Rickardo Stewart

Strategic & creative thinker. All about driving innovative solutions that drive long-term social change.

Turning ideas into reality - Experience in start-ups, launching and leading successful charities, social enterprises and projects. Innovation; product, service + engagement design. Developing + delivering strategies, brand-activations. Growing teams, workplace culture and embedding evidence based principles.

Extensive insight into the effectiveness of community based services and what it means to deliver meaningful, income-driven sustainable interventions.

Frontline youth practitioner w/ 14+ years of experience in supporting London’s most vulnerable young people as a professional, and a lifetime's experience of the challenges they face.

Co-Design - Creating high quality, relevant + innovative safe spaces with and for children and young people; redesigning the systems around them. 2018 - 2020, (w/ Art Against Knives) we were one of 11 national projects funded by the Home Office’s Trusted Relationships fund. This work has been extensively evaluated to inform future commissioning and shared as an example of best practice. See more about my work @ AAK HERE

In-depth understanding of current youth culture. My work in this field has received national awards and featured as an example of best practice by the likes of Dazed & Confused magazine, I.D and the Guardian. Awarded - London Youths’ Youth Professional of the year (2018).

Skills in senior leadership, coaching and facilitation, along-with guest lecturing and events speaking. Establishing and leading on partnership work with a portfolio of world-leading brands; driving social value and impactful outcomes - partners incl Gucci, Universal Music, the NHS, Apple, Samaritans and Emperor Works.

*2025 -Bayes Business School, Centre for Charity Effectiveness - Aspiring Chief Executive Programme

As a playwork practitioner, my practice is grounded in playwork theory and principles, enabling child-led, safe and diverse play environments that promote and enhance the development and wellbeing of children and young people. 

2008 - 2012 I was project lead for the charity Barnet Play Association designing, delivering and establishing safe, open access play spaces for children and young people across Barnet. 

I hold a CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Playwork. As an assessor and trainer, I have upskilled professionals and improved play provision in educational settings through Play England's Quality in Play accredited programme.

Between 2010 and 2012, I led borough-wide consultations for Barnet Council, resulting in the creation of 11 new play spaces and parks.