Meet the Team
We’re a small and passionate team working to build stronger, more connected communities across Gloucester. Here are the people behind the scenes
Assistant Director
Rui has a passion for supporting the community and for social impact, that began when he first joined the Red Cross in Portugal, as a volunteer at just 15 years old, dedicating over 20 years to supporting others.
Professionally, Rui brings experience in Health and Social Care Management, having led teams and driven quality improvements across supported living and care services in Gloucester. His expertise also spans corporate responsibility, sustainability, and health and safety management, with recent qualifications enhancing his ability to create safe, inclusive, and thriving environments.
In his current role as Assistant Director at Gloucester Community Building Collective, Rui focuses on engaging with the community, promoting partnerships, fundraising and advocating for corporate social responsibility and sustainable development practices.
Outside of work, he enjoys camping, walking and paddleboarding, activities that reflect his love for nature and community connection.
Rui Laborda
Director of Community Building
I have been working for the GCBC as a Community Builder for almost four years. I am passionate about people and believe that the people who live in an area are best placed to make decisions regarding that area.
I love working alongside communities, helping them to amplify their voice and connect in meaningful ways. I have worked in a number of areas in Gloucester and love to see people find what they’re passionate about and make positive changes to the places they live.
I have recently taken a lead on Business Development and am enjoying creating new projects and initiatives that GCBC can utilise in the future. I especially love working with the enthusiastic team, adopting self-management principles where appropriate and ensuring our work is routed in the values of the company.
Rae Bell
Office Administrator
Being part of a community can be very rewarding, especially when you see how it brings everyone together.
I have lived in Gloucester most of my life and have been involved in the local community on and off for several years. I am currently volunteering for the best local community radio station in Gloucester GFM 96.6.
I love walking, listening to music, reading, cooking and like raising awareness and money for good causes.
Jacky
Community Builder
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. “
The above quote by Coretta Scott King is why I enjoy Community Building.
I love meeting residents and listen to what matters to them.
It’s a great privilege to hear their life stories, their achievements and what they still want to accomplish and legacies they want to leave behind for others.
It gives me great satisfaction, where connections to neighbours or to an organisation were made, and good outcomes have been achieved for the individuals or the local community.
Carena
Community Builder
I’m from Devon but I currently live in Gloucester. I am a Young People Community Builder, where I build relationships and listening to young people’s ideas and opinions every day.
I recently joined the collective after spending just over a year working in the community within Gloucester. I developed skills there working with people from a range of different backgrounds and found it very rewarding.
I decided to become a community builder because I strongly believe in community led change be that big or small.
When I’m not working, I love to be out and about with my dog or visiting my friends and family.
Kyla
Community Builder
My name is Agnes and I have lived in Gloucester all my life. I have a wonderfully supportive husband and two daughters who keep me extremely busy day to day. I am a registered social worker by background with a specialism in Mental health and currently work locally within health and social care commissioning.
In my free time I like to spend it with my family and friends, train and compete in crossfit and watch rugby. Placing people and communities at the heart of decision making is of upmost importance to me. I will always aim to advocate for the voice of the person or community at the heart of the decision making because I have seen first-hand the positive changes that can be made when people are afforded choice and control around decisions that make a difference to their lives.
Agnes
Community Builder
My life has been a remarkable journey, encompassing travels worldwide and a significant period in Portugal. Returning to the UK, I found purpose in Stroud, dedicating myself to positive community impact. With my successful Jamaica Inn Kitchen food business, I launched a pay-it-forward scheme, providing meals for the homeless.
My love for Jazz led to co-founding Stroud Lockdown Radio, an internationally recognized platform. I also contribute to the Stroud Film Festival, uniting the community through captivating cinematic experiences.
Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr, I passionately advocate for the worth of community and collective progress.
Derrick
Community Builder
I am the Digital Inclusion Community Builder for GCBC and work throughout Gloucester facilitating the Digi-hubs project. My role is to begin to tackle the digital divide in a strengths-based and community focused way using what is already strong within the Gloucester community.
I have worked in the care sector for most of my career, first with the elderly in residential and nursing homes and more recently working with people who have complex needs or mental health challenges. I prioritise working in a person-centred way and believe that empowering people is vital to creating positive and sustainable change within communities.
I studied International Studies through the Open University and during which discovered my passion for international development and how this can be achieved through grassroots organisations, finding individualised solutions to suit each individual community.
With the world becoming more digital, people can feel they are being excluded from their community as they lack the skills to get online. I believe it is important to make sure that everyone in our community is able to access the internet and be confident with their digital skills as this will allow people to reach their full potential.
Flora
Community Builder
Sue brings a background in teaching and extensive experience supporting families and marginalized communities. She spent 15 years living and working in Botswana during the HIV/AIDS pandemic and has 20 years of international experience.
Sue began her community building journey in Gloucester, working as a Community Builder and Community Building Guide with the Barnwood Trust. She has also served as Wellbeing Lead in a care setting, using a gifts-based approach to connect residents with the wider community during COVID-19, and helped create a welcoming ‘warm space’ during the first cost-of-living winter.
As Participation Lead for Cirencester Foodbank, Sue worked alongside service users to improve services and support storytelling.
Now, Sue has returned to community building practice, embracing this beautiful and impactful way of working as communities continue to recover from COVID-19, building resilience to thrive amid uncertain times. She believes that the ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development) approach is complex and unique to each community, growing organically as people come together to shape the places they live.
Sue
Work with us
From time to time, we have roles open for community-minded people.