Stella Fasusi-Olomu is a 24 year old young woman who is passionate, very active and inspired to make a difference in her community, Croydon.

Stella studied Law at the University of Kent, Canterbury where she became an elected member of the Student’s Union as Ethnic Minorities Officer 2010-11. She coordinated Kent’s first month-long Black History Month campaign with history talks, performances and open forums – she was awarded the National Union of Students (NUS) Black Students’ Award for Campaign of the Year 2011. Her work as Ethnic Minorities Officer was inspiring and strongly recognised by Kent Union and she received the 2011 Kent Union award for ‘Campaigner of the Year’ and was also awarded the honour of ‘Life Member of Kent Union’ in 2012, where her name still remains.

Stella, who was recently honoured with a Youth Leadership Award at the recently held BEFFTA UK Award,  is currently a project coordinator for Croydon Commitment, a charity that acts as the link between the business community and Croydon’s voluntary sector through volunteering and corporate social responsibility. She also sits on the committee for Speakers’ Corner Croydon, a platform that provides opportunities for free expression and active citizenship through face to face participation.

In March 2015, Stella was appointed as a resident commissioner for Opportunity and Fairness in Croydon – an independent body chaired by the Bishop of Croydon, Jonathan Clark to understand the challenges faced by the various communities and bring the people of Croydon together to build a shared vision using an assets-based approach and the talents available to create a fairer and better place to live. The interim report of the commission was released on 15 October 2015.

Stella who is the first born daughter of top London couple Dayo and  Sade Olomu, was part of Croydon’s Black History Month Steering Committee and organised her own event as part of Black History Month: ‘SUPERWOMAN 2015’ on Thursday 22nd October at the Croydon Conference Centre, bringing people together to celebrate black womanhood and have an interactive discussion about Black British experience in the UK. With an exciting panel of inspiring women, dynamic performances and a Speaker’s Corner, Superwoman 2015 empowered women to embrace who they are and be the best that they can be in their career and personal lives.

Stella said, “There is more than enough room and resource for everybody to grow and be the best that they can be. I learnt from my parents that everybody can play their part towards creating a thriving community just by one small action. The best way to make a difference is by starting small, where you are. It’s such an honour to win Youth Leader of the Year at BEFFTA 2015!”