Many of you will have come to know Simon Berry, leader of Defra’s Third Sector Team, through this blog over the last year and a bit. Well all good things must come to end and, sadly for us, Simon is leaving Defra to pursue an exciting new challenge.
Simon joined Defra in October 2008 on secondment from RuralNet UK and has led work to implement Defra’s Third Sector Strategy, including establishing our Advisory Board. He was also the driving force behind Shaping our Future, the joint report produced by Government and third sector bodies which committed us to working together to address climate change. We’d never have done this without his commitment. And of course, this blog has been his baby (we’ll try to look after it, Simon).
Those of us who’ve worked with him in Defra will really miss his boundless energy, optimism and brilliant ideas, but the good news is that he is leaving us to turn one of those ideas into reality. Simon will be moving on to take his ColaLife campaign to the next level, building on the tremendous support he’s built up for the concept over the past few years. For those who don’t know about ColaLife, do have a look at the website, http://www.colalife.org/ We wish Simon every success with that, and will continue to follow ColaLife’s progress.
The blog will continue, with posts from the third sector team and guest bloggers, bringing you information and news. And do watch this space for news of Simon’s successor…
One Comment
Defra’s loss is the worlds gain. ColaLife is a fantastic initiative, it is co-branding of an everyday item with an every day problem that many seem oblivious of .
Good luck Simon, and apologies for the delay in voicing it.