New Chief Executive for The Access Project
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Searle as Chief Executive of The Access Project.
Anna was most recently Executive Director at the Education Development Trust where she led and delivered high impact education and employability initiatives as well as managing strategic partnerships. Anna brings a wealth of experience in leading education development and social mobility programmes in the UK, and globally.
The Access Project supports teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds to unlock their potential and access an education at a top university, students facing disadvantage are three times less likely to go to a top university compared to more advantaged students. The Access Project does this through a unique, multi-year programme of tuition and in-school mentoring. We are currently working with 1,900 students in 39 partner schools in London, the East and West Midlands, West Yorkshire and the North West.
John Kelly-Jones, Chair of The Access Project, said: “We are excited about Anna’s appointment as our new CEO. Anna is passionate, driven and ambitious about overcoming barriers to success and I am looking forward to Anna building on our strategy foundations, as we aim to reach even more students over the next few years.”
Anna said: “I am thrilled to take on the CEO role at The Access Project. My deep passion to reduce educational inequality and improve social mobility is what I have built my career around. It is an honour, as my next step, to lead the talented, impact-driven team at The Access Project to support life-changing opportunities for students across the country.”
Anna will start at The Access Project on 2 October 2023. Stuart Sheldon will be interim CEO until Anna arrives.