Governance

Robert Cohen believes that our function as governors is to support and hold accountable the leadership, teachers and staff of Brook to achieve our vision for young people; to work with parents to instil good values and behaviour; and to equip our students to become happy, successful adults who make a contribution to our broader society.

He is an experienced and entrepreneurial chief executive who founded and developed business and property ventures and had diverse corporate experience of leadership in manufacturing and distribution, banking and retail. He holds a B. Comm and MBA. He spent the formative years of his career with a large industrial group where he progressed through strategy and finance then becoming head of manufacturing and ultimately chief executive of a business with 5 manufacturing sites, 40 distribution and retail outlets and over 4,000 employees. In this role he was involved in major change programmes and negotiations with unions, government and business groupings as South Africa transitioned to democracy and new ways of working. He subsequently co-founded a private equity investment group (listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) which targeted growing entrepreneurial businesses that needed both finance and skills in order to achieve their potential. He spent seven years in the City of London, as head of group investments for a bank where he chaired numerous investment banking committees, subsidiaries and investee companies, as well as being on the credit and risk committees. He is now retired and runs a property investment and development portfolio.

A large part of his career was involved with manufacturing businesses including construction. He values the technical and human skills required in these sectors which are vital to the success of our societies. Manufacturing and design is detailed and challenging work, but it provides far more satisfaction for its practitioners than many other occupations. In a globalised world these skills and careers hold out great opportunities for young people and he wants to be part of promoting and encouraging education and opportunity in design and engineering. He believes that the opportunity to work with our world leading industry and university sponsors is a huge advantage for Brook’s students.

Manager Chassis Integration, Global Commercial Vehicles, Ford Motor Company UK
Governor – Linked to Engineering

Pat currently manages a team of 50 engineers, working in the UK, North America, Germany, China and Turkey. Previously he had programs based in Japan with Mazda on the new Fiesta programme.

Pat’s responsibilities have expanded from the delivery of European programs to global ones. He has to manage conflicting market requirements and rationalise specifications and expectations to ensure the philosophy of truly global products is delivered.
His responsibilities start with initial design concepts and their development, formulation of the budget, resource plan and manpower, development of engineering statements of work and the sourcing of design development partners and manufacturers.
He is also responsible for the welfare, development and progression of the Chassis Team in the UK. This includes health and safety, human resource issues, training and ensuring that they delivery is to the highest standards on time. The team is very loyal to the Transit programme and there is a good mixture of ages, experiences and expertise in the group.

Pat was approached by one of the directors at Ford to support Elutec. He really enjoys this role and through the two supervisors Scott Lister and Mike Corder, he feels that Ford has supported Elutec very well.

He looks forward to continuing to support Elutec for the young people of the area, continuing and seeing it go from strength to strength.

Professor of Engineering Education, University College London (UCL)

Governor

Emanuela Tilley is the Director of the Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP) and Professor of Engineering Education in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at University College London (UCL).

Before becoming IEP Director, she designed the curricula for IEP projects and global challenges to introduce problem, experimental, research and enquiry-based learning to a multi-disciplinary first- and second-year engineering student cohort at UCL. She champions a teaching and learning programme focused on self-awareness, teamwork and leadership aimed at supporting students in their development of engineering skills.

Emanuela is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and has a record of sustain effective strategic leadership in academic practice and academic development as a key contribution to high quality student learning. With a background in mechanical and civil structural engineering, prior to joining UCL she worked for years as a professional consulting engineer, leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams in the design of the world’s most unique tall towers, structures and masterplans.

Emanuela is an active member within the symposium of research on engineering education occurring within UCL, nationally and internationally. Effectiveness of assessment and feedback systems, and understanding the student learning experience of context rich, authentic problem-/project-based learning pedagogy are the foci of her current research.

Nick Tyler CBE FREng is the Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at UCL and the Director of the UCL Centre for Transport Studies. Using his musician background, Nick combines highly diverse fields in his research and teaching, from science and engineering through to performing arts and policy. To do this he has created a £50M massive (44,000m3) multiscale multisensorial Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL). Located close to Brook 6th Form, PEARL is a new way of examining how people interact with the environment, using a combination of neuroscience, psychology, physiology, engineering and creative arts to bring these results together to create new ways of designing safe, accessible, aesthetic, effective and energy-beneficial environments that work for both people and planet.

Nick is passionate about education. In 2004, when he was Head of Civil Engineering at UCL, Nick inspired the fundamental change in Civil Engineering degrees at UCL, which led into the later development of the Integrated Engineering Programme which facilitated study across the whole of Engineering. He has also led the redesign of the Masters Programme in Transport & Mobility Systems, which concentrates on the development of engineers for decision-making leadership roles for a 40-year time horizon. He was a member of the Euro-CASE Working Group on Engineering Education, which reported in 2020 and is currently a member of a working group at the Royal Academy of Engineering which is looking at the future of engineering education (including schools as well as universities and professional training).

Nick has been a Governor at Brook on behalf of UCL since 2018 and is currently the Safeguarding Governor. He really enjoys the interaction with the school, its students and staff, and especially the programme at PEARL that enables Brook students to experience at first hand some of the excitement and learning that the laboratory achieves.

Nick is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Royal Society of Arts, was appointed CBE in 2011, and awarded the CIHT Institution Award in 2022.

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Engineering Education, Queen Mary University of London

Governor - Linked to SEND

Folashade Akinmolayan Taiwo is the Director of Student Experience in the School of Engineering and Material Science and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Engineering Education at Queen Mary University of London.

She received her MEng and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from University College London. Following this, she was a Teaching Fellow at UCL, where she focused on implementing a new engineering curriculum structure by improving engineering education through the use of student-centred teaching methods.

She was appointed as a Lecturer in Engineering Science and Education at Queen Mary 2018, where she developed new curricula for the Chemical Engineering Programme centred around her research interest in Team based pedagogy and inclusive educational practices. She is passionate about promoting the engineering discipline to school children as a higher education option and has been invited as a guest speaker to numerous events.

She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Director of a cleaning company.

The purpose of education is knowledge, not of facts, but of values, I will be driven by this dictum to help Brook 6th form and Academy educate our children in a unique and valuable way and support each student individually. Children should be taught from a young age the skills and values that will help them thrive beyond their school years.

I have studied: Maths, computer Science and sciences, Telecommunications, Engineer-shipmaster (Captain), Business Administration.

My Skills are mainly in Customer Service, Finances, Quality Assurance and Business Administration.

My career achievements include: Top Performer for four consecutive years 4 years in Customer Service in Bulgaria for the biggest telecommunication group in Europe - A1 Group. Quality control and Production manager at Aestethic company in Bulgaria. Quality Control of customer service and product delivery for bank institutions in Bulgaria. Team leader in various sectors. Business Account manager and financial analyst in Bulgaria.

I relocated to London more than 7 years ago and since moving to London have acquired numerous new skills and competences. I started a new fast growing cleaning company with unique customer experience and 96% Customer service satisfaction.

Growing up in Dagenham, I attended Richard Alibon Primary School and Sacred Heart RC for Girls, Dagenham.

Teaching was a calling from a very young age (I loved school), and I was adamant that I would teach in Dagenham. At its core, Dagenham has a strong sense of community. In becoming a Headteacher at a primary school in Dagenham, I am proud to give back to the community that I grew up in. Furthermore, I am pleased to say that all three of my children attended their primary school education in Dagenham.

As an experienced educator and community leader passionate about fostering excellence in education and as a Trustee at a Secondary Grammar school, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role of governor at Brook 6th Form and Academy.

Having served in various capacities within the education sector for nearly 30 years, I understand the intricacies of educational governance. I am committed to ensuring that every pupil at Brook receives a high-quality education that prepares them for future success.

As a governor, I am dedicated to upholding the 6th Form and Academy's values and ethos while promoting innovation and continuous improvement. I believe in fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students can continue to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

I am committed to engaging with all members of the school community to ensure that the needs of students are met and that the 6th Form and Academy continues to excel.

With a strong commitment to accountability and transparency, I am dedicated to fulfilling my responsibilities as a governor with integrity and diligence. I am honoured to serve as a governor at Brook 6th Form and Academy and am excited about the opportunity to positively impact the lives of students and the broader school community.