Brixton Finishing School announces Alumni Board
The Brixton Finishing School has announced the creation of an Alumni Board to inject entry level and early years career experiences back to the team.
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The Brixton Finishing School, which builds free programmes that bridge the gap between untapped talent and the creative, advertising and tech industries, has announced the creation of an Alumni Board.
It has appointed 14 Summer School Alumni to feed real life entry level and early years career experiences back to the Brixton Finishing School team, with the aim that the alumni's insight will supercharge the success of student and alumni programmes.
As the school approaches its 10th anniversary, the Brixton Finishing School says that "our community stands at a critical turning point. What began as a mission to create accessible pathways has flourished into an ecosystem of more than 400 alumni of the flagship Summer School programme, with hundreds more graduating from our online courses. Today, BFS graduates are no longer just gaining entry in to the industry, they have developed their careers and are securing positions of responsibility and influence."
That positivity, though, collides with an industry navigating a rapidly changing landscape marked by technological innovation, consolidation, large-scale restructures, and systemic challenges in the retention of young and diverse talent.
The alumni board will channel real-time industry insights back in to the BFS ecosystem, with the school using this intelligence to continuously optimise the ways in which it supports underrepresented communities to enter and progress within the industry.
The board will be chaired by Larisa Wong, Creative Strategist and graduate of BFS Summer School 2021.
The other board members are;
- Alfie Singleton, class of 2018, Paid Social Specialist - Freelance
- Phoenix Arielle Dorcas Matomby, class of 2019, Senior Account Director - Phoenix Gemini
- Niamh Paul, class of 2020, Associate Strategy Director - R/GA
- Melanie Nogueira, class of 2020, Producer - Lego Group
- Mickey Jones, class of 2020, Creative & Copywriter - Freelance
- Hannah Vatandoust, class of 2021, Senior Strategist - Wieden + Kennedy
- Preshul Shah, class of 2021, Programmatic Media Trader - Audience Store
- Phakawan Janasing, class of 2022, Brand Strategy Consultant - Interbrand
- Carol Muriithi, class of 2023, Retail Media Account Executive - JC Decaux
- Harish Menon, class of 2023, Account Manager - Equativ
- Tee Hussain, class of 2024, Account Executive - Career Break
- Joseph Ariyibi, class of 2024, Junior Creative - Uncommon
- Hance Rosales, class of 2025, Junior Creative - The Romans
"These incredible alumni are proof that our free, accessible, pathway works and I’ve been so proud to watch their progress since graduating from their respective Summer Schools," said Ally Owen, Founder of Brixton Finishing School. “I’m hugely grateful to them for agreeing to join our alumni board and help smooth the path for their peers and those who will follow behind them.”
“I owe so much of my journey to the opportunities Brixton Finishing School has given its alumni," added Larisa Wong. "With our industry facing changes and currently feeling the squeeze of an incredibly tough market, coming together is more vital than ever.
