CASE Specialists

Jane Avery

Jane has over 40 years experience of working within the co-operative sector, having started as Member Relations Officer at East Midlands Co-operative Society. Her role enabled her to explore her development skills by working with organisations and authorities to implement co-operative values and principles. Jane successfully strengthened democracy by developing strategies for active memberships.

Using these principles and abilities Jane has continued her career as an advisor at a number of different local agencies, including CASE. Her experience has involved supporting community organisations take control when under threat, support communities and individuals improve life chances and standards, organise support structures and develop consortiums and encourage societies to engage in policy making. She has vast knowledge of co-operative and community interest company business structures and has helped many local organisations in start-up and company management.

Jane has been re-elected to serve on the board of Central England Co-operative Society, which has a turnover of over a billion pounds. This combination of large scale business knowledge, with start up business experience, gives her a wide breadth of understanding of challenges and solutions the Co-operative model of business provides.

Emma Compson

Emma has over 25 years career experience in sports and community development, shared across local/central government, education, voluntary and community sector and major capital programmes. Emma’s background and passion for bringing about local action to improve community provision are instrumental to her becoming a qualified Social Enterprise Support provider and Project Manager, with knowledge and skills in community ownership.

In 2017, Emma established a social infrastructure support business, motivating community organisations and groups to identify, start-up and develop exciting community ventures that fulfil local need and provide a social return. She enjoys dedicating time and energy to help community groups and organisations turn the seeds of an idea into viable projects or business propositions.

Dorothy Francis

Dorothy has worked within the field of co-operatives and social enterprise for 40 years and is passionate about how social businesses change lives and communities for the better.

Specialising in employment law, HR, co-operative working practices and management, Dorothy has many years’ experience advising cooperatives and social enterprises to establish and grow. She is committed to promoting business to women; especially women of colour and from newly arrived communities and has a special interest in the promotion of equality, equity and diversity.

Dorothy received the OBE-equivalent Lifetime Achievement Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2016. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 in recognition of services to enterprise and the communities of Leicester and Leicestershire and was identified as one of the NatWest WISE 100 Leading Women in Social Enterprise. Her services to Diversity and the Co-operative Movement were recognised in 2018 when the University of Leicester awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Laws, and she is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University, assisting students and staff to explore enterprise options. She is a Chartered Manager and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Dan Kelly

Dan is an arts professional and business development advisor working across roles in the cultural sector in Leicestershire and further afield.

Dan is a founding co-director of Two Queens, an artist-run gallery and studios based in Leicester's Cultural Quarter since 2012, where he has built a wealth of experience in all aspects of operating a successful public-facing social enterprise. In his work with Two Queens, Dan leads on marketing, fundraising and development, and since 2020 has overseen the transformation of the organisation into a community-owned co-operative, developing and running a successful community share offer during 2024. He is now keen to share this experience and knowledge with other grassroots groups, and completed Stir to Action's Barefoot Practitioner course for co-op development workers in 2025.

Dan is passionate about the potential of cooperative business models as a route to resilience and growth, and is now particularly keen to work with Arts and Culture organisations to develop their business and strengthen their work, as well as community organisations across the social enterprise sector.

Jane Powell

Jane has worked in the co-operative sector for over 20 years.

After reading law at the London School of Economics she qualified as a solicitor and began a career in legal practice, specialising in business law and commercial property. Later, studying part-time, Jane went on to gain an MBA from Warwick University, facilitating a move to an in-house role; becoming Deputy Society Secretary for Plymouth Co-operative, and then Society Secretary of Lincolnshire Co-operative, where she worked for over 18 years. During that time Jane became a chartered company secretary and is now a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute with a keen interest in good governance.

Jane is a non-executive director/trustee of various organisations, including Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Loan Fund and the JR Halkes Trust. She is also chair of Co-operatives East Midlands.

Ian Wilson

Ian enjoys working alongside people to make a difference in their working lives and in their community.

He is a co-operator, a connector and a catalyst who brings a thoughtful and focused approach while being experienced in working with people to start their enterprise, grow their impact and understand what they want to achieve and how to get there.

Ian has a good understanding of business planning and strategy as well as being proportionate in the capability of organisations and is adept at finding the right approach.

Ian has been with CASE for over a decade working with a wide range of people and organisations in the East Midlands and across the UK.

An added dimension to Ian's perspective is as CEO of an impactful community co-operative working on citizen led regeneration in Coalville. As well as displaying experience in asset-based community development, it also runs as a social enterprise which shares tools for better decisions and possibility thinking.

CASE Coordinator

Julia Carden

Julia has 35 years experience in financial and office management and has worked in the arts, voluntary and charity sectors throughout her life. After growing up in south-Leicestershire Julia moved to London to study Arts Administration at Mountview Theatre School. She was then privileged to gain 8 years of progression within the Little Angel Puppet Theatre, finally managing it as Administrator & Coordinator. Julia moved north into the voluntary sector as Finance Officer & PA to Liverpool Central Citizen's Advice Bureau's Manager. Overseas, from 2004, she ran a family business in Spain before embarking on life in Dubai, where she secured a Coordinator role within the Rotary Club of Jumeirah.

Back to Leicestershire in 2015 Julia returned to Arts Administration as a freelancer, as well as being drawn back to the voluntary sector, becoming Finance Officer and PA to the CEO of Leicestershire Action for Mental Health Project. She joined CASE in 2018 to support her colleagues in 'changing the way people work'.