Team

Sonia is French/American with 10 years of experience in the social sector, recently completing her Masters in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at LSE. She began her career at Reading Partners, where her passion for literacy, education, and mental health continued as she went onto working for foundations – notably the Chapman Perelman Foundation in New York.   

With experience managing programmes and growing initiatives to scale, Sonia creates research-driven solutions while continuously innovating to foster a more equitable world. Sonia joined Lightbulb Trust in June 2023 as its Interim Director while Luisa was on maternity leave.  

Salome and Ben are married and live in West London with their twin son and daughter. Salome grew up in Kensington, Ben between Islington and Hammersmith. They met while studying English Literature at Oxford University.

Salome went on to work in publishing at Penguin Books and has long been involved with her family’s charitable foundation, The A G Leventis Foundation, as well as being a full-time mum. She is currently also training as a counsellor.

Ben is a film producer – having worked as an executive in Los Angeles – who has also authored several bestselling books, all of which were published by Simon & Schuster with partner charities. His recent projects have included hosting the podcast Ex Libris, which championed libraries and independent bookshops with the help of some of today’s greatest writers. Ben currently serves on the board of trustees for Libraries Connected, the charity representing all the public library services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

They founded The Lightbulb Trust in 2019, intent on providing enhanced life chances to children growing up nearby who are less advantaged than their own.

Siena grew up in Hammersmith and now lives in West London with her husband and two daughters. Siena is committed to The Lightbulb Trust’s mission of social empowerment. 

She is a lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in corporate law and is qualified in both the US and England. She has worked at leading global law firms and spent 8 years at a Fortune 100 organisation and serves on the boards of a number of their companies. She currently works at a FTSE 10 global consumer goods company advising on their venture investments and mergers and acquisitions in Europe and Africa. She loves mentoring young people and volunteers at mentoring organisations.  

Shuen worked closely with Salome and Ben to establish the Lightbulb Trust. She shares their belief that everyone deserves the right to an education and that foundations in literacy enable a fundamental shift in how one thinks, acts and behaves towards our fellow human beings.

Shuen brings over 25 years of experience in investment management. She is currently Head of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) at Legal & General Investment Management Real Assets based in London. She also serves on the Development Board of Ashden, a non-profit organisation that aims to bring sustainable energy to all.

Luisa is Brazilian and a former journalist with 20 years’ experience in the social innovation field. She spent the past decade working in the education sector in the UK where she was part of the founding team at Apps for Good, one of the country’s fastest growing EdTech charities.

Before becoming an independent consultant, Luisa led Pearson’s social innovation strategy and delivered accelerator programmes for over 40 start-ups working to improve literacy and education globally. Following her passion for education and innovation, Luisa joined the Lightbulb Trust in 2020 as Director. Luisa currently lives in Barcelona with her husband and three children.