Role
Grace was a student within Nottingham Business School from 2006 to 2009. Whilst at NTU, she had the opportunity to visit Rwanda with the NTU Aegis Students’ Society and see first-hand the work of Aegis Trust at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and to learn and hear from students, who were also survivors of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. Her experience inspired her to co-found White Rose Shops (White Rose Trading CIC) in 2009 to provide financial support to Aegis Trust after graduating from university. This became a charity shop chain with a unique approach, supply chain and a brand identity and became popular amongst young people in Nottingham and the East Midlands as an alternative to fast fashion.
Grace built a team, drawing in expertise from corporate retailers such as Arcadia, to further the develop the concept of a hybrid between charity and corporate retail. She became Business Director in 2016 and as the business scaled up became Commercial Director in 2021 with a focus on donation acquisition. There are 17 stores across the East Midlands.
At the end of 2022, Grace was appointed as Director of Development and Partnerships of the Aegis Impact Fund. This is a newly launched impact investing fund assisting Aegis Trust’s wider strategy to enable resilient communities and sustainable peace. She is part of the founding team of the Fund and is responsible for drawing in new funds as well as pipeline development. Grace continues to serve on the Board of White Rose Trading CIC.