The people behindthe progress

Dr Ifedapo Francis Awolowo is a multi-award-winning educator, National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy who works at the intersection of accounting, educational leadership and racial equity, guided by a belief that excellence should be recognised wherever it is found and that universities have a responsibility to create the conditions in which everyone can thrive. As a Senior Lecturer in Financial and Management Accounting at Sheffield Hallam University, his research spans forensic accounting, audit failures, occupational fraud, corporate governance and race and ethnicity in higher education. He holds seven degrees, including a PhD in Forensic Accounting, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE), Fellow of the Association of International Accountants (FAIA), and UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor.

He led the Accomplished Study Programme in Research Excellence (ASPIRE), supported by the Office for Students and UK Research and Innovation, which through personalised mentorship and research opportunities has supported 59 Black and Mixed-Black scholars, with 15 securing fully funded doctoral studentships — work that is the foundation of his book, Breaking Barriers to Doctoral Education: The ASPIRE Model for Mentorship and Racial Equity. His approach draws on compassionate pedagogy and the African philosophies of Ubuntu and Omoluabi — the importance of community, character, care and responsibility to one another — which he brings into his teaching, mentoring, research and workshops on anti-racist doctoral supervision. He also serves as a co-opted member of Sheffield Hallam University's Board of Governors Academic Assurance Committee, working to build a higher education sector where Black students and academics experience genuine belonging.

Dr Theodore Nwankwo is a Senior Lecturer in Banking, Finance and Investment at Sheffield Hallam University and current Lead of the new Trading Floor at Sheffield Business School, bringing over 15 years of combined academic and industry experience. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurial Finance, with research spanning FinTech, ESG and sustainable finance, and funding models for SMEs and high-growth ventures in developed and emerging economies.

Beyond academia, he is a published author of children's books and an active community organiser, having led events including TEDxSheffieldHallamUniversity, the Business and Law Summit, and initiatives supporting Black-owned businesses. His contribution to teaching and student engagement has been recognised with multiple awards, including the Sheffield Business School Inspirational Students' Award — reflecting the same commitment to bridging theory, practice and opportunity that makes his work a natural fit for this spotlight.

Nicola Towse is a female SaaS founder and CEO of Risqly®, bringing clarity to renewals and retention in B2B SaaS, which she is building through the Cooper Project at Sheffield Technology Parks. She was recently selected for TECH SY's inaugural FoundHERy cohort, a programme supporting women building tech businesses across the region.

As an Ambassador for South Yorkshire Black Tech Expo, Nicola has been a driving force behind SYBTE's partnership with Sheffield Technology Parks, helping bring a free workshop series — spanning cyber security, AI essentials and business leadership — to founders and aspiring entrepreneurs across the city. Alongside her work in SaaS, she is also training as an End-of-Life Doula, bringing a distinctive perspective on communication and resilience to the way she supports founders.

Dr Jamie Caine is a distinguished digital strategy and digital transformation thought leader, recognised internationally for his work with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on digital capability maturity and digital strategy development. His work is underpinned by enterprise and business architecture principles, enabling organisations to align and execute strategy through capability-based, value-driven approaches. He was project lead and principal consultant behind ISO's Digital Capability Maturity Assessment for Strategy Development (DMAS) and Digital Maturity Quick Scan (DMQS) — globally deployed models supporting evidence-based digital strategy across over 170 National Standards Bodies, aligned with the ISO SMART programme to embed SMART-enabling digital capabilities for scalable transformation.

Dr Caine also supports strategic partnerships linking organisations such as ISO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, donors and developing-country institutions to align digital transformation with national priorities, and is Co-Director of Principles of Success (PoS), advancing race inclusion and student success in higher education. A sought-after public speaker on Industry 4.0 and leadership development, his commitment to giving back includes digital skills capacity building in East Africa and, closer to home, a long-standing role as Group Scout Leader for 298 Sheffield, developing citizenship, social and leadership skills in young people — that same thread of turning theory and opportunity into real outcomes is exactly why we're spotlighting him.

Tracey Johnson is a tech, digital and creative sector leader with many years of experience across the digital, technology and creative ecosystems, and a wide knowledge of these sectors and their policy locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. An experienced event host, panel moderator and panellist, she is committed to breaking down barriers to ensure the tech economy is truly accessible. She is currently Director of TECH SY, a programme funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and delivered by Barnsley Council to scale up the region's tech ecosystem — bringing together strategy, stakeholders, networks, data, support, places and narrative to help tech founders start, scale and exit in South Yorkshire, alongside an annual Tech Summit and regular published data and insights.

Until 2022 she led the Digital Media Centre, a landmark hub for the creative and digital industries home to over 50 businesses, and co-developed TEAM SY with Capital Enterprise, an acceleration programme delivered across South Yorkshire. She brought IoT Tribe to Barnsley and South Yorkshire to deliver Internet of Things-focused accelerators, and led the co-production of The Seam Digital Campus plan, now being delivered with phase one open from March 2026. Earlier in her career, as part of the award-winning Enterprising Barnsley team, she developed and led the original TechTown and the URBACT project Tech Revolution linking European cities on digital sector growth, and co-founded MADE NORTH and Sheffield Design Week — work that reflects the same drive to widen access and build ecosystems that makes her a natural fit for this spotlight.

Zandra Moore MBE is a Leeds-based tech entrepreneur who co-founded the embedded analytics platform Panintelligence in 2014 with CTO Ken Miller, growing it into a global business with hundreds of customers across the UK and North America before stepping down as CEO in 2025. In 2024 she was awarded an MBE for services to gender equality in business, and she was recently included in BusinessCloud's inaugural Northern Leaders list.

A long-standing champion of women in tech, Zandra founded Lean In Leeds, is an active member of WILD (Women in Leeds Digital), and served as a founding member of the UK Government's taskforce for diversity in fast-growth companies — work that included sparking the social media campaign that forced Innovate UK into a public U-turn on funding for female-founded businesses. She now chairs The Lifted Project, continuing to widen access for underrepresented founders across the region.

Dr. (Mrs.) Chinyere Elewachi Sam-Okerenta, fondly known as Chinny, and her husband, Pastor Sam Okerenta, oversee the Royal Assembly Church. Pastor Chinny is a seasoned professional nurse, a public health practitioner, a researcher and a university senior lecturer with experience spanning both the UK and African contexts.

Chinny is the founder of the African and Caribbean Cancer Support (ACCS) organisation, and CESO Consulting Ltd.

Dr. Chinny is a UK integration consultant and the author of Integration Companion for New Arrivals to the UK, a practical guide for settling in the UK. She co-authored another book, Born for Greatness, which encourages the reader to manifest the greatness in him or her.

Beyond all these, Dr. Chinny plays multifaceted personal roles and is very active in community outreach efforts that foster empowerment and self-discovery in the UK. In summary, beyond her academic and nursing achievements, Pastor Chinny is a religious and community leader, a Chaplain Corps, mentor, counsellor, motivational speaker, actress, singer, writer, and life/family/career coach. She balances these roles alongside being a dedicated wife to her Hero, Dr. Samuel Iheanyi Okerenta, and loving mother to her three amazing adult children: Barbara, Sam the second, and Jennifer.

Consult Dr. Chinny for UK integration support services, integration workshops, cancer talks, cultural awareness conferences and seminars, and career, pre-retirement and life coaching.

Dr. Blaine Robin has worked in Adult Social Care, Medicine for the Elderly, Surgery, Orthopaedic, Adult Mental Health, Community Mental Health for Older People, and Children with Disabilities. He progressed into senior roles including Service Manager – Equipment Services (2003–2006, Redbridge Council); elected Member, Southend on Sea Borough Council (2008–2012); Social Housing Board Member of South Essex Homes, an Arm's Length Management Organisation (2008–2012); and HIV/AIDS Champion, Southend on Sea Borough Council (2008–2012).

In 2010 he completed a PhD at the University of Greenwich, Public Health. In 2016 he left Luton Council Adult Social Care and the role of Advanced Practitioner in Occupational Therapy to begin a teaching career at South Essex College of Higher Education. In 2020 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Leeds Beckett University. His current research interests are varied — they include quantitative research methods and design, and racial disparities in health.

Odeth Richardson is a Jamaican-born British writer, Poet, Occupational Therapist, and community advocate. Her work explores themes of heritage, migration, identity, family, resilience, and social justice, drawing on lived experiences across Jamaica and the United Kingdom.

As Chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and contributor to Caribbean Perspectives on Occupational Therapy in the UK, Odeth brings together professional insight and personal storytelling in her writing. She is the author of a poetry anthology, is preparing a second collection for publication, and is currently completing her memoir, Thunder and Grace.

Through poetry and prose, Odeth seeks to preserve stories, celebrate Caribbean voices, and inspire reflection, healing, and connection across communities.

Jenny Garrett OBE began life in social housing in North West London, and learned early that where you start should never limit where you arrive. Two decades on, she is the founder and CEO of Jenny Garrett Global, the award-winning leadership consultancy she started in 2006 and still leads. Her belief is simple: potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and the work of leadership is to close that gap.

Jenny’s work spans three connected pillars: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial and AI-Ready Leadership. She is the author of the bestselling Rocking Your Role and Equality vs Equity, and, with her daughter Leah-Sunshine Garrett, co-author of AI for Equity (Emerald Publishing) and co-host of the podcast of the same name. She holds an OBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business, and is a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, its highest honour.

Leah-Sunshine Garrett is the founder and CEO of Dawn Intelligence, a live intelligence platform that forecasts incidents of harm, up to a year in advance, across every neighbourhood in the UK. She started coding at eleven and built Dawn Intelligence entirely on her own, from first line of code to production scale. A Politics and Psychology graduate of the University of Dundee, she writes and speaks on ethical AI, safeguarding infrastructure and the risks of over-automation in public systems.

Her starting point is that most organisations are not short of data. They are short of intelligence they can actually use. Dawn turns fragmented public data into forecasts and context that safeguarding teams, employers and public bodies can act on, so they can see what is coming and move sooner. Dawn forecasts incidents, not people: every output is traceable, qualified and built to help humans decide, earlier.

With her mother, Jenny Garrett OBE, she is co-author of AI for Equity and co-host of the podcast of the same name, exploring how AI shapes power, risk and access, particularly for communities that are often over-policed and under-protected.