About

Community Roots CIC works to ignite action for social change to bring about a more equal and inclusive society.

Our Story began in March 2013, building on the Community Organising skills we gained by participating in the national Community Organising programme. Since inception, we have been pioneers of Community Organising in Gloucestershire and have built up a portfolio of evidence to show that using this approach creates positive change. We work with residents living in areas of deprivation to develop their confidence, use their voices and skills to take action on the things that really matter to them in order to create changes that will have a positive impact on their lives and the wider community.

Meet the Team

We are a well-formed team, consisting of 2 working directors, 2 non-executive directors and 2 Trainee Community Organisers, who all bring essential skills to help make Community Roots CIC a success. We also work with lots of volunteer community organisers, unfortunately, we can’t include them here as there isn’t enough space, but we recognise we wouldn’t function without them. We are looking to add to our board of directors, if you have skills covering any of the following financial, marketing, online trading or community organising then we’d love to hear from you.

Penny Liddicot

Director and Community Organiser

Penny has worked in communities for more than 30 years and feels passionately about the ability of people as individuals and groups to do amazing things and change the communities we live in.

Georgina Balfour-Ackroyd

Director and Community Organiser

Georgina has a corporate background and applies many of those skills in her Community Organising work, she truly believes that given the right conditions individuals and communities do flourish.

John Mclaughlin

Non Executive Director

John is currently a Grants Manager and has spent a lot of his career in senior positions within regeneration in the public sector. He brings his knowledge of the sector and extensive experience of working with communities at strategic levels.

Jim Austin-Jones

Non Executive Director

Jim is an adult educational specialist and current Interim Head of Adult Learning at Croydon Council. He brings his expertise in education and also his experience of Community Organising having attended training the United States over 20 years ago.

Luke Burrows

Trainee Community Organiser

Luke is working in Forest Green in Nailsworth as a Trainee Community Organiser. Luke’s previous experience includes mentoring young people, website support and setting up various entrepreneurial enterprises.

Emma Williams

Trainee Community Organiser

Emma is working in Gloucester centered around the Gloucester Park area. Emma has previously been involved in a number of community projects such as the Hope Cafe in a voluntary capacity, helping to improve communities.

Our Supporters

Acknowledgement to our funders, partners and other people we work with.