Meet the Team
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Leanne Monaghan, Founder
The initial inspiration behind HYL, Leanne is also a former volunteer at a London based charity helping young people meet their fullest potential through education and leadership skills. As a result of negative personal experiences and events in her own life, Leanne is hugely passionate about taking those negatives and turning them into a positive by educating the next generation both academically and socially along with providing leadership intervention from an early age which is what has motivated her to establish this charity.
Cynthia Rowe, Chair of Trustees, Education Lead
A founding member of HYL and the Head Teacher of How Wood Primary School & Nursery. Cynthia has been in leadership since 2006 after being promoted to deputy head teacher four years after graduating. Following eight years as deputy head she travelled the world for a year before returning to the UK and becoming a Head Teacher. She has secured a ‘Good’ Ofsted judgement for her school and the Early Years Foundation Stage has been judged ‘Outstanding’ by the local authority. Cynthia is passionate about the mental health and well-being of her pupils, staff and the community and is proud to be able to say that How Wood was the first school in Hertfordshire to train the majority of staff in Adult Mental Health First Aid.
Miranda Nagalingam, Marketing & Fundraising Lead
A founding member and Trustee of HYL and a non-profit expert, Miranda has held senior positions at a number of global charities including Comic Relief (both in the UK and the USA) and Laureus Sport for Good. She became the youngest Head of a department at a Premier League Football Club when she was promoted to Head of Press and PR at West Ham FC at 27. Whilst at COPA90, Miranda worked on an award-winning podcast for the Women’s World Cup as part of a campaign and strategy to raise the profile of women’s football in the UK. Miranda is also on the committee of Legends of Football – an annual fundraiser for music charity Nordoff Robins and is a Trustee Committee member of the charity MSSC.
Nomuhle Mlalazi, Youth Engagment & Social Media Lead
Trustee and our Youth Ambassador, Nomuhle put forward an initiative to dismantle racism at her secondary school, St George’s in Harpenden, which was supported by over 800 past and present students through a petition. She has recently graduated with a degree in Music and is very passionate about using music to bring communities together having done work in promoting local artists and coordinating music shows and concerts during her studies. In 2016 she was awarded a choral scholarship at Romsey Abbey, becoming the first female and black chorister in its 500 year history.
Daniel Wallace, Curriculum Development Lead
Appointed as a trustee in September 2021, Dan has worked in various capacities across the educational landscape, from early years through to colleges. He has worked for well-known charities such as Debate Mate and National Citizen Service.
Currently, he works as a Head of Reception in an inner London school. Since Dan started as an educator, he has been passionate about creating opportunities for all children to be successful. He strongly advocates the idea that a child’s socio-economic background should not dictate their opportunities in life. Dan is branching out from his work in inner city schools to bring his expertise to Herts Young Leaders.
Helen Barnett, Fundraising Lead
Helen Barnett is the Creative Director of Trestle Theatre Company. Helen has worked as a Director leading outreach and community theatre projects with people of all ages for 10 years. She trained originally in drama at Loughborough University and went on to gain an MA in Directing from East 15 Acting School. She is passionate about supporting people to access their creativity and explore new art forms. As an Associate Artist for Sphinx Theatre Helen has been an advocate for female voices and new female playwrights in theatre co-producing two Women Centre Stage Festivals at the National Theatre and Hampstead Theatre. In her current role she sits on the Hertfordshire Cultural Education Partnership and the Herts Art of Wellbeing Group. She is also a Fellow of Higher Education and has been Associate Lecturer at several institutions.