As a former Young Mayor of Lewisham 2009/10 Jacob has been a passionate advocate for youth social action and community engagement. Jacob is the founder of an African-American soul food start-up called American Bites and Connecting Conversations Collective where he currently leads on coordinating the Lambeth Youth Council. With a dedication to ensure children and young people have an accessible and transparent avenue to engage in local democracy, Jacob also co-ordinated the Lewisham Young Mayors Project at Lewisham Council.
Jacob was recently appointed as the youngest board member at the Youth Justice Board where he continues to advocate for youth voice and ensuring young people are supported throughout their own paths with an emphasis on young people who have been a part of the youth justice system.
His enthusiasm for change and collaborative approaches has led him to joining the Place Taskforce and working together to develop long term strategies around shared solutions with the third, public and private sector.
Business in the Communty’s place programme
Business in the Community’s (BITC) Place Programme is about bringing everyone together in a place to act collaboratively. To act on long-term goals, based on a common agreement of the challenges, opportunities and solutions and drawing on the strengths of everyone in that community, whether they are a business, a community organisation or from the public sector.
Our mission
To facilitate meaningful connections between businesses, communities, and local councils to reset economic ambitions and collaborate on new, innovative solutions that will deliver long-term, transformative impact.