Becky is our Team Leader. She’s based in Pangbourne in the UK. She keeps us all organised and in check, helping us to do the best we can without depleting ourselves so that we can live our values. becky@maryannclements.com
I’ve worked in the voluntary sector for my whole career, predominantly with people who, for one reason or another, find themselves excluded from the mainstream. I have an innate sense of the unfairness of the world and I’m motivated to make what difference I can to change that – I also feel strongly that I don’t want to spend my working life making other people rich!
My area of expertise is in volunteer management and HR, and my passion is engaging people affected directly by the issue to become supporters of their peers. I’ve worked with people who are HIV positive, sex workers, drug users, those in the criminal justice system, and most recently young people with ASD. These might seem like relatively disparate groups but in my experience there are many overlaps between them, most notably with both HIV+ and ASD where although the ‘label’ is a medical one, the greater impact for the person is a social and emotional one.
I am really passionate about helping people tap into the skills they may not realise they have. I’ve lost count of the number of potential volunteers I interview who tell me they’re “just a mum” without appreciating the skills required to be a parent, and which are most certainly transferable and useful in other contexts. Some people, like drug users I’ve worked with, have simply never been told they have something to offer – when in fact they can better understand and support other service users than I ever will.
As Jijaze gets off the ground I will be using these skills to look after our members and make sure that they are getting what they want and need from this new community and I’ll also be helping to keep the team organised and on track. When I’m not working I spend most of my time parenting my two children, Joseph and Tess.