The Project PT

Alexa grew up in London playing football in the streets, dodging cars while trying to beat her current kick up record. She went on to play football professionally, first for Charlton Athletic, and then for England. She was part of the Charlton team that won the FA Women’s Cup Final in 2005. In November 2022, Alexa was recognized by The Football Association as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 150th women's player to be capped by England. Alongside Alexa’s career in sport, which in those days was not well paid, she worked in schools and other educational settings supporting young people with neurodiversity.   Alexa is Fitness Director for The Project PT, leading on both our qualifications company and fitness team.   Alexa says: “I have been a personal trainer for 10 years. I enjoy every session, whether geared towards strength, rehab or sports specific training. I get a real buzz from being part of our clients’ and team’s fitness journey. My training ethos is to learn, lift and laugh! I love watching the sense of achievement people experience as they become stronger, fitter and healthier and how this then transcends into their day to day lives.”

As Global Vice-President of Brand & Purpose Director at Mars Incorporated, a Trustee of Pro Bono Economics and the former Vice Chair of Stonewall, Mitch is an experienced board member of both large commercial organisations and not-for-profits. Mitch’s passion is in building brands at the intersection between “for profit” and “for good”. She is a proud feminist and loves that Project PT has female founders. She lives locally and discovered the gym 3 years ago as a 50-year-old woman recovering from breast cancer. She has found that her Project PT membership has enriched her connections with her local community. Mitch says “At Project PT I have felt welcome, I have found a community and I have benefited hugely from the physical and mental strength that comes from taking control of my wellbeing. I hope that through working together we can extend that feeling to so many others, who might not think that the gym is a place for them.”

Abhi is currently the Managing Director and founder of recruitment Company LoveRecruitment, which specialises in fitness and leisure recruitment across the UK. Abhi’s looks to ensure that the Project PT attracts and acquires the best talent on the market. For Abhi, talent attraction means defining the organisation’s unique Employee Value Proposition (EVP), creating a unique story around it, and then supporting this with an effective recruitment process.   Abhi says “I have always been super passionate about the role physical activity plays in local communities and society as a whole and am proud to help support the sector through my knowledge of candidate attraction and talent acquisition strategies. I firmly believe we need the best people in the country to work in our sector to get, in the words of UK Active, “more people, more active, more often”.

Aoife is Director of Evidence at Foundations, the What Works Centre for Children and Families. Foundations generates and champions actionable evidence that improves services to support vulnerable children and families. She leads Foundations' ambitious portfolio of evidence generation projects, which include evaluations of Family Group Conferencing, Domestic Abuse programmes, and multi-agency models of practice. Foundations’ projects are driven by rigour in design and delivery, as well as by the stories and experiences of those who receive and deliver social work interventions, including children and young people with care experience, their families, carers and the professionals supporting them.   Aoife Says: “I have been a passionate member of Project PT since August 2022. I never thought I'd find a gym that I would stick with, that I would become so much stronger and healthier and that I'd make so many new friends. On top of that Project PT does incredible evidence based social impact work for young people in Oxford. I feel so privileged to be part of this project!”