Who we are Meet the team Meet the team Our team One of Refocus’ key differentiators is the people who deliver our services. In addition to maintaining relevant certifications and qualifications, our team has significant personal and professional experience that they use to relate with young people in a way that drives positive outcomes. Refocus also has a team of volunteers and sessional workers who are ex-offenders and from other difficult backgrounds who have turned their lives around Lennox Rodgers Co-founder and CEO of Refocus Project and the author of the biography Breaking better. He is a qualified level 7 training manager and is registered with the CIPD. He has training in youth work, mentoring, neuro-linguistic re-programming, social and health and fitness. Lennox received training whilst volunteering in a substance misuse service for a year and has the ability to engage with any age group, train and his expertise and specialism focuses on motivational speaking, mentoring and coaching. He empowers and trains others to help people to change by challenging their behaviour and attitudes. He can relate to individuals through his personal experience in a way that helps build an environment that fosters trust, disclosure and engagement. Bali Rodgers Co-founder /Director Bali Rodgers is Co-founder of Refocus Project and CEO of Safer Communities Alliance. She undertook fundraising, procurement and partnership development, alongside training and supervision over 15 years. As a trained life coach, Bali specialises in behaviour management, development and breaking negative cycles, particularly in work supporting families. Her extensive experience has helped her to understand communities and gross root issues. Bali is a qualified coach, group therapist and counsellor, who has worked in the substance misuse field for 20 years, with the NHS, Turning Point, Bromley Community Safety and the Kenward Trust. She developed a women’s therapeutic residential community, that she ran for 6 years and also helped develop a detoxification centre, as both a counsellor and group facilitator. She has acted as a youth worker, managed a community development project with community groups and developed a family and carer’s service. She was responsible for small grants, taken part in several documentaries with the BBC, Five Live and has lobbied several issues for BAME communities through the Guardian newspaper and the Big issue, by running awareness conferences and events. As a UK wide level 4 diversity trainer she lectured at Canterbury university lecturing, public health and Bromley Metropolitan police. She is tenacious and always looking for opportunities to improve and provide better services and for against injustice. She is excited to see how she can help through their new sister Charitable Interest Company, the Safer Communities Alliance CIC and explore ways to develop wrap around support, Increase Collaborations, Inspire members to work together and most of all help young people and communities to reach their full potential through diversionary activities inter-twined with crime prevention and interventions. Directors Karen Walker: Safeguarding /Chair Karen is a qualified Social Worker, having worked in Residential Care with young adolescents and 10 years’ experience as a Local Authority Social Worker in Safeguarding. For the past 9 years she has worked in various roles in Fostering - Supervising Social Worker, Fostering Recruitment Assessment Manager and currently Head of Referrals for a Group of Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA’s) across the UK. Karen and her husband are a fostering family, being approved foster parents since 2008 her husband, teenage daughter and son have opened their home and hearts to many children / young people from diverse backgrounds from various Local Authorities. Karen is a strong believer in thinking and parenting therapeutically to see the best possible outcomes for children and young people. Natasha Oti Treasurer/Administration Tasha has recently come on board as a Trustee for Refocus and is assisting part time in the main office with the accounts and administration. She is currently completing a Level 2 qualification in bookkeeping. Tasha has experience working with young people through her local church where she worked as the head youth leader for 3 years and an assistant leader for many years prior. Tasha also runs her own business called YGM Dance Academy, where she enjoys teaching street dance to children and adults. YGM Dance Academy has been involved in outreach projects throughout the Covid pandemic to encourage young people to get active through dance Temitope Agbaje Director Temitope Agbaje Chartered MCIPD is a senior Human Resource Professional with over 14 years experience in local government, charity, education, private sectors and in the National Health Service. She has a genuine passion for lifting others up and empowering minority women, young people and children to break out of systemic poverty to actualise their potential. Aside from being a trained coach and mediator she also holds a first degree in Industrial Economics from the University of Nottingham and a Masters in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies