Dr Vanessa Ogden is CEO of the Mulberry Schools Trust (MAT) in East London. Vanessa is an NLE and has undertaken school turnaround work in urban and rural settings. Vanessa has a doctorate specialising in education policy and school improvement. She continues to work on initiatives to deal with London poverty. Vanessa is also the Chair of the Fair Education Alliance and of the Unicorn Theatre, plus she is on the Education Committee of the Haberdashers’ Livery Company. She features in the first ‘Female Lead’ book by Edwina Dunn, and has founded Global Girl Leading, a global sisterhood of girls advocating for girls’ leadership, voice and visibility through investing in girls’ education. In 2015, she welcomed Michelle Obama to Mulberry School for Girls and was invited to take students to the White House to visit the First Lady. Vanessa was awarded a CBE in the King’s 2024 New Year Honours List.