Jane Hustwit
Vice Chair
I moved north in 1991 from London. Here I had a varied career which included town planning, educational research and development, five years as a national trade union officer and fundraising for a major urban charity. I settled in Yorkshire and Humber to set up Common Purpose, an educational trust which promotes leadership in British cities and towns.
After working as programme, regional and national director, in 1999 I moved to the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly as Director of External Affairs. The former Assembly operated as a regional strategic partnership, leading the thinking on how the big future issues are tackled – housing, transport, land use, climate change.
In April 2006 I became Director of Yorkshireurope, the region’s representation in Brussels and the European Union. Surprisingly, in this role, I was based in the region – at Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency. Here my challenge was to persuade regional partners to make the best use of the many European opportunities available to our region.
Since April 2008, there has been a new challenge – that of working as a freelance consultant and facilitator. Commissions have included working with the social, economic and environmental stakeholders on their future roles and possibilities; supporting staff and organisational development with the Ramblers; providing support and training on external communications as well as on staff selection, both for individuals and organisations.
I am also involved in the YUMI community allotment, designed to share gardening and cooking skills amongst people of all cultures in York.
