We have two groups of people which help make Liverpool SOUP a success:
- The Committee, who volunteer their expertise to plan and manage the strategy and relationships which are crucial in ensuring SOUP meets its core objectives and can grow to further support our community.
- The Shortlisting Panel, who are a group of diverse SOUP supporters (including all of our previous winners) who review all pitch applications and score them in order of preference. We then collate these scores and the four highest scoring ideas or projects are selected to pitch.
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Our Committee:
Louisa Burman
Chair
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Louisa has worked across several sectors, most recently specialising in process improvement for large organisations while also being a trustee for Awesome Liverpool who award monthly micro-grants. Her passion for community focused projects has grown from humble beginnings, working in charity shops appreciating the sense of purpose they can give to a diverse group of dedicated volunteers, to organising a pop-up cafe targeted at reducing the stigmas associated with mental health and various donation drives.
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Catherine van Saarloos
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Catherine works for a Maths Education charity and was formerly a teacher of young people and adults in Liverpool. She is passionate about education for empowerment and runs events which focus on using maths as a tool for social justice and understanding. Catherine was inspired to get involved after attending a SOUP event with her children. Watching their reaction and engagement with the event made her realise that everyone needs more SOUP in their lives.
Joseph Rynhart
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Joseph is a Learning Designer. He has worked with 50,000+ learners and produced creative engagement programmes for a variety of subjects, including history (English Heritage), art (People's History Museum), employability (Norfolk County Council), sport (TeamGB), sustainability (Biffa), and social cohesion (National Citizen Service). In 2020, he founded Change in a Box, a creative social action kit for young people. He is committed to helping people learn new skills and is excited to support more socially engaged work through Liverpool SOUP.
Helen Stephens
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Helen has worked in the VCSE sector for 16 years, and sits on several boards as a Trustee. She currently provides freelance services to a number of Social Enterprises across the city, as well as mentoring and coaching social entrepreneurs. Her former social enterprise, Little Sandbox, pitched at Liverpool SOUP prior to the pandemic, and she’s been a regular attendee since. She joined the Liverpool SOUP Committee because she loves supporting grassroots community projects.
With special thanks to:
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Nick Woodrow for his contributions to the Liverpool SOUP Committee from Feb 2020 to Feb 2023.
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Ruth Worthington for her contributions to the Liverpool SOUP Committee from June 2021 to Feb 2022.
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Patrick Hurley for his contributions to the Liverpool SOUP Committee from Feb 2019 to Jan 2022.
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Hannah Forbes for her contributions to the Liverpool SOUP Committee from April 2019 to Jan 2021.