Our team

Chief Executive Officer

Olivia Field is Chief Executive of the The Jo Cox Foundation. She has led national advocacy on UK resilience, health and social care, loneliness and refugee support. A member of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness in 2017, she managed the British Red Cross and Co-op partnership on loneliness and convened the first All-Party Parliamentary Group on Loneliness. Olivia helped secure the country’s first cross-government loneliness strategy and supported its implementation in government. She brings deep experience in policy, research and advocacy, and a long-standing commitment to building connected communities and promoting respectful politics – reflecting Jo Cox’s belief that we have more in common than that which divides us.

Head of Community Programmes

Richard joined the team in November 2022 as our Connection Coalition Manager. He is now our Head of Community Programmes. He previously worked with communities across the UK to take action for national behaviour change at Mind (on mental health stigma and discrimination) and at Parkinson’s UK. He’s taught in schools in East London and Shropshire, and in community groups in Nicaragua. He has studied Fine Art, Psychology and Psychotherapy, and loves gardening, painting, running and exploring the local landscape with his young family.

Head of Operations and Finance

Will joined the team in November 2021 as Head of Operations and Finance and also served as Interim CEO from September 2024 to January 2026. He’s previously worked for a variety of charities in the youth, education and LGBTQ sectors, undertaking a range of roles which have led him to working in charity operations. Will is a serial volunteer with a keen interest in governance and is currently a governor at his local secondary school and the Chair of Derbyshire Mind. He lives in Derbyshire with his two dogs, where he is a District and Parish Councillor.

Operations & Projects Officer

Nabilah joined the team in July 2025. She has previously worked with organisations encouraging access to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Her degree in Social and Political Sciences promotes a keen interest in furthering social justice and community cohesion. Outside of work, she enjoys reading both fiction and non-fiction books, and exploring the local landscapes of West Yorkshire.

Communities Manager

Meena joined the Foundation in November 2021 to manage and grow the More in Common Network nationally. Her experience of working with different communities spans over 18 years, with a special interest in meaningful engagement with seldom-heard groups and community cohesion. Her previous roles include managing the community-led Big Local initiative in Bradford, where she supported local people to work together and spend £1 million to improve their neighbourhoods. Meena is a Batley-born Yorkshire lass who has a keen interest in connecting communities to build long-term positive relationships.

Public Affairs and Policy Manager (Loneliness)

Rebecca joined the Jo Cox Foundation in January 2025, bringing over a decade of experience in the charitable sector. Before joining the Foundation, she worked in homelessness, leading cross-sector partnerships to tackle the issue through innovative, whole-society approaches. Passionate about upholding Jo Cox’s legacy, Rebecca is dedicated to building stronger, more connected communities and addressing the growing challenge of loneliness on a national scale. Outside of work, Rebecca enjoys creative writing and supporting local community organisations.

Respectful Politics Policy Manager

Hannah is a policy professional and advocate researcher promoting civility and gender equality in public life. With a decade of experience in the public sector and academia, her unique background spans local, national and international policy. She has significant experience advising and implementing strategic priorities, including at the United Nations, UK House of Commons, a large London Local Authority and the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. When not working, she will probably be binge reading another novel.

Evaluation and Impact Manager

Jennie has worked in the charity sector for over 10 years, managing evaluation, impact measurement and community cohesion projects for multiple charities. She has worked across varied sectors including care, health, education and the environment with a specialism and passion for work that tackles loneliness and isolation in communities. Outside of work, Jennie has been a charity trustee and creative mentor for an arts and disability charity in Bristol. She is also a trained illustrator and has illustrated for a number of children’s books.

Communities Officer

India joined the team in October 2023. She has previously worked and volunteered in charitable organisations that focus on mental health, community building, international human rights and women’s rights. With degrees in Cultural Studies and Gender & Sexuality – she is committed to expanding her understanding and advocating for compassion-led working. Outside of work, she can usually be found baking or reading.

Communities Officer

Penny joined the foundation in February 2022 as Communities Officer to support and develop the More in Common Network. She has worked and volunteered for many community groups, charities, universities and in the public sector. Her focus is on connecting people and resources, enabling people to speak up in decision making processes, and sharing learning, to promote wellbeing and social justice and reduce division. In 2019 she set up an online peer support group for community helpers around North Staffordshire where she lives.  Her favourite things are fresh air, community singing in many languages, and great theatre, film and TV.

Yorkshire Programme Manager

Rory joined the team in January 2025 as Yorkshire Programme Manager. He has previously worked across Yorkshire leading on co-producing mental health and community development services as well as leading on and facilitating arts for health and community arts projects with a frequent focus on music-making in migration contexts. Uniting all Rory’s work is a commitment to asset-based approaches and shifting power back to communities. Rory holds a global profile in the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) movement including delivering training with ABCD Institute in Chicago, USA. Rory is also a PhD candidate conducting participatory research on community music-making as social and political activism in global struggles for justice. In any spare time Rory can be found walking the dog or playing jazz, blues, funk & soul music.

Chair

Treasurer

Rosamund Blomfield-Smith spent 30 years in the City, latterly as a director of both Rothschilds and ING Barings, but since 2003 has been non-executive.

She has served on many boards, including Thames Water and Hartpury Agricultural College and is currently chairman of Museum of London Archaeology and a member of Ofgem’s Challenge Group.

She and her husband rear traditional breeds on their 386-acre farm in Herefordshire.

Amanda joined The Jo Cox Foundation board in early 2022 having admired to Jo’s campaigning and advocacy work, particularly for the rights of women and children. Prior to this, she has been on multiple trustee boards and has been involved in political campaigns, always using both routes to amplify the voices of young people in the decisions that affect them. By day, she works for the NHS and lives in London.

Dame Tracey Crouch was appointed the world’s first Loneliness Minister in 2018, while also serving as Sports and Civil Society Minister. She was a respected parliamentarian between 2010 and 2024, working on numerous cross-party campaigns in that time.  She Chaired the Government’s Fan-Led Review into Football Governance, which led to the establishment of the Independent Football Regulator.  She left Parliament in 2024 and is now Managing Director of Hanover Sport.  She received a CBE in 2022 and a DBE in 2024, for parliamentary and public service.

Nisha Jani is a (trainee) Medical Herbalist and experienced Complementary Therapist specialising in supporting people affected by cancer. She is a passionate believer in equality, fairness and kindness.

Her life was immeasurably improved when she made friends with Jo Leadbeater (before she was Cox!) at university and as a Jo Cox Foundation Trustee she aims to carry on the work Jo cared about.

Geethika is currently CEO of charity London Plus and has 20 years experience as a senior charity and local government leader in children and family services and social justice charities.

She joined the Jo Cox Foundation Board because she was inspired by Jo’s work as an MP and is passionate about The Jo Cox Foundation mission to make the world a kinder, fairer, more connected place.

Seema had a career in law and business before a spell in frontline politics as Conservative MP for South Ribble in Lancashire. During this time she established the cross party National Commission on Loneliness with Jo Cox MP, and continued to campaign as one of the Co Chairs of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness after Jo’s murder. In her post Parliamentary career, Seema acts as Executive Director of a legal advocacy group and holds several non executive positions. She is married to a serving member of the Armed Forces and has two stepdaughters and three sons.

Steve is Chair of the consultancy firm Portland. Previously he worked in 10 Downing Street and as a spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels. He and Jo became friends at university.  

Eloise Todd is the Executive Director and Founder of rani (Resilience Action Network International), a global network which coordinates advocacy to build societal resilience to overcome shifts, changes, and crises.

Eloise is an advocacy, policy, campaigns, communications and strategy specialist with over 20 years’ experience on international development, health and campaigns, and has worked as a political adviser within the EU institutions, as Global Policy Director of the ONE Campaign and has helped kickstart digital campaigns for free school meals, anti-racism and the fight against Brexit.

Eloise was one of the founding Board members of the Jo Cox Foundation, and was driven to join to honour the memory of her close friend Jo who she met in 2000, and take forward the issues they had a shared interest in.

Sam is the CEO of a growing Multi Academy Trust based in the heart of Batley and Spen in Yorkshire, and a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching. Sam is passionate about the positive impact education can have on transforming young people’s lives, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sam also believes that schools can be the social glue that hold communities together, and building stronger together networks of young people, families and educators can help build stronger, more united communities.

Sam was privileged to meet Jo Cox many years ago when they were both working in Batley, and she became a trustee to help build a legacy to Jo and continue the great work Jo started around building stronger communities, empowering women-young and old, and building a society that is stronger, fairer, happier, healthier and more equitable for everyone.