Meet the membership team

As our Membership Manager, Belinda enjoys spending time speaking with our members and getting to know them to ensure Co‑operatives UK continues to meet the needs of the sector. With an eclectic background in welfare‑to‑work project management and membership service provision, Belinda enjoys working in an industry that has a positive social impact on local communities. When not supporting the UK’s co‑operatives, she spends her free time with family and friends – cooking, eating, reading and being outdoors being her preferred pass times.

James has recently joined the Membership Team as our new Member Relations Co‑ordinator. He brings experience working for a membership organisation that supported purpose driven organisations to improve their social and environmental impact. In this role he is now leading on our work with federal bodies, as well as helping to ensure our members get the most out of being part of Co‑operatives UK more broadly. Outside of work, James enjoys watching films and TV, listening to music, spending time with friends and watching Bolton Wanderers play down at the Reebok. 

Louis joined the Membership Team to primarily focus on advancing Co‑operative UK's Youth Engagement strategy. He produces the Youth Summit, facilitates the Youth Advisory Group and works independently on launching youth‑focused projects to engage more young people in the co‑op sector. He also spends a lot of his time meeting members and finding ways to support them in any way we can. Outside of Co‑operatives UK, Louis is big on producing, playing and listening to music, as well as programming music events.

Working Monday to Wednesdays, Irena’s role is to seek out what our new members need at Co-operatives UK, to provide them with relevant information on our services, training and support – and to develop our members’ experience with us into loyal supporters. With a background in large events, national and international PR, Irena founded a high street cafe/deli while completing her Masters in Theology. She spends her free time gravel cycling and volunteering two days a week as a chaplain for the NHS.