Meet the team
We are here to support our members and the wider co‑op sector. Get in touch with one of our team using the contact form.
Rose Marley
Rose Marley joins us as Chief Executive in January 2021. She is currently founding Chief Executive of Manchester-based social enterprise SharpFutures, which supports diverse, young talent into creative, digital and tech industries. Rose was directly appointed by Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to lead a pilot campaign improving local travel opportunities and raising aspiration for young people in Manchester.
She is currently the chair of the Social Enterprise Advisory Group for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, an RSA Fellow as well as an advisory board member for SODA (School of Digital Arts). Rose has had an eclectic career. Self-employed from a young age, she cut her teeth the music business in the era known as ‘Madchester’ before turning her hand to social enterprise, inspired by the lack of social mobility in the creative industries and in search of something more impactful.
John Atherton
John has been supporting co-ops and community businesses for over 15 years, with his first job in Rochdale of all places! Now focusing on membership, strategy and his passion for worker co-ops, he has been a director of a law centre, a community transport operation and Co-operative and Community Finance.
As part of the management team at Co-operatives UK, he leads our membership and events team. He believes our mission is to unite members, helping them to connect, learn and inspire each other. In his spare time, John was a founder member and still supports the Worker Co-op Solidarity Fund – and you may find him running in the fells above Rochdale, where he still lives.
Dan Birtles
Dan has worked in the technology sector in a number of management and operational roles across a variety of different sectors. As Head of Digital & IT, he sets out the overall direction and roadmap for technology solutions, products and service delivery.
Supported by the team at Co-operatives UK, driving both digital and business transformation through innovation to ensure that we deliver intelligence to our members. With at least 20 years’ experience behind him, he is passionate in delivering innovative solutions that aligns with business outcomes. In his spare time, you will find him embracing the outdoors all year round especially up on the hills or mountains, and getting involved with local communities as a trustee.
Wendy Carter
Wendy has worked in the charity sector for nearly 20 years. She helped to re-launch Britain’s last remaining cloth hall into an internationally renowned heritage attraction, established the UK’s largest network of healthy cooking clubs and championed the return of the water vole at her local Wildlife Trust. New to the co-operative sector, Wendy brings a fresh eye to communicating the co-op values and principles to different audiences, and is part of our management team. She's just joined the board of the Co-operative Heritage Trust. Outside of work she’s usually found with her nose in a book, or attempting to practice yoga.
James de le Vingne
James has been designing and managing the delivery of community development projects for over 15 years. Prior to joining Co-operatives UK, James worked in the charity sector and spent 10 years working across South East Asia and Africa, including establishing a Ugandan cotton growing co-operative.
He is a Director of the Co-op Loan Fund and adviser to a number of new economy organisations and boards.
Part of our management team, he leads our Development Unit which seeks to break new ground in co-operative development by building partnerships that test, try and support innovation to grow the co-operative economy. As well as being excited by all things co-operative, James has a passion for the arts and woodworking.
Jenny Holsgrove
Jenny’s experience of forming communities, culture change and engagement in the workplace stems from her PhD in community formation. She has presented her research at national and international conferences. She has worked with Local Government and the NHS, supporting organisations to develop and enhance their working environments to build a strong working culture.
As a member of the management team at Co-operatives UK, she helps organisations create cultural shifts so that they can work more effectively and cooperatively. One of her favourite things to do outside of work is to unpick the plot of books at her community book club.
John Forbes
Prior to joining Cooperatives UK as the Project Manager for the Ownership Hub programme, John has been working in the charity and development sector, since graduating in 2006. John was one of the founders of Performers Without Borders, working with young people across India and South America, before focusing on Youth Development work in the UK.
John became interested in the co-op movement through living at Sanford Housing Coop – one of the largest purpose built co-ops in the UK, of which he has been Chair for the last two years.
Emma Laycock
Emma has been advising co-operatives and mutuals of all sizes on all aspects of governance for over 20 years. As the head of Co-operatives UK’s Advice Team she leads on our chargeable services work and, alongside the rest of the team, ensures that we are the place for our members to find the advice they need. Emma is the author of the Co-operative Code of Governance and specialises in offering expert advice to co-operative boards. She is Co-operatives UK’s Interim Society Secretary.
Tim Knowles
A qualified solicitor specialising in employment law in co-operatives for more than 15 years, Tim has unique and substantial additional expertise in employee relations, collective bargaining, recognition and industrial action, and an in-depth understanding of HR policy, reward and benefits strategies.
Linda Barlow
Linda is a Chartered Legal Executive and specialises in corporate and charity law and governance. As part of the advice team at Co-operatives UK, she works with a range of organisations from co-ops to charities advising on legal structures, governance and corporate compliance. Linda delivers Co-operatives UK's director and secretary training programme and has authored many of Co-operatives UK's governance guides. When not advising on corporate law, Linda enjoys crafting and is currently studying towards her level 2 qualification in British Sign Language.
Kate Fielding
Kate is an experienced HR professional with almost 10 years' experience in HR policy, reward and employee relations in co-operatives. A chartered member of the CIPD specialising in all things policy, Kate is well placed to provide expert advice, guidance and support on all aspects of the employment journey.
Isla McCulloch
Isla manages our community shares standards work. Community shares are a popular way to raise finance to save and create much-loved community spaces and businesses. She oversees training and licensing for practitioners and the Community Shares Standard Mark, which recognises high quality community share offers. She also leads on our research and market intelligence on the community shares market and supports Alice Wharton with the groundbreaking Community Shares Booster Programme, which provides match investment for share offers with high levels of community engagement. Based in Scotland, Isla is the Chair of Dig-In Bruntsfield, a community owned greengrocers in Edinburgh and loves cycling, surfing and cooking.
Leoni Merrifield
Leoni has been planning training courses, gala dinners and conferences for nearly 10 years, since graduating from Liverpool John Moores University with an Events Management Degree. Since joining Co-operatives UK in 2016, she's co-ordinated an events programme of 60+ events per year, including flagship events; Co-operative Retail Conference, Worker Co-op Weekend, Congress and Practitioners Forum. When not planning a Co-operatives UK or personal event, Leoni enjoys long walks, online fitness classes and spending time with her cats, Simba and Mylo.
Dom Mills
Dom has been working with words since he learned to speak, though in a more professional capacity over the last 15 years. A former journalist and court reporter, Dom progressed to managing a team of sports writers for multiple award-winning daily and weekly newspapers before making the switch into the world of co-ops. Skilled at telling a good story, Dom also plays a leading role in much of our design work. When not tapping away on his keyboard, Dom can often be found on an expanse of (often uneven) turf, fuelling his passion for coaching a junior girls football team.
Petra Morris
Petra has run her own business and spent many years in local government promoting tourism, economic development and supporting local communities. As part of the busy Development Unit Team at Co-operatives UK, she leads on the delivery of our externally funded support programmes including The Hive and Bright Ideas – and is proud to have supported thousands of co-ops. She’s busy co-operating elsewhere too, as a voluntary Director (Secretary) of Friends of Stretford Public Hall, a historic multi-purpose building owned by its 800 investor members.
Gary Morrison
Gary has a wealth of experience in the field of employment law, having previously worked as an ACAS officer and for the Employment Tribunals before qualifying as a solicitor at DWF solicitors.
Gary has worked as a solicitor with the Co-operative Group and many independent co-operatives as part of the Co-operative Employers Association and is a very experienced Employment Tribunal advocate and his knowledge and experience extend to all aspects of employment law including complex areas such as TUPE and discrimination.
Dane Pollard
Dane works in our Advice team and is the first point of contact for all governance and legal enquiries. Dane specialises in providing advice and guidance to new start co-operatives and mutuals looking to incorporate and supports all types of co-ops with their governance arrangements, processes and policies. Dane also acts as account manager to members that have set up in the last two years and provides guidance to them on all aspects of their governance calendar. He has many years of experience dealing with customers in the retail sector as well as clients in the corporate world.
Ludovica Rogers
Ludovica is a designer and has worked as an architect, process designer, researcher and campaigner. She mainly operates in the overlapping spaces between the commons, tech and finance. As part of Co-operatives UK’s Development Unit, she leads on the Unfound programme that supports and promotes platform co-operatives in the UK. On the side she runs her own design practice and is an active member of the worker co-op Research for Action.
Richard Self
Our Agriculture Manager, Richard Self, boasts more than 30 years of experience within the farming, food and land-based industries. Richard heads up the £2m EDGE Apprenticeships scheme at Anglia Farmers and was formerly Regional Manager and national lead on training development at European Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP). Rural Business Manager at Business Link Suffolk and a Manager at FMTS, a subsidiary of Fram Farmers.
Bethan Sparasci
Bethan works in Co-operatives UK’s Development Unit, focusing on the Empowering Places programme which is working to build a network of community businesses to tackle social and economic exclusion. Bethan has a passion for creating vibrant peer learning networks, collaborative events and working in relationship focused partnerships. Alongside her day-to-day work in the Development Unit, Bethan is studying for a MA in Political Economy at Manchester University, giving her the opportunity to apply the on ground learning of place based economic development to academic theories and is another space to champion the co-operative alternative! Before joining the co-operative sector Bethan worked in Student Unions and Local Government. Outside of work, she is happiest on her bike or hanging out with her two cats, Edgar and Luna.
Jess Thomas
Jess has been working around community and movement building for the last 10 years, working in a range of roles from leading oral history projects to training programmes for campaigners and activists. Jess brought this experience into the co-operative movement, joining Co-operatives UK in 2017. Jess is the senior programme lead for Co-operatives Places in the Development Unit. She is currently overseeing a number of programmes including flagship placed-based programme, Empowering Places, funded by Power to Change. The five year programme is centred on a place based, action led approach to developing enterprise in community ownership in six places of high deprivation across England. She also oversees the delivery of the Ownership Hub, which aims to raise awareness and deliver support for worker and employee ownership, in partnership with the Employee Ownership Association.
Alice Wharton
As part of the Development Unit, Alice promotes ‘community shares’, to enable effective local economic development and citizen empowerment. She manages the Community Shares Booster Programme, which has already invested over £2m into community-owned businesses, with more to be invested soon. The connections between spaces, places and people fascinate Alice. She has managed projects in a range of sectors, working in public transport and tourism across Europe. Beyond work, Alice enjoys improving her French and Spanish, while coaxing plants to grow!
Gareth Wright
Gareth has been finding solutions to common business needs for almost 20 years. He’s worked with clients from a range of sectors in the UK and across Europe. Since joining Co-operatives UK in 2012, he’s been working directly with our members to ensure they have access to practical advice and guidance. He also delivers training and hosts local networking events. Gareth is never too far from co-ops, as he’s an active member of his local credit union, a co-op pub and a brewery. In his spare time, you’ll find him walking in the hills or riding one of his bikes.
James Wright
James has been Policy Officer at Co-operatives UK since 2013. Before this he worked with credit unions, as a student housing case worker and for a housing association. James has been convinced of the need for more just, sustainable and democratic businesses since studying politics at university in the early 2000s. A belief in the benefits of mutualism is a family tradition. James leads our efforts to influence government policy, in order to create better conditions for co-op formation and growth. Outside of work James has a toddler to look after, loves to cycle everywhere and gets about 5 minutes a day to mess about on a guitar.