Chair and Founder
Nick built DFY from the ground up with Katie and continues to guide its vision and growth, bringing valuable experience from the world of sports consulting and athlete management. Closely connected to the community where DFY operates, he maintains a strong understanding of local needs and family dynamics, and his broad network provides valuable input across our work. Nick acts as a crucial sounding board for the team, encouraging innovation and supporting growth.

Operations Director
Josie leads the charity’s daily operations and has been instrumental in enhancing the DFY delivery system. She manages relationships with senior school leaders, directs the DFY Sports & DFY Academy infrastructure, oversees safeguarding & governance, and ensures programmes run smoothly across the board. She works hand in hand with Marén to drive new initiatives across schools and the wider community, including building our new mentorship programme, both online and offline.

Business Development Director
Marén helped the founders build DFY from its early days, developing and delivering the charity’s programmes and operations. She now leads on strategic growth, grant acquisition and execution, financial planning, and creative delivery. Hand in hand with Josie, she drives development of new initiatives across schools and the wider community, including building our new mentorship programme, both online and offline. As part of this, she also runs the operations behind the DFY Podcast with Nick, contributing to our wider digital mentorship offer.

Programme and Safeguarding Manager
Sara started off as one of our first coaches and now plays a central role in shaping the quality of our programmes. She manages coaches, rotas, booking systems, liaises with parents, oversees camps, and serves as our Designated Safeguarding Lead. Sara is instrumental in building relationships with the children we support and making sure sessions are meaningful and impactful.

DFY Academy Programme and Community Coordinator
Nazia is the face of DFY Academy to our families. She leads on parent engagement, recruitment, and communication, while coordinating football and basketball activities on the ground and managing kit and logistics for weekly delivery.

Chair and Founder

Co-Founder and Community Advisor
Katie co-founded DFY and brings invaluable insight as a local parent with deep roots in the community. She is a trusted sounding board and advocate for community-based ideas, offering thoughtful perspective grounded in day-to-day life where DFY operates.

Athlete Representative
Freddie ensures the voice of the athletes is always heard and helps bridge the connection between our mission and those living it.

Creative and Network Advisor
Alex connects us with athletes and creative talent, and supports the DFY Podcast with production and studio access.

Programme Advisor
With extensive experience running youth sports initiatives in the US, Mark brings deep operational insight and strategic guidance.