ConnectSport CIC is supported by a Board of Non-Executive Directors, drawn from relevant sectors and industries, who oversee its strategic direction and purpose. The Board meets four times a year.
DR DARAGH MINOGUE
Daragh Minogue (BA PGDip PhD) is an academic and occasional journalist. He is currently Associate Professor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London, and the Course Lead for their postgraduate sports journalism programmes. In 2018, he received an industry commendation for promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in journalism. His academic research focuses on journalism ethics and discrimination in sport.
SIMONE STEWART
Simone is a proud Wolverhampton girl born to two Jamaican immigrants who has "always been passionate about storytelling and telling stories I want to see". Committed to helping young people and the next generation of creatives, she is an award-winning video journalist who has previously worked for BBC Sport and BBC News, where she won Best Digital Video Award for her story on the effects of knife crime in the UK, and is currently working at ITV Sport. In her spare time Simone watches Formula One and runs a podcast 'Wheel It Up F1' with two other Black women which has been featured in PodBible as one of the top six F1 podcasts.
JOHNNY PHILLIPS
Johnny is a broadcaster and writer working in the football industry. He has been a reporter with Sky Sports for over 20 years, covering the Premier League and also producing documentaries and features for Sky. Johnny has also authored three books about football. He is an ambassador for Wolves Foundation and patron of Show Racism the Red Card.
DR LIN SAMBILI-GICHEHA
Lin is passionate and committed to Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) and Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She supports 56 member states in leveraging sport for sustainable development, youth empowerment, and peacebuilding. With a PhD from Loughborough University, she has over a decade of experience shaping policy, research, and impact-driven sport initiatives worldwide.
DAVID GENT
David is Chief Executive of Active Humber and oversees work with key partners across the Humber to get the region more physically active. He also chairs the national Active Partnerships ‘Climate Crew’ that is tackling environmental sustainability and climate change across its England-wide network. David represents Active Partnerships on a number of different environmental sustainability forums, both within and outside of sport – for example with the UK’s sports councils and DCMS.
DR CLAIRE JENKIN
Claire is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Development at the University of Hertfordshire. Her expertise lies in sport for development, sports diplomacy and community sport participation. She is also the Co-Chair of the Sport Development Network which bridges the gap between academia and practitioners. Previously, Claire worked in sport development in London, as well as at Victoria University in Australia.
JUSTIN COLEMAN
Justin is co-founder and COO of the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice, supporting multi-agency networks. A Trustee for Kendleshire Kids Foundation and he also works with King's College London's VAMHN, leveraging his lived experience of complex trauma. Passionate about REDI, neurodiversity, leadership, and systems change, Justin helps individuals, organisations and systems address complex change, criminal justice, trauma, violence, abuse and mental health.
GENNY COTRONEO
Genny has a 20-plus year career in media and creative industries, with a passion for modernising sports media through greater inclusion. Working with a wide range of organisations from BBC Sport 'Get Inspired' to BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport), she helps partners and projects connect with their audiences using co-creation techniques, ensuring under-represented perspectives are heard. Genny works to make inclusion the norm, bringing fresh ideas that help the sports media industry move with the times.
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