Our Team

Colleagues at Young Enterprise

At Young Enterprise, we believe every young person deserves the chance to unlock their full potential, no matter their background. That’s where our people come in. Our colleagues are at the heart of our mission—connecting with schools, communities, businesses and volunteers to help young people across England and Wales build skills for life, work and the future.

Sarah Porretta, CEO

Sarah is a passionate advocate for inclusion, and the power of real-world learning and its power to drive social mobility. She brings cross-sector experience from leadership roles in public, private, and third sector organisations—including time developing responsible business programmes at Cadbury and Microsoft. Sarah has shaped national strategy on financial wellbeing and inclusion, previously serving as Deputy CEO at Fair4All Finance and Executive Director at the Money and Pensions Service. Earlier, she led Lloyds Banking Group’s financial inclusion work and created the award-winning Money for Life programme. Sarah lives in Dorset with her family and pets, enjoying an active outdoor lifestyle close to nature and is always keen to fill everyone up with homecooked food, bread and bakes.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? The people, culture and seeing the amazing impact on young people

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Passionate, impactful, determined

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Every day is a proud day getting the opportunity to lead this great charity. It’s a “pinch yourself” job!

Tim Stanbury, Director of Finance and IT

Tim joined Young Enterprise in 2015, and as Finance and IT Director, has responsibility for the charity’s finance and IT functions. He is a qualified chartered accountant having trained with Ernst & Young and has spent 25 years working in senior finance roles in the commercial and charity sectors.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? Working with committed and passionate people and hearing from young people about the impact that YE has on their lives.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Impactful, collaborative, people-focused

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Hearing young people with learning difficulties talk about the impact on their levels of self-confidence gained through participating in Team programme.

Donna Wells, Interim Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement

With over 20 years’ strategic leadership experience in the third sector, Donna joined YE in 2016 delivering impactful partnerships with a collaborative, cross-functional approach. She lives in Suffolk enjoying the countryside walks and cycle rides.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? Our people, so driven and committed to supporting young people

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Impactful, Creative, Supportive

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Co-creating our Inspiring Futures programme

Liz Booth, Interim Director of Programmes, Services and Marketing

With over 15 years in the charity sector, Liz leads the Programmes and Services team to ensure the effective development and delivery of programmes. She works closely with Marketing and Impact & Insights teams to support clear communication and meaningful outcomes for young people.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? The people. Everyone is working to a shared goal in support of young people.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Supportive, Innovative, Impactful

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Co-authoring the Your Money Matters Financial Education Textbook

Andrew Berry, Head of Impact and Insights

Andrew joined Young Enterprise in 2021 and is responsible for research, evaluation, policy and public affairs. He brings over 15 years’ experience of senior roles in private, public and charity settings, and he is a proud alumnus of Young Enterprise Company Programme.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? The people – everyone at YE is so committed and working towards the same goal of helping to positively transform young people’s futures.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Inspiring, Rewarding, Impactful

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Validating the impact for our Inspiring Futures programme: producing evidence about our engagement with young people facing challenges in their education, and showing how they can catch up and overtake learning of their peers by taking part in YE.

Elsa Garey, Head of Marketing and Communications

Elsa joined Young Enterprise in 2023, having specialised in campaign and brand management in recent years in the third sector. Having started her career working internationally in banking, she has nearly two decades’ experience in financial services. She leads Young Enterprise’s marketing and public relations work.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? The supportive culture and being empowered to make a difference.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Punches Above Weight!

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? After a long and winding road…launching our new brand to much positive feedback.

Katherine Gale, Head of Volunteering

Katherine joined Young Enterprise in 2023 after more than a decade in the charity sector in roles spanning youth work, service delivery, change management and volunteer engagement. She is passionate about the transformative power of volunteering for young people, organisations and for our volunteers themselves.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? The privilege of meeting and learning from our diverse community of volunteers across England and Wales on a daily basis.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Friendly, Impactful, Fun

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Watching a group of volunteers shape an incredible Volunteering Strategy to take us to 2030- by volunteers, for volunteers.

Maggie Ayre, Interim Head of Educational Partnerships

Maggie has over 20 years experience in the youth sector. She holds an MBA and is a qualified Project Manager. She joined YE in 2014. Maggie leads the high performing Educational Partnerships Team, providing direction, support and motivation across six regions in England and Wales.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? Working with a passionate team focused on supporting young people.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Impactful, Focused, Passionate

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Supporting a Company Programme team at the European Final and seeing the young people grow hugely in just a few days.

Julie Degnan, Head of Scotland Operations

Julie brings over 18 years’ experience in education, including 13 as a primary teacher. She was an entrepreneur at the age of 19 and also worked with small business start-ups. She is passionate about the use of enterprise in education to enhance learning and teaching, and to help young people develop skills for future success.

1. What do you most enjoy about working at YE? Working with such a talented and dedicated team with a shared purpose. It's incredibly motivating to see the positive impact of our work on young people. I also value the autonomy we're given to bring new ideas to life.

2. What three words would you use to describe YE? Impactful, Purpose-driven, Collaborative

3. What is your proudest moment at YE? Every time a team member achieves something they've worked hard for - supporting their growth and celebrating their successes is incredibly rewarding.