I am Solenn, co-founder of Blue Spirit, and Chair of Trustees. I have spent my working life so far teaching, translating, writing and fulfilling various communications and networking roles in the non-profit and higher education sectors. Working with and supporting young people, either directly or indirectly, has always been something close to my heart. I raised my two children in Brittany, France, before returning to the UK with my daughter a few years ago, and maintain close ties with that part of the world, where my son Laury learnt to sail. Blue Spirit was founded in memory and in honour of Laury. His loss to mental illness in 2020 was devastating to me and all his family, but his passion for sailing inspired us to enable other struggling young people to experience something he found to be such a source of peace and joy.

I’m Stuart, one of Blue Spirit’s trustees. I’ve worked for most of my career in environmental regulation, and I also volunteer as a director and secretary for an environmental charity in my home town of Hexham, Northumberland.

I love the idea of Blue Spirit, and its potential to make a huge difference to young lives. I hope I can bring some skills and experience from my other roles to help Blue Spirit to grow and increase its reach. Unfortunately, as the ‘landlubber’ of the team, seamanship isn’t one of those skills! I am keen on running, cycling and hillwalking though, and know very well how important being active in the outdoors can be for self-esteem and well-being.

It’s great to be part of the team, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together. I might even learn a thing or two about sailing as we go!

I'm Lily, a community artist, animator and illustrator. My practice is driven by a passion for creating community and conversation through creativity. I'm passionate about the significance of trying something new for young people, both in my own practice – seeing the transformation that is possible through exploring art making – and at Blue Spirit in seeing the life-changing impact that sailing can have.

I have long been an enthusiastic wild swimmer and open water has always been a place of healing for me. Then, having joined the Blue Spirit team for a one-day sailing trip in France, breathing the salty air and seeing a mother dolphin and her baby swim past, I was captivated by the freedom and excitement on the boat. I quickly understood Laury's passion for sailing, even though I sadly never had a chance to meet him. I'm proud to be one of the Trustees for Blue Spirit and look forward to the adventure we're on.

Hello, I'm Ira Hakim and I've been a direct beneficiary of two Blue Spirit sailing trips a few years back, which then brought new experiences and skills to my life. This led to wonderful friendships beginning, and then my joining the team as a trustee. 

Outside of this, I have a large interest in community and charitable work, with a background in Project Management and strategy. In my day job, I am with the UK-wide Unite Foundation and I am also a volunteer with several local and national organisations, and co-chair at Hexham Space for Nature. 

I’m Felicity, one of Blue Spirit's Trustees. I’ve spent my career working in public health across the world - from community-led programmes to large international organisations - with a focus on communities, systems and equity. I’m currently Managing Director at Common Thread- a Behavioural Design firm in Global Public Health.

Many of the most meaningful lessons I’ve learned have come from the ocean, and sailing has now become a powerful thread in my life. I hold a Coastal Skipper’s license and recently sailed from Australia to Vietnam as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. That crossing was intense, humbling, and transformative. I saw first-hand how sailing demands presence, teamwork, and emotional resilience - and how it creates space to process, reset, and grow.

The journey deepened my belief in sailing as a tool for healing, including for young people navigating trauma, anxiety, or overwhelm. There’s something profoundly restorative about the ocean: its quiet, its rhythm, its demand for presence. I’m moved by Blue Spirit’s mission to harness that power for good - opening up access to those experiences, and I am honoured to support the charity as a Trustee and videography storyteller on the trips themselves. 

I'm Tom, one of Blue Spirit's newest trustees. I run Sparrow Self-Employed Carers, a small family business based in Hexham that connects families across Northumberland with carefully chosen carers. Before that I had what you might call a portfolio career, including partnership and operations management roles at cycling charity Sustrans and Newcastle cargo bike start-up ZMOVE. I have an MRes in Digital Civics from Newcastle University and a BA in Spanish and French.

I live near Hexham with my wife Amy and our three young children. We flexi-school the kids, which gives us more time together to enjoy walking, gardening and bouldering.

When Solenn introduced me to Blue Spirit I felt enormously touched and inspired by the charity's story, and struck by the simplicity and power of what it does. I love the unique and tangible benefit the charity offers to young people in need of support. Sailing offers a literal and metaphorical opportunity to widen your horizons and refocus on living in the moment. Blue Spirit aims to give that experience to those for whom that chance to breathe and reset could make the biggest difference. I'm delighted to have the chance to support that mission as a trustee.

I'm Carol, I've been working as a freelancer with Blue Spirit since October 2024.  I've got lots of experience working with charities and CICs and I'm passionate about making smaller charities sustainable.

I love the work that Blue Spirit does - my childhood and youth was fraught with lack of confidence, lack of security and depression.  I know that I have been really lucky during my work life to have been given the opportunity to change the outcomes of my life, and I wish that something like this had been available to me in the 1980's - although I'm not sure I had (or have) the sea legs.

I want to raise as much funding and awareness as possible so that Blue Spirit can help more young people now and into the future.

Outside of work for Blue Spirit I travel to Spain, love true crime documentaries on TV and volunteering as a mentor for 3 different organisations.