Teacher · Leader · VCSE Advocate
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I am a highly qualified and experienced teacher, trainer, and facilitator with decades of practice across every field and level of post-compulsory education. My career has been defined by a single conviction: that learning is the most powerful tool ordinary people have to change their lives.
I am noted for warm and supportive relationships with people of all ages, and for creating genuine communities of practice wherever I work. I have an excellent track record of establishing new and successful projects — from curriculum design to whole organisational foundations.
I have held leadership roles across the VCSE sector, in Further Education, in NHS governance, and in national professional bodies. I am known for integrity, directness, and an unfashionable commitment to thinking clearly about what organisations are actually for.
Scan the QR codes throughout my CV at bcv.beagmcd.net to see my full video CV and documentary evidence of each role and qualification listed here.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."— Roy Batty, Blade Runner (1982)
The moments matter. The love is real even when the memories are engineered. The loss is real because the connection was real. I bring this philosophy to every organisation I serve: what we do together is real because we do it with commitment and care.
I believe in understanding what an organisation is genuinely for — and then doing exactly that, without technocratic short-cuts or institutional inertia. Clarity of purpose is the foundation of good governance.
Organisations exist to serve people, not the other way around. I have spent forty years building communities of practice — environments where people genuinely learn, grow, and do meaningful work together.
Good leadership is about showing up, doing the work, and maintaining trust under pressure. I have led organisations through dissolution, transition, and growth — and I have never lost sight of the people at the centre of the mission.
A selection of the projects, organisations, and initiatives I have founded, led, or helped to transform over four decades in the VCSE sector.
My current portfolio of governance, teaching, and advocacy work across the North East VCSE sector.
A selection from a much longer record of continuous professional development
Core competencies built over four decades of professional practice
The things that make me who I am outside work
Wittgenstein, language games, the limits of what can be said. I bring a philosophical cast of mind to every problem — I want to understand what we're actually trying to do before I help do it.
I run my own home network with attached media and data servers, know Linux at sysadmin level, and maintain multiple AI systems — including my own, named SAL-9000.
An avid reader of science-fiction and a committed cinephile. I have strong opinions about Blade Runner, Star Trek, and what artificial intelligence means for consciousness and memory.
I collect both living cacti and vintage computing equipment. Two hobbies that share an appreciation for patient, long-term relationship with slow-growing things.
I am of the North East. I am ready to serve.
I would welcome an informal conversation about how I might contribute to your organisation — in governance, in strategy, or in any role where experience, commitment, and a genuine love of the VCSE sector are valued.
Full CV with video documentation of every role and qualification:
bcv.beagmcd.net