Our Team
Elaine McGinty
FRSA / CEO & Founder
With 30 years experience in leadership the last 25 in the Third Sector she has worked ESOL in teaching and managing a Community English Scheme & Multi Cultural Crèche as part of Woking Community Relations Forum, expanding across Surrey as a Community Learning Adviser to help communities identify learning and skills that they wanted to see in their areas and bring providers together to deliver.
A Community Publisher for a national news network she researched and wrote local stories and news giving a platform for local people to share their stories, businesses and ambitions.
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With 30 years experience in leadership the last 25 in the Third Sector she has worked ESOL in teaching and managing a Community English Scheme & Multi Cultural Crèche as part of Woking Community Relations Forum, expanding across Surrey as a Community Learning Adviser to help communities identify learning and skills that they wanted to see in their areas and bring providers together to deliver.
A Community Publisher for a national news network she researched and wrote local stories and news giving a platform for local people to share their stories, businesses and ambitions.
Co-founder Phoenix Cultural Centre CIC in 2011 to bring the community together through music, arts and wellbeing activity & offer training and creative industry opportunities, steering through from street activity to a small shop to opening 1000cap Fiery Bird Live Music Venue in a disused nightclub for a temporary pilot in 2018 and secured commitment from the local council for a permanent community venue.
A Clore Experienced Social Leaders Fellow, alumni of RSA/Power To Change/University of Sheffield Management School Community Business Leaders Programme; a founding member of One For All - a UK wide cohort of peers in community businesses.
Consultant and speaker on community power initiatives, contributor to LGA, Clore & New Local studies on community power structures
Panel Member of LiveUK industry summit, Music Venues Day
Successful music promoter of a variety of events, festivals and stage management teams.
Networking local nights into regional and national events and music networks
Oxjam Events Manager
Events for Charity - Robyn Higgs appeal gigs, charity single release.
She is a founder of WIMOD - an informal group of women musicians offering peer support.
A freelance writer, poet and musician writing and performing poetry and songs mainly about social issues and effects of domestic abuse. A contributor to books, articles and programmes on late 20th Century subcultures, music, exhibitions & contemporary social & cultural issues.
Alumni of She Leads Change and mentored women on their programmes.
Serves on Surrey Police Hate Crime Scrutiny Panel.
Elaine is also a Radio Presenter on Radio Woking’s Fiery Bird Show interviewing across arts and activism globally, nationally and locally.
She was cited as one of the top 25 inspiring women of Surrey in centenary celebrations of the Suffrage movement and awarded the Lord Lieutenant’s Award for Services to the Community of Surrey.
Joe Buckley
FRSA - Managing Director/Founder
A Local Government Finance Officer in a London Borough since 2008, looking after a budget in excess of £8 million, with responsibility for vulnerable adults. Member of APAD. AAT Level 3.
22 years in retail management in England and Ireland. With many years working within the community recreational/entertainment sectors working as a key worker in Mental Health and Physical Disability.
Extensive experience as a session musician, teacher and performer in the music industry. Former Trustee for other community groups, Assessor for The School for Social Entrepreneurs Hampshire and Advisor for many social enterprises in the South East. Managing Director of The Phoenix Cultural Centre CIC and volunteering alongside Elaine McGinty since 2010.
Suzanne Akram
Director
Suzanne Akram has worked in Surrey setting up and leading Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum since 2009. She has worked in both generic and specialist infrastructure organisations in London and has a passion for social justice and women’s issues. Suzanne trained as a Potter and has an MA in Arts Policy and Management; she believes that music and arts can be powerful tools to bring people together.
The energy and drive of the people at Phoenix have always impressed her, she looks forward to working with the group and encouraging people of all backgrounds to come together to celebrate their culture.
Andy Edmeads
Director
Andy has been a Woking resident all his life having grown up in Old Woking.
He started his professional life as an actor aged 13 and worked in theatre, voice and film and later trained at the University of Exeter. He made his professional acting debut in Peter Pan at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking in 1998 with Russ Abbott and Kellie Bright and has also worked with Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Benedict Cumberbatch on ITV’s Fortysomething. Andy has lent his voice to numerous radio and TV commercials and can be heard on the EA Games release Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Justin Coll
Director
Justin brings to our board a wealth of experience from the local arts scene. A festival co-ordinator for the award winning family festival, Guilfest, running the most diverse number of stages from local music to national heroes, from comedy to the theatre. He also managed press and was the online community manager for the social media.
He set up and ran the Palace in Aldershot as a live music venue and helped the Nepalese community open their community venue the Empire in Aldershot.