ForMK is active in the heart of our city. We give a helping hand to those who are most in need in Milton Keynes through the power of partnership, volunteering, and investment.
Who We Are
About Us
ForMK is a strategic initiative embracing all aspects of Milton Keynes in delivering meaningful, life-changing and significant outcomes for everyone .
We believe that every person matters, and we want to show love, care and empathy to all. We give a helping hand to those who are most in need within our city through the power of partnership and volunteering.
Meet Our Leadership Team
We have a dedicated Leadership Team who are responsible for helping to fulfil the vision of ForMK.
Fola has worked for many years with large multinationals in the private sector as a strategy consultant, a business leader and a partner with one of the top accounting firms in the UK. Her public sector experience leading international multimillion pounds project in Africa and Asia led to her being awarded an honorary degree by the Open University. Fola also worked for both HSBC and IBM in a number of senior roles including as IBM’s Head of Diversity for UK Ireland and South Africa.
Fola has an MBA in Finance from City University London, a postgraduate diploma in IT from Brunel University & a BSc in Architecture. She currently chairs and sits on a number of local and regional boards and she has been Chair of the Milton Keynes Community Foundation and Milton Keynes College. In 2017, Fola was appointed a Vice President with the British Red Cross and Milton Keynes Community Foundation, and was also invited to become a Companion to the Chartered Management Institute. She was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire in 2015 and in June 2016 she was awarded an MBE for services to business and community.
In addition to directing ForMK, Fola chairs the board of Milton Keynes Christian Centre and Into The Community (which includes MK Foodbank). She serves on the board of World Vision UK and Thames Valley Partnership. She also leads Fresh Inspiration and Fresh Youth MK following her retirement from Mazars, where she was a UK partner and Global Lead for International Development, providing leadership with international donor agencies who require consultancy, audit and assurance support. Prior to this Fola was Managing Director of Indisys Business Solutions, directing a £21.6 million portfolio of award-winning development projects in 14 countries located in Africa and South Asia for the Open University.
Arlene has lived in Milton Keynes since 2003 with her 2 wonderful children. Before her move, she lived in London where her professional background was in the area of Training and Administration Management in both the Statutory and Voluntary sector covering fields of Children & Families and Health Inequalities.
Following her move, Arlene continued to serve in the area of Administration Management working over 10 years in MK Council’s Planning Department and moving on to work for the Homes & Community Agency, supporting the Planning Advisory Team before joining the team at Milton Keynes Christian Centre as Conference Manager, a role which allowed her to welcome & host numerous clients from a variety of sector backgrounds both locally & nationally with service excellence.
In March 2018 Arlene took on the challenge of establishing & coordinating the activities of ‘forMK’ through building relationships with local businesses, Schools, Statutory, Voluntary, & Community organisations, Churches, and Local People to convey the message that ‘forMK’ is FOR Milton Keynes and represents a vehicle of hope to enhance, assist and uplift the citizens of our City.
Driven by a combination of her faith, passion for people and her ‘get the job done well’ attitude, Arlene’s underlying philosophy is ‘if you miss the people in the process, you’ve missed the point!... People are always the Priority’.