Our Committee

As a wife and mother to 5 children Rachael is a serial side hustler, social entrepreneur and an uber do-er!

With almost 20 years’ experience of working in the voluntary and community sector Rachael is passionate about not for profit organisations & community businesses becoming sustainable as they are being asked to deliver more services with less resources. Her social enterprise BlackMaven offers business consultancy, advice and support solutions to small start-ups and solopreneurs, as well as funding advice and bid writing services to those wanting to create social change and impact in society.

 Having been on the committee of JustBe for around 10 years, and an active member previous to this Rachael has supported the organisation with event management, administration, marketing & comms, fundraising and volunteer management.  She also works closely with Yvette assisting with programme co-ordination and in her new position as Chair is committed to seeing the organisation thrive and grow.

Marcia Jones is a Group Head of Human Resources within the Financial Services sector.  Marcia started her career in the public sector and subsequently moved to the financial services sector working for several UK and international broker-dealers, investment banks and asset management.

She has held a range of senior Human Resources Management roles at International and Global level with small, medium and larger institutions and has also ran her own consultancy business.  Marcia also sits on the Board of various SME businesses as an Advisor.

She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD); she has an MA in HR Strategy and is also a qualified executive and master coach and a qualified accredited mediator.

Alison Peat is an Assistant Practice Manager at a busy GP practice in South London.

Alison has been with JustBe since it’s concept and is a Director of the newly formed CIC JustBe4U. Alison does the bookkeeping and general adhoc activities as and when needed.  She has also been involved with Gather & Grow and is part of the Events Team.

According to Alison, “the best part about being part of JB is the team spirit and and all the fun and laughter amongst the group. It’s very rewarding to see people enjoy themselves at JB events!” 

Beverley retired as the Head of Student Recruitment from a large London university in 2016 after 23 years’ service, but missed it so much she returned in 2019! 

At age 33 she left her steady but boring clerical job and went to university to study engineering.  Bev did not want to be an engineer, but she found the wide area of engineering interesting and she could ask lots of questions based on physics and science…… what was there not to like?  Graduation opened many doors, but the most appealing pathway was to encourage other mature people like herself to follow their career dream. 

Bev dipped her toe in many ponds during the recent interim years; family foster carer, where a family move into your home with you while you assess if they can look after their children adequately.  Caribbean Caterer for outdoor events, festivals, fairs, fetes etc.   Receptionist at an employment agency, crew member for a leisure and entertainment company to name a few. But education, fulfilling dreams and opportunities remained high on her to do (again) list.

With a passion to help young people utilise every opportunity, Bev is now focused on the engineering sector and the decline of that workforce in her local region.  Bev says “Encouraging young people to consider working in the area of my first interest, is both amazing and exciting”

Bev has two wonderful daughters and is nanna to three delightful grandchildren

Patsy has been working closely with Yvette since 2019 after setting up JustBe as a Community Interest Company, JustBe4U CIC Ltd. She is a qualified Accountant with over 20 years’ post qualification experience and has a Masters in Charity Accounting and Financial Management.

Patsy is passionate about holistic health and well-being and is an advocate for good mental health. She is also a trained counsellor and Mental Health First Aider. She has delivered many presentations for JustBe relating to mental health awareness.

Valecia Larmond is the proud and devoted mother of two young men.  She has worked in various organisations including The Metropolitan Police and London Probation. Valecia currently works as a Business Services Call Adviser for a renowned transportation company. 

Valecia is an active member of JustBe and also a volunteer. She has been the Membership Secretary since January 2019, as well as organised and participated in JustBe’s first Christmas Carol Service December 2019 which was a huge success. Valecia is a devout Christian and is also the worship Leader for JustBe’s Gather & Grow fellowship. Valecia says that being a member of this unique group of women is like being part of an extended family, feeling valued and loved, where every JustBe women is special.