In October we launched the first ever Hampshire Changemakers Awards celebrating the remarkable contributions made by individuals, organisations, and businesses towards creating a positive impact in Hampshire.
The nominations are flooding in and as we gear up towards the awards ceremony in February, we would like to announce our impressive line-up of judges. This panel of experienced individuals from industry, the media, charity and public sector will have a tough job on their hands deciding which organisation or individual has made the most outstanding contributions to the community.
Before we introduce the judges, please visit our Hampshire Changemakers page to find out more information about how to nominate.
Follow this link for more information about The Hampshire Changemakers Awards
Introducing our wonderful judges!
Here’s our panel and a short bio to give you an outline of the experience and background.
Darren Mooney – Darren Mooney is the Creative Director at Studio Global, where he leads the creative team in delivering impactful visual storytelling. His work has attracted clients such as Virgin Media, Molson Coors, and the London Stock Exchange.
Ben Fishwick – Ben Fishwick is the Regional Editor for Southampton and the Isle of Wight, based at the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton. He has been working as a journalist in Hampshire for more than a decade and has recently been named Editor of the Year at the Newsquest Excellence Awards.
Claire Whitaker CBE – Claire is the CEO of Southampton Forward, an independent charity driving culture-led regeneration, festivals, events, and tourism for the city, following her leadership of its UK City of Culture bid. Previously, she grew Serious, a renowned live music and events organisation, commissioning artists and collaborating with creative, business, and governmental partners worldwide. Passionate about youth access and underserved communities, she also led Serious work with children and young people.
Chitra Nadarajah – Chitra Nadarajah is Head of Climate Change and Environmental Strategy at Hampshire County Council. Chitra has worked in the environment sector for over 25 years leading and managing professional staff, partnerships and other resources in developing a range of policies and programmes of local, regional and national significance in order to achieve environmental outcomes and aspirations. She currently leads a team that focuses on strategic issues including natural environment and climate change, working with key partners to deliver outcomes for the communities of Hampshire.
Ross McNally – CEO and Executive Chair of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, has over 40 years’ Board level experience across business representation organisations and a range of service sectors. Providing leadership of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce his focus is on strategy, development, stakeholder engagement and ensuring the collective voice of Hampshire businesses shapes policy objectives.
Nagina Kaleem – Nagina Kaleem is a professional science teacher with over two decades of experience promoting girls’ education in Pakistan. After personal circumstances forced her to leave this work, she moved to the UK and faced various challenges, including a cancer diagnosis and cultural differences. Despite the difficulties, she persevered and completed her treatment, and began volunteering with various organisations to better understand the culture and values of the UK. Through her volunteer work, she noticed the lack of participation and isolation many women, particularly immigrants, face in their communities. This motivated her to continue working to empower and support women in the UK, and she has made it her mission to use her skills and experiences to create a more inclusive and equal society. She is currently running a social enterprise called Cross-Culture Hub in Southampton to fulfill her compassion for empowering and educating women.
Kirsteen Hook – is a Partner and specialist charities solicitor at Trethowans with significant experience advising charities and not-for-profit organisations of all structures and sizes on a wide range of matters including regulation, governance, risk and requirements for a charitable body. Her clients range from new organisations and small local charities/groups, through to large national and international charities. She also has experience advising faith-based and educational charities and organisations. Kirsteen has been recognised by the Legal 500 awards as a ‘Rising Star’ for advising charities and not-for profits in the South for 4 years running and is a member of the LexisNexis Q&A panel as a specialist on charity law. Kirsteen is also a trustee herself, and during her training spent some time working in-house at a large international charity.
