Head to Head with Pat Fitzsimons (Hackney Foodbank)

Pat Fitzsimons, Chief Executive Officer at Hackney Foodbank, will be in conversation with Jo Causon, as part of our Head to Head series discussing her thoughts on the challenges ahead of her organisation and the UK.

Pat Fitzsimons has over 25 years’ experience in the charity, housing association and local government sectors. She joined Hackney Foodbank, a voluntary organisation founded to stop hunger, as its CEO in early 2022.

Pat graduated from Politics and English at Oberlin College in Ohio prior to moving to the UK, where she studied Economics at Birkbeck College. Her expertise includes restructuring and funding, and she has held several senior roles at non-profit and membership body organisations, including Chief Executive at Community Network, Executive Director at Thames Estuary Partnership and Managing Director at Change Consultancy amongst others.

She believes everyone should have access to basic necessities such as food, and hopes that the Hackney Foodbank will be able to close in the next few years. In the meantime, however, the food bank needs support from everyone who can afford to do so.