Contributor

June O'Sullivan MBE

Chief Executive, London Early Years Foundation

June O'Sullivan MBE is Chief Executive of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), a social enterprise which currently runs 37 nurseries across eleven London boroughs. An inspiring speaker, author and regular media commentator on Early Years, Social Business and Child Poverty, June has been instrumental in achieving a major strategic, pedagogical and cultural shift for the award winning London Early Years Foundation, resulting in increased profile, new childcare model and stronger social impact over the past ten years. As CEO and creator of the UK's leading childcare charity and social enterprise since 2006, June continues to break new ground in the development of LEYF's scalable social business model. She remains a tireless campaigner, looking for new ways to influence policy and make society a better place for all children and families. June is a champion of community-based, multi-generational early years education as the basis for greater social and cultural capital to deliver long-term social impact. She continues to advise Governments as well as a range of organisations, academics and services at home and overseas about how best to implement a social enterprise vision for Early Years. June is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Director of Early Years Nutrition Partnership, Trustee of London Hostels Association. Director of Social Enterprise UK, Member of Sustain Children’s Food Fund and Founding Member of International Early Years. She has recently joined the Mayor’s Advisory Skills Board. June was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2013, for her services to London’s children. She won the Social Enterprise UK Women’s Champion Award in November 2014 and in February 2015 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Middlesex. In 2016 she was named one of the 500 influential People in the UK by Debretts. In 2017 she was delighted to receive the Most Influential Person In Early Years Award and joined the top 10 WISE women.   June is a published author, with an MA in Primary & Early Childhood Studies and MBA from London South Bank University.