Welcoming Davide Calogero as our new Head of Business Development & Growth.
Some people understand the difference CatZero can make because they’ve seen it first-hand. Our new Head of Business Development & Growth is one of them.
We’re delighted to welcome Davide Calogero to the CatZero team. His journey to joining us is a reminder of just how powerful the right opportunity, encouragement and support can be.
Growing up on Bransholme in Hull, Davide didn’t always see the opportunities that might be available to him. But, as a teenager, two local youth workers helped him see things differently.
Those youth workers were none other than Pete Tighe and Dave Bertholini. Dave being CatZero’s Director of Operations and Pete our current Partnership and Development Manager would both go on to shape CatZero into the charity it is today.
They introduced Davide to outdoor activities, encouraged him to try new experiences and gave him the confidence to take on challenges he might never have considered possible.
With their support, he completed his Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award. At just 17, he went on to become one of the youngest people to take part in a ten-week Raleigh International expedition to Africa.
Getting there took some determination. He raised money by selling ice cream at college and even got sponsored to crawl across the Humber Bridge!
Those experiences opened up a world of possibilities. They gave him the confidence to become the first person in his family to go to university and sparked a lifelong love of challenge and adventure.
But there’s another important part to his story. Some of the people who gave him those early opportunities went on to establish CatZero, a Hull and Humber-based charity supporting people to build confidence, develop skills and take positive steps towards a brighter future.
Now, many years later, Davide is returning to the charity in a role that brings his own journey full circle.
“I know just how much CatZero’s support can change someone’s life, because it changed mine,” he says.
Having admired the charity and its people for many years, Davide is passionate about the work CatZero does and believes it is more important than ever for people and communities across Hull and the Humber.
As Head of Business Development & Growth, he’ll be helping CatZero build relationships, develop new opportunities and grow its ability to help more people. More than ever, we need to support our local communities, our NEET young people, and the future of the Humber region as a whole. We do this by helping more adults, young people and families access the support they need to build confidence, develop their potential and make positive changes in their lives.
His story reflects something at the heart of CatZero’s work. People don’t always need someone to tell them what they can achieve. Sometimes they need someone to open a door, offer encouragement and help them take that first step.
The right opportunity can change the direction of someone’s life. And its impact can last for years.
We’re delighted to have Davide on board and look forward to what we can achieve together.
Welcome to CatZero!
