Here are some of the key people involved in Birmingham Friends of the Earth and their roles:
Campaign leads
- Coordination Team: Jodie Etheridge, Stuart Minal & Martin Stride
- Campaigns Support Worker: Libby Harris
- Air Pollution & Transport: Martin Stride
- Energy & Climate Change: Fay Holland & Katy Potter
- Nature: Stuart Minal
- Planning: Ben Mabbett
- Waste & Recycling: John Newson
- Stalls & Events: Jodie Etheridge
Staff
- Campaigns Support Worker: Libby Harris
- Strategic Development Manager: Karen Leach
- Admin & Finance Officer: Nasreen Bahadur
- Cleaner & Front of House: Christine Grant
Management Committee
Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) Ltd (BFoE) has a different structure from most local groups. Because we have a building and have run different activities, we have a larger structure with more responsibilities in addition to what the campaigns group does.
BFoE is established as a Community Benefit Society, a type of Co-operative, giving each member one vote. Members choose fellow members for Management Committee (MC) at the AGM. Legally the members of the MC are Directors of Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) Ltd.
The role of the MC is to:
- Be in law responsible for the actions of BFoE.
- Oversee all matters to do with the Warehouse building which the Society owns and administers: its fabric, utilities, security, IT systems etc.
- Deal with all financial responsibilities relating to income and taxation.
- Appoint, pay and administer the work of employees.
- Deal with all matters regarding the tenants of the Warehouse – conditions, rent and compatibility with the ideals of Friends of Earth.
- Aim to operate the Warehouse as an exemplar of good environmental practice in an older building.
- Assist the campaigning work of BFoE by providing a base, facilities and staff support.
The MC delegates the choice and organisation of campaigning activities to active campaigners – the group that meets on Monday nights – and receives a report on them at each MC meeting. It also aims to keep campaigners updated on its activities.
The members of the Management Committee as of January 2021 are:
- Aldo Mussi
- Allan Norman
- Ben Mabbett
- Bernard Parry
- Cath Palgrave
- Emma Howard
- Hilary Peacock
- Karen Leach
- Lesley Bradnam
- Nick Whittingham
- Richard Bickle (Secretary)
- Shaz Rahman
Members of BFOE are welcome to stand for election to the committee whenever there are vacancies – it’s best to approach current members if you’re interested in this so we can tell you more what’s involved and also what skills we currently particularly need.
The role of Chair currently rotates between members. Nick is the lead on finance; Ben is the architect of the redesigned building and lead on all related matters; other members lead on specific tasks or form subgroups as needed.
If you would like to know more about the work of the MC, membership or other aspects of BFoE governance, or have something to feed back to them, please contact info@birminghamfoe.org.uk.
