Heroes of 2021: Noreen Akhtar & Jonathan Hayes, Bradford

‘Heroes of 2021’ is IMPOWER’s annual end of year celebration, acknowledging the fantastic individuals and teams we have worked with this year. We are inspired by the passion and commitment of all our partners to deliver better outcomes for their citizens, but IMPOWER colleagues have nominated clients who have particularly stood out to them this year. 

Nominated by: Clare Harding, Senior Manager

Bradford Council wanted to refresh how it understood and supported its communities, making the best use of its resources to address the priorities within each community through applying an asset-based community development approach across.

Jonathan and Noreen leaped at the opportunity, bringing their energy and passion for the communities they support in Keighley and Bradford West, to shape the future of locality planning for Bradford District.

Their commitment to these communities is hard to ignore as they regularly go above and beyond to understand community priorities, bring local organisations together and set shared ambitions. They are role models in these communities bringing their teams, local organisations, elected members and residents along with them, remaining optimistic even when things get challenging.

This is why Jonathan and Noreen are our heroes of 2021.