About Paul Ko Ferrigno
59 years old, married to Linda, with teenage children at University and Harrogate Grammar School. I am a scientist with a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of York and a PhD in Biochemistry from Dundee.
I volunteer in the Harrogate community, working with children because they represent the future. As a coach in Junior Football and as a Governor at two local primary schools. I have watched children grow from 5 to 17 years old and move on with excitement into work or further education. I have also seen how the central Government’s cuts on North Yorkshire’s budgets have negatively impacted our teachers, schools and students, and the local parks: it isn’t great.
I also know how rewarding it is to start a business and watch it grow. I founded what is now Wetherby-based Avacta Life Sciences, staying with the company for eight years by when it employed around 80 people. Since leaving, I have started or run three other biotech companies, creating over 12 new jobs and seeking new drugs to fight antimicrobial resistance and faster, cheaper diagnostics for Covid.
The Green Party is the only Party to put the future first. What I have learned is those small decisions can lead to massive changes. I want to take this lesson and apply it to every decision made by the new Council so that we can improve our local communities by thinking about the long term impact of each proposal on our children and their future.
