About Society Matters cic
Society Matters … make your mark
It would be good to know that during our lifetime we have made an impression – but wouldn’t it be amazing if it could be made in a way that makes a tangible difference to people’s lives.
Your actions don’t necessarily need to be dramatic to be able to make your mark – your contribution could be small or irregular, it could be achieved through providing leadership to others rather than directly – but, whatever it is, it needs to be meaningful, and that’s where despite our best intentions many of us come unstuck.
So that’s where we come in. Our services for society are designed to help you to embed the knowledge and skills you need to put the right foot forward to be able to make your mark.
Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
Our two-fold social purpose
Society Matters CIC is a social enterprise registered as a community interest company, and a trading subsidiary of independent charity Citizens Advice Gateshead, and our aspiration is to deliver social value in two ways.
First and foremost we aim to support the charity to achieve its vision of a fair society for all with lives well lived, through delivering meaningful services that add real social value. To find out more you can read the exec summary of the strategic plan here.
Secondly, any profits we make are reinvested back to support the charity’s work. This is critical to the achievement of its vision as traditional funding sources are becoming a rarer commodity.
So basically if you work with Society Matters CIC you are guaranteed in one way or another to be making your mark. We are also clear that we have an ambitious plan, and definitely can’t achieve it on our own – but we also absolutely believe that the enormity of the task ahead of us does not in any way excuse us not to try.
Meet your team
Jayne Graham MBE
Executive Director
Jayne joined Citizens Advice Gateshead as Commercial Director in 2018, and assumed the role of Executive Director of Society Matters CIC in the same year. Jayne’s career has spanned over 30 years working in the private, pubic and charitable sectors in leadership, training, strategy development, fundraising and communications.
ADAM MATTHEWS
Social Welfare Instructor
Adam is our most recent addition to the Society Matters team, joining us from Citizens Advice North Yorkshire, bringing with him a wealth of experience in welfare benefits, debt and mental health support. Adam is a lead instructor in our virtual classroom and face to face training courses, playing the role of ‘social welfare expert in the room’.
RICHARD OWEN
Employment & Discrimination Specialist
Richard is an employment and discrimination specialist with over 40 years’ experience of advising and tribunal representation in employment and discrimination cases, and has a passion for delivering socially responsible advice and casework services. Richard also delivers training in employment issues and Disability Discrimination and regularly represents clients in Employment Tribunals in the North East and nationally.
Lee Booth
Trading Manager
Lee joined us in 2019 after several years of delivering training in diverse social issues in government agencies and, more recently, the commercial and utilities sector. Lee is responsible for the day to day management and delivery of our services for society, and is well known for his infectious positive energy and his ‘can do’ approach to supporting clients.
BETH AINSLIE
Project Coordinator
As a Psychology graduate who has worked in the field of employability for several years, Beth leads on all aspects of our Community Learning Programmes in Gateshead.
She also provides support to the Commercial team with research, social media marketing, design and planning activities.
AZRA CHOUDRY
Employment Solicitor
Azra is an Associate Solicitor and employment law specialist with a particular interest and experience in discrimination law. She regularly appears in the employment tribunal nationally acting for clients in unfair dismissal, discrimination, redundancy and wages claims, and advises regularly on settlement and compromise agreements and assists employees to negotiate severance packages with their employers. Azra advised and represented on the first religious discrimination claim submitted to the employment tribunals in the UK.
Board of Directors
Heather Lee
Chair
Crystal Hicks
Director
Barry Taylor
Director
Neena Dhaun
Director
Liz Reid
Director
Get in touch
Society Matters CIC is a social enterprise and registered as a Community Interest Company. Registered company number 07969715. VAT Registration GB 339038787
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