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Professor Sir Stephen Holgate – air quality expert - appointed as Fellow of Elevate Great

14 September 2026

Elevate Great is honoured to announce the appointment of Professor Sir Stephen Holgate as a Fellow – bolstering its ambition to tackle the social inequalities that arise from poor indoor air quality in the UK.

Elevate Great is an accelerator for social good which aims – via partnership – to identify, develop, and scale solutions for some of the UK’s most pressing social challenges. One major area of focus is indoor air quality in the UK, its impact on public health, and the inequitable way in which it affects the most deprived in society.

Children spend up to 90% of their time indoors, yet an estimated 1.5 million children in England alone live in substandard homes where environmental conditions are contributing to preventable illness and long-term disadvantage.*

Based at the University of Southampton, Sir Stephen is one of the world's leading authorities on respiratory health, the breathed environment, and the health effects of air pollution. His research has reshaped how asthma is understood and treated, and his work on air quality has turned that evidence into policy, regulation and public awareness. His appointment as a Fellow significantly strengthens Elevate Great’s expertise and connectivity within the field of indoor air quality.

Dr Sophie Flemig, CEO of Elevate Great, commented:

“During our initial assessment of the impact of indoor air quality in the UK, we quickly recognised Sir Stephen’s important role. As well as being a pre-eminent expert, he is a trusted figure who has led co-operation in his field and delivered change which has improved lives. We are therefore thrilled he has agreed to be a Fellow of our organisation, a role in which he can provide us with his strategic advice and expertise. We look forward to working with him as we develop projects that can drive meaningful and lasting progress in this important area.”

Professor Sir Stephen Holgate added:

“It is a privilege and a pleasure to join Elevate Great as a Fellow. I look forward to helping improve children's health by cleaning up the air they breathe. Just as the food we eat shapes our health, so does the air we breathe. Tackling poor indoor air quality is an exciting challenge that promises to improve health and well-being across every stage of life.”



Author info

Barry Cameron

Barry Cameron

Director of Strategic Communications

Barry is a communications leader with over 25 years of experience in media relations, public affairs, consumer PR and internal communications.

During this time, he has advised CEOs and leadership teams on reputational matters across a broad range of issues – including merger & acquisition and crisis management.

His roles have included an Executive position with one of the UK’s largest long-term savings firms, and leadership of external communications for a global asset manager. Working within FTSE 50 organisations for brands such as Standard Life and Tesco Bank he has successfully managed many communications campaigns.

He has a degree in Politics from the University of Stirling and spent the early years of his career as an assistant to Westminster and Holyrood parliamentarians.

Barry has prior experience of the charitable sector, having served as a non-executive Trustee of a national Scottish charity (CHAS) for ten years.

At Elevate Great Barry is responsible for all our internal and external communications and uses his excellent stakeholder management credentials to identify and collaborate with the right partners to help us achieve our goals.