Meet the Team
Here at Tutor The Nation, we try our best to get to know every one of our volunteers, pupils and schools. So we thought it was only fair that we introduce ourselves, and tell you a little bit more about the team who keep TTN running.
Jacob Kelly
What is your role at Tutor The Nation?
I’m the Executive Officer for the charity.
What does your role entail?
I’m responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity but, at the moment, I spend a lot of my time focussed on growing Tutor The Nation with a particular focus on recruiting new volunteers.
How long have you been with Tutor The Nation?
I’ve been working on Tutor The Nation alongside my degree since last July, however I started working full-time in July 2021, just after finishing my finals.
How did you get into the Charity and Education sector?
I come from an under-represented background myself so I’ve always been interested in ways to increase the support provided to underprivileged students and had done some mentoring in my first year at university. My proper introduction to charity and education, however, was founding the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative last year. The whole experience acted as a crash course in the sector!
What’s your most memorable moment with Tutor The Nation so far?
I’m always particularly motivated by hearing the stories of the individual pupils that access our tutoring. A particularly important moment for me came in my first week here when I was able to read the transcripts of some feedback sessions we ran with pupils at a number of schools. Reading about the impact that Tutor The Nation has had, and has the potential to have in future, is such a strong influence on my motivation to keep working hard on fueling our growth.
Now for some bits about you!
What do you do in your spare time?
I’m an avid theatregoer and an expert at securing last-minute cheap tickets, so often find myself darting over to the West End straight after work to see a show (sometimes for the fourth or fifth time)! On the weekends, I really enjoy long-distance walking – I’ve just started training for a 50-mile non-stop walk in September, which will be my hardest challenge to date!
Name 5 people you would have at a dinner party (alive or dead)
Stephen Fry, George Orwell, Judi Dench, John Lennon, Barack Obama
Where is your dream holiday location?
I’d love to go back to New York, but, after 18 months of Coronavirus, I’m not too picky!
What was your favourite subject at school?
I always really enjoyed maths – it was great being presented with a different puzzle every lesson that at first seemed completely alien but, by the end, fitted into what I had already learned and helped everything else make a bit more sense.
Tell us about an inspirational teacher who taught you.
I’ve been really lucky to have had quite a few teachers that inspired me throughout my education. My Sixth Form English teacher – Mrs. Nowicki – was particularly influential in helping me to realise that attending my dream university wasn’t impossible.
Ros Llewelyn
What is your role?
Chief Administrator
What do you do in your role?
I help our volunteers through the process to sign up, and also help schools get involved in the programme, along with supporting the teachers who are involved. I then match up pupils with their volunteers, and help keep the match running smoothly. I’m heavily involved in the day to do running of the charity, from answering questions, running inductions, chatting to Universities, running DBS checks and banking! It’s a very varied role which keeps me very busy but I really enjoy it.
How long have you been with Tutor The Nation?
I have been with TTN since September 2020, when I joined as the first member of staff.
How did you get into the Charity and Education sector?
I originally started my working life within recruitment, but I didn’t enjoy it. I moved into the tutoring sector, working at Simply Learning Tuition, initially in a support role and moving into a Tutor recruitment role. I was there for nearly 3 years, before I moved across to Tutor The Nation. Nathaniel McCullagh, the Managing Director for SLT is a trustee for Tutor The Nation, and when he heard that they were looking for their first member of staff, he mentioned it to me as he knew I was hoping to move into the Charity sector.
What’s your most memorable moment with Tutor The Nation so far?
That’s a tough one! While there have been many standout moments, I think the one that hit the most was when we received our first group of school questionnaires in 2020, and a pupil had written a note, thanking us for picking his school for the opportunity of a lifetime. I don’t mind admitting that I got a bit choked up!
Now for some bits about you!
What do you do in your spare time?
Growing up I was a dressage rider, but this is a bit harder to do in London! I now like to cook, listen to records, socialise with friends and go to the gym!
Name 5 people you would have at a dinner party (alive or dead).
As an ex history student, I have to include Anne Boleyn here! I’d also have to include Sir David Attenborough and Elizabeth Taylor. The final two are very difficult picks, but I think I’d go for Sandi Toksvig and Lin Manuel Miranda.
Where is your dream holiday location?
Japan.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Drama.
Tell us about an inspirational teacher who taught you.
I had so many inspirational teachers, it’s difficult to pick one. However there’s one who really does stand out! Mrs Raeburn taught me English Literature and Drama through my A level years. Not only was she a brilliant teacher, but she taught me it was absolutely fine to use a bit of drama in everyday life and to be comfortable with it! She also helped me get through a horrendous Year 13, and I couldn’t have done it without her. I think a lot more people would be confident in themselves, and love English literature (although she never did persuade me to the joys of Wuthering Heights) if they’d had a teacher like her.
Emily Woolf
What is your role at Tutor The Nation?
Administrative and Social Media Assistant
What does your role entail?
I support Ros day-today as well as being responsible for communicating Tutor The Nation’s mission, story and impact via our social media.
How long have you been with Tutor The Nation?
Since the end of January, so almost 7 months
How did you get into the Charity and Education sector?
RAG life was very much part of my world at university. I was involved with publicity and communication for Durham University Charities Committee from my first year, and I never left. Since then, I have worked and volunteered with many charities dedicated to various causes from children to international NGOs to food waste and hunger.
I love learning and have a treasure trove of fun (or some may say completely useless) facts. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had people around me to encourage that curiosity and fascination in the world. With Tutor The Nation, I hope that we can make a space that helps build fairer futures by encouraging learning to enrich life experiences.
What’s your most memorable moment with Tutor The Nation so far?
Hearing about the positive impact of our tutors is always incredible to hear. Speaking to one of the headteachers, she described what distinguishes TTN as a charity – our tutors become role models seeking to boost pupils self-confidence so that “they are limitless”.
Now for some bits about you!
What do you do in your spare time?
Cooking, walking, yoga, visiting galleries, playing hockey
Name 5 people you would have at a dinner party (alive or dead)
Nora Ephron, Bill Gates, Louis Theroux, Charles Darwin and Frida Kahlo
Where is your dream holiday location?
Iceland – I would love to go back and travel the full ring road (but I should probably learn to drive first)!
What was your favourite subject at school?
Art, so much so that I did an Art Foundation course before studying Anthropology at university.
Tell us about an inspirational teacher who taught you.
I was lucky enough to have several inspirational teachers. My most inspiring teacher was Ms Marzola; she taught me art throughout secondary school. She is an extraordinary person – inspiring in the best possible way, not just in technical expertise but because she encouraged us to think, to be resourceful and to be innovative.
If you would like to volunteer with Tutor The Nation, please do get in touch, we would love to hear from you!
