Background
Born in North London, Cleverdon is the daughter of Douglas Cleverdon, the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio producer.
charity worker Chief Executive of Business
Born in North London, Cleverdon is the daughter of Douglas Cleverdon, the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio producer.
She was educated at Camden School for Girls and Newnham College, Cambridge, graduating from Cambridge with a First in History.
She joined The Industrial Society, a business relations organisation. She eventually became the society"s Director of Education and Inner City Division. She was appointed Chief Executive of Business in the Community on 1 April 1992.
During her service she significantly expanded the charity"s work, and was named one of the "50 most influential women in Britain" by The Times.
Since stepping down as Chief Executive on 1 March 2008, she has served as Vice President. She held voluntary roles as Chair of Teach First, membership of both the National Council for Educational Excellence and the Prime Minister’s Talent and Enterprise Taskforce Advisory Group, patron of the Helena Kennedy Bursary Scheme and previously Beanstalk (formerly known as Volunteer Reading Help), an ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund, and director of In Kind Direct.
In recognition of her work, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1996. In the Queen"s Birthday Honours in 2008, she was elevated to DCVO.