Ruth Turner

I’ve worked closely with scientists, artists and inventors, drug addicts, religious extremists, Cabinet Ministers, public health experts, environmentalists, global sports stars and CEOs of some of the UK’s biggest corporates. I’m currently Senior Director and Board Member at the Forward Institute, a coalition of major public and private institutions exploring the challenges and opportunities of responsible leadership.

Before joining the Forward Institute, I founded the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and led it for six years, establishing counter-extremism programmes in 30 countries. After returning from maternity leave, I took a part-time role leading the Foundation’s work on mediation between Christians and Muslims in conflict zones in northern Nigeria. I was also a founding trustee of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation and served on its Board for 10 years.

From 2005 to 2007, I was Director of Government Relations in the Prime Minister’s Office. Prior to that, I spent 13 years as an award-winning social entrepreneur, including co-founding The Big Issue in the North. I’ve also set up a social research firm, worked as a talent scout for NESTA, sat on boards at Yale University and Salford University, and founded or served as a trustee for numerous charities and social enterprises in the UK and USA.