Navigators Expands Team And Recruits Donna Ludford To New Role

Donna Ludford has been appointed as Navigators Community Development Manager and Lead For Children Who Are Looked After.

Donna’s role includes responsibility for implementing and developing Navigators’ community partnership programme to meet local area needs as well as being the lead for Children Who Are Cared For.  Donna will also join Navigators governance team ensuring the highest standards of conduct and ethics are applied across the whole organisation.

Donna is a born and bred Mancunian and has been the local Councillor for Clayton and Openshaw since 2013. Donna plays an active role in championing her local community. She brings with her a wealth of experience to her role. She was previously Lord Mayor of Manchester from May 2022 to May 2023 and had a particular focus on the Year of the CHILD especially focusing on young people who are in the care system and care leavers.

Donna was brought up in Manchester’s care system from the age of just six months old.  She moved to every corner of the city and lived in over 20 different homes, which included foster homes, children’s homes and family group homes and attended over 14 different schools including a permanent stay at Parrs Wood in Didsbury. 

Having experienced abuse, neglect and incredible hardship, Donna persevered and her first part time job was a cleaner for Manchester City Council in the mid 1990s.  She then went on to become a caretaker, a volunteer youth worker and an educational support worker with Manchester Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). During her time at the PRU Donna discovered a passion for working with children who experienced challenging situations in education and in particular, looked after children and the most vulnerable in our society.

Commenting on Donna’s appointment, Liz Harris, Managing Director of Navigators, said: “We are delighted to have Donna as part of the Navigators team with specific responsibility for the community and looked after children. Donna brings with her a wealth of lived experiences and understands only too well the challenges that many of our students face. She will help ensure that we are meeting the needs of our young people and helping them achieve their full potential.”

Donna added: “It’s great to be part of the Navigators team, to be working with young people and helping them overcome the challenges that they may face. The work that is carried out here at Navigators is life changing for our students and I am pleased that I can contribute to it.”