Connect: North Korea aims to support and reach the 30,000 North Korean refugees worldwide and to focus on specific support initiatives for over 700 North Korean refugees in the UK. Connect: North Korea is an independent, non-religious, and non-political registered charity founded in 2017 and based in New Malden, London – home to the largest exile community outside of Asia.
Michael founded Connect: North Korea in 2017 as a means to support the North Korean refugee community. He holds a BA and MA in English. He previously co-founded the European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea. He is also the CEO and founder of the London-based not-for-profit Korea Future Initiative.
Jihyun is the Outreach Officer at Connect: North Korea. She manages our Korean-language output, builds our relations with North Korean refugees, and builds awareness of human rights by speaking at events across the country. She holds a Mathematics and Science degree from a university in North Korea. Prior to leaving North Korea, she was a teacher in a high school.
Robin is an experienced business leader who worked in the food sector in the UK and internationally for 40+ years as a senior executive working at C-suite level in several large corporates. He now has a portfolio of Charity and Non Executive Director roles to employ that wealth of experience for the benefit of others. He currently sits on the board of Berry Gardens Ltd as Deputy Chairman and on the boards of James Hutton Ltd, PizzaRossa Ltd and Shirlaws Group.
Thomas Cho grew up in South Korea hearing stories from his grandmother about her brother who, before the country was divided, moved to the north in search of work. Then for 60 years she did not see him until she passed away in 2006. This sparked a personal interest inter-Korean affairs and 2018 was appointed an advisor to the South Korean government’s National Unification Advisory Council. He is an Australian qualified lawyer and works in banking.
Richard Moreton is a chartered accountant and has been a trustee since February 2018. In addition to sitting on the board of trustees he is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Richard’s background includes working as Senior Finance Manager where he runs day-to-day finance operations as well as successfully completing value-add finance projects such as implementation of a European-wide project Finance System and the centralisation of full accounting functions for European legal entities into one location.
Richard also works as trustee of pension scheme with >500members and AUM of approx. £50million.
Debbie graduated with a degree in Business and Finance in 1986 and went on to commence training as a Chartered Accountant with Arnold Hill and Co in London for 2 years before starting her family and switching career to teaching Mathematics and Business. In 1996 she co-founded Other Creative, a creative agency that has worked closely with charities for 21 years. She remains a Director and owner of Other and is also a consultant to start-up businesses.
Alice Chamberlain works as a Trusts and Statutory Fundraiser at the National Deaf Children’s Society. Prior to this she worked at an inclusive cycling charity and a women’s charity where she gained experience securing income from a variety of sources including trusts, events, corporate partnerships and individual giving. She is committed to championing human rights and ending violence against women and girls. Her interests include feminism, history, exploring and sampling all varieties of cheese and wine!
Before joining Connect: North Korea, Sultan spent over 20 years driving strategic organisational growth for various corporate, public and non-profit organisations in USA, UK and Europe, within a broad range of industries and causes.
Sultan brings an in-depth expertise in marketing, fundraising, business development, partnership building, sponsorship and brand management. He holds an advanced degree in International Development and Non-Profit Management (MPA) from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
Eleanor White is a creative and versatile Journalist and Copywriter with a background at the BBC and experience working across radio, television, digital media and social media. She was awarded a Master’s of Journalism from London College of Communication in 2007. Recently she founded her own copywriting and proofreading business for corporate clients. She speaks Spanish and French and lives with her family in south east London.
Lawrence Everard is a director of Little Yellow Duck, a design agency working with many companies in the technology and charity sectors. He has worked across many varied industry sectors and brings a wealth of design and strategic knowledge.
Lawrence has created integrated campaigns for Kraft General Foods, Barclays, Orient Express and Ducati. And has worked on advertising and communication campaigns for Mercedes Benz, Fullers Brewery and Tefal amongst others.
