Michaele Hawkins

Programme Director, Tower Hamlets

Describe yourself in five words.
Warm, On trend, Driven, Diplomatic, Articulate

Tell us three of your career highlights to date.
1. Working in the newly opened VSO office in HaNoi Vietnam just after the North had opened up.
2. Presenting to the ELBA Newham Forum in the board room at Man Group surrounded by a library of Booker Prize winning signed books.
3. Developing a new assessment centre day for VSO volunteers that is still being used.

Name your favourite place of interest in East London.
Colombia Road Flower Market in Hackney.

In one sentence explain why you are passionate about East London?
A vibrant diverse place that fits all the stereotypes and none of them.

Tell us one thing that people may not know about you.
I have had an article published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Tell us the best thing about working for East London Business Alliance.
I love my job because no one day is the same – one minute I can be in a community centre in Canning Town and the next up a tower in Canary Wharf.  One of the best things is seeing the impact that business volunteers can have on young people.

Complete this sentence: The absolute best thing about volunteering is…
Making a real difference in someone’s life – you get as much as you give.