Helen Power

Director of Partnerships and Engagement
hpower@newlocal.org.uk

A communicator and strategist by background, Helen has spent the last decade working at the intersection of local economies, communities and public services. She has worked with a wide range of stakeholders including local and combined authorities, NHS organisations, central government, voluntary and community groups and businesses.

At New Local, she leads our partnerships and engagement work, building and overseeing the networks, relationships and external affairs approaches which further the reach and impact of our work.

Having established her career in events and communications for the publishing and higher education sectors, Helen’s entry into the world of local services delivery came when she established a place-based social enterprise which took over the running of a council service in her area. Through this she developed a deeper understanding of and interest in the way that communities can be empowered to make decisions about the places where they live. This led to a master’s degree in Place Management and Leadership and her previous role at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) where she led the organisation’s external presence for six years.

Their local: Helen lives in the south Manchester neighbourhood of Levenshulme, where, in 1906, a group of a dozen men occupied six acres of unfenced church land, planted cabbages and started a land occupation movement that led to the passing of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act, making local authorities responsible for providing allotments.