Carlene Firmin – UK – Social Activism – Youngest black woman to receive MBE
Carlene Firmin became the youngest black woman to receive a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) title in February. She received the MBE, for services to women and girls from the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace. Carlene Firmin is a principal policy adviser at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England and was previously the assistant director of policy and research at Barnardo’s , and a senior policy officer at Race on the Agenda, where she led its Female Voice in Violence research programmed. In 2010 she founded the Girls Against Gangs (GAG) project, supporting women affected by gang violence to become empowered to act as local advisors on gender and youth violence. She is also a columnist for SocietyGuardian for the last year and received a London Peace Award in 2008 for bridging the gap between policymakers and young people.
