CATALYST TEAM MEMBER
Caroline Caesar-Caston
Caroline holds responsibility for managing the programmes day to day activities, ensuring alignment with its objectives, and procuring additional funding resources to meet outcomes.
Her responsibilities vary, encompassing project management, strategic development, outreach and communications activities, as well as engaging in learning, reflection activities and research.
Position: Black Thrive Birmingham Programme Consultant
Contact Caroline
Email:
blackthrive@catalyst4change.org.uk
Telephone: to follow or 0844 884 3318 (leave a message)
Caroline's Background
Caroline began her career more than 30 years ago as a night wake care worker in a complex care setting, alongside the delivery of community development work on behalf of the Project Planning Centre in the Lozells area of Birmingham, where she successfully acquired Princes Trust funding for community projects and was awarded a USA learning tour of community enterprise initiatives in New York, Washington, and Chicago.
Since then, she has built extensive strategic and operational leadership experience across mental health advocacy, criminal justice, family support and counselling, education, training delivery, and a wide range
of co-designed services that address social inequality.
Caroline specialises in translating community need and lived experience into deliverable service plans, building inclusive delivery models, and driving measurable improvements in outcomes, having worked extensively
with NHS bodies, local authorities, and regulators, leading complex commissioned programmes
and multi-agency partnerships.
A counselling psychology graduate, Caroline is particularly passionate about trauma-informed practice, raising awareness of the impact of social inequity and inequality, and implementing informed solutions that are co-produced with affected communities. Caroline has an ethos of embedding compassionate leadership and psychological safety into delivery of her work, thus ensuring that services create safe, stable, and nurturing environments, where service beneficiaries are supported to thrive.
Community programmes involvement
Associate Director (UK-wide) - National mental health and emerging models of advocacy support
Training & Development Consultant (Nottingham) - Workforce development programme delivery within local authorities, private organisations, and government bodies
Criminal Justice (West Midlands and Southeast London) – Initial assessment of the circumstances of
criminal activity, commensurate sentencing option recommendations, and delivery of awareness
and resolution initiative amongst judges and magistrates at Camberwell Court regarding the
disproportionate custodial sentencing of young Black men
NHS (Midlands and Hertfordshire) – Coordination of social prescribing and health awareness projects on behalf of the Primary Care Trust/Clinical Commissioning Group and in collaboration with voluntary organisations, community groups, faith-led organisations, and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations
