Dates played at the club: In 1982-1999/98

Job title: Head of Corporate Partnership and Inclusion

Urban Synergy Charity

Master of Business Administration (MBA) 1999

Diploma in Marketing 1993

Diploma in Management 1992

I started playing at the club in 1982 at Moonshot Youth Club. Initially I played Netball but loved the atmosphere at Basketball so decided that I would multi task and play both.

Basketball and Jimmy taught me the discipline of focusing on tasks and getting the job done and how important it is to practise. I took this discipline from the court to the work place. I learned the importance of teamwork and how to surround yourself with the best team. Jimmy showed me how to coach for that small improvement every day doing those small tasks and over time you see the benefits. That is how I built a Banking career with my first Bank Branch Manager appointment coming at just 21. I later went on to Area and Regional roles looking after large teams for various banks.

Over the course of my career I have had the pleasure of doing several different roles. I have worked for Santander, Barclays, Bradford & Bingley, One Savings Bank and latterly Lloyd’s Banking Group. At Lloyds I moved into the Inclusion and Diversity space and now I am Head of Corporate Partnerships and Inclusion for Urban Synergy, an early intervention charity, where I support young people from Black Minority ethnic and disadvantaged communities to write their own futures.

I feel like I have now gone full circle and come home. The charity supports those people that did not have a Brixton top cats’ family or the father figure like Jimmy Rogers supporting, prodding their transition from the basketball court to the work place. This is my opportunity to give back a little that I have learned over the years.

From my time at Brixton I have built lifelong friendships.

My message for the youth today is dream big, follow your passion, be disciplined in your approach and celebrate every milestone along the way. Life is for living!!, So live to the max!