nat defriend

Chief Executive Officer

WHY I WANTED TO JOIN THE TEAM

Joining Every One, Every Day is the culmination of a long journey for me. I  started as a probation officer in some of our most troubled communities and spent over a decade in central government and third sector leadership. 

During this time I have become passionately convinced that many of our services kick in far too late. Often by the time they do so the damage has already been done. The answer lies in strengthening communities so that they hold people in a positive place and prevent them from slipping through the nets which can end in social isolation, unemployment, prison and worse. Participatory culture, social networks, shared opportunities, community assets have the potential to be so much more effective at meeting the challenges we face than dealing with the problems once they have materialised. 

This is why I am so pleased to be joining Every One, Every Day and so excited to be able to be part of what it will deliver for the people of Barking and Dagenham over the coming years. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY BACKGROUND

Nat started his career in front-line criminal justice services with adults and youth – beginning as a volunteer and developing into an experienced practitioner and manager. He then spent 8 years in central government, leading system-change and effective practice initiatives in the youth justice system. 

Nat joins us from The Young Foundation where most recently he was Director of Communities, running a programme of city, and region based initiatives to tackle social inequality through community-led innovation. Nat is passionate about grass-roots and community led social change, and brings skills in community engagement and organising, impact evaluation, social innovation and venture development and public and third sector leadership. 

He is a trustee at London Youth, the membership body for youth clubs in London, and a Director at Inspire Education, an education start-up offering English language courses to foreign children. He lives in Hackney with loads of daughters, cat and dog.