreach initiative that aims to create connected, supported and resilient communities.

I very much believe in actively listening to our local voices and developing sparks of ideas to design projects that have the needs of the local community at the forefront. This could be the creation of a new community hub, bringing professional services and support to rural villages or offering a safe and welcoming space to socialise.   

My role as an Area Facilitator for the Stroud District Hubs Network is to continue to nurture and grow relationships in order to bring opportunities to the heart of our rural communities. I look forward to being able to contribute to the growth and impact of this network and seeing the power of having connected communities.

Shaenna has been working in the voluntary sector for the past 17 years, working with a number of small charities, both in the UK and in East Africa. Having held the positions of volunteer, Operations Director, Chair of Trustees, and CEO, and having joint-founded a small local charity in 2020, she understands all aspects of running a charity and the frustrations it can bring. Before working in the voluntary sector she ran her own large healthcare business for 15 years.  After completing an MSc in Charity Management, Shaenna started working as a freelance consultant because she wanted to use her knowledge and practical experience to support other small charities and allow them to focus on the things that matter to them and their communities.

Shaenna is currently the Chair of Trustees for a small local UK-based charity, CEO for a small healthcare NGO working in East Africa, Volunteer Consultant with The Cranfield Foundation, a charity leader coach and is a member of a Faculty Advisory Board for The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

She is able to support small organisations to set strategy, write business plans, have the right financial controls in place and ensure their Governance is fit for purpose.

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