Jonny takes the best ideas, practices and people from the public, private and third sector to solve social problems. A Business graduate of the University of Edinburgh Jonny went on to practice Social Work for 15 years. Even within this role Jonny achieved cross-sector solutions, founding, and leading MY Adventure, an outdoor adventure company which trained and employed disadvantaged young people to deliver adventure activities.
As CEO of the Grassmarket Community Project (GCP) Jonny has led a team that has supported over 500 vulnerable people every year as well successfully established and sustained Furniture, Events, 3 cafes, outside catering and textiles social enterprises with a combined annual turnover of £1.2 million. GCP have won multiple awards including Social Enterprise of the Year, Best Performing Business of the Year, Employer of the Year, UK Community Cinema and Best (Not-For-Profit) Café in Scotland. Coffee Saints, GCP’s ethical brand of Cafés, is listed in the UK SE100 index (the top 100 hundred social enterprises in the UK).
Jonny was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Edinburgh for his innovative use of business to serve communities and sits on the Hospitality Industry Inquiry, a Scottish Government inquiry into Fairer work for employers and workers in Scotland’s Hospitality sector. Jonny is passionate about partnership and collaboration across sectors to create a safer, fairer and more inclusive society.
