Christina Kennedy
Senior Associate (Internationalism & UK Development)
What I work on...
ACUI
Democracy & Governance
Interim Practice
My Story
Hi, I’m Christina and I’m currently the Deputy CEO at Arts Students’ Union. I have over ten years experience working within students’ unions in the UK ranging from elected student leadership roles to staff roles focused on academic representation, education and social policy, campaigns and lobbying, democracy, student activities, professional development, income generation and advice services, including five years in senior leadership roles. I’m passionate about supporting student development and leadership within an organisation genuinely led by its members, creating inclusive and accessible community building spaces and academic experiences within higher education settings. I am also currently on the Turnaround Board at Kingston Students’ Union advising on areas such as tender processes and governance structures.
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I’ve led on a range of areas including strategy development, democracy and governance reviews, staffing restructures, developed social enterprise strategies and am a skilled grant fundraiser. Having previously volunteered on the crisis helplines for Rape Crisis and worked in a substance misuse charity, experience which has most definitely supported areas of work within a higher education context too.
I am excited about working with Coole Insight to bring some of my experience to supporting more unions across the sector, working to empower both student officers and staff to create positive experiences for students on their campuses whilst also expanding my own knowledge and expertise through learning from other students’ union’s contexts.