Trustee elections

I'm looking to rejoin the NCVO board because civil society is under real strain. With a new Chair and CEO leading the organisation, the challenge is no longer agreeing the strategy but helping members deliver it in an increasingly difficult environment.

I believe my experience means I can make a meaningful contribution.

I'm a non-profit leader with 20 years' experience across UK, US and international charities. As CEO of Rape Crisis South London, I'm leading the organisation's first restructure in its 40-year history, strengthening governance and long-term resilience while navigating a challenging environment.

Earlier in my career, I've worked across humanitarian response, anti-trafficking, women's rights and international development. I've coordinated emergency relief across refugee camps in Europe as Director at Safe Passage UK, led the Sophie Hayes Foundation as CEO, worked on human rights in global supply chains at Thomson Reuters Foundation, and directed disaster response for the American Red Cross.

Alongside six trustee and non-executive roles, I've strengthened my governance and board leadership.

Having served as an NCVO trustee from 2021 to 2024, it would be a privilege to return and help the organisation meet the challenges ahead, drawing on both my previous board experience and my leadership across the voluntary sector.

I have built a career in people, culture and organisational development, evolving from a technically focused practitioner to a strategic leader with experience across charity, public services, education, hospitality and professional sport.

Each role has broadened my perspective, strengthened my organisational judgement and deepened my commitment to leading with inclusion, clarity and integrity.

As Chief People and Culture Officer at Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide, I lead a broad portfolio including people, culture, safeguarding, EDI and organisational development. Working alongside the Chief Executive, I advise and constructively challenge our Board and contribute to committee level governance through the People and Remuneration Committee. I have helped organisations navigate growth, financial pressure and complex change, strengthening leadership, culture and organisational development.

It would be a privilege to join the NCVO Board because I believe strongly in the importance of a resilient, connected and influential civil society. It would also offer meaningful professional and personal development, enabling me to further enhance my skills and experience.

I would bring curiosity, integrity, strategic judgement, inclusive leadership and a practical understanding of the realities facing our third sector organisations today, contributing thoughtful oversight, balanced challenge and sector experience to help NCVO deliver on its new strategy.

My 15-year career in our sector has been driven by a simple belief: everyday grassroots action is what keeps our communities alive and our country running.

From volunteering as an older person’s befriender to now leading a national charity, I’ve dedicated myself to increasing resilience, connection and recognition. As Chief Executive of Creative Lives - the UK and Ireland’s voice for grassroots creativity - and supported by an MBA, I offer a unique blend of creativity and strategy.

If elected, I will bring:

• A Creative Approach to Civic Action: As a cultural specialist, I champion creative participation as a powerful, inclusive driver of civic engagement and change.
• Grassroots-to-National Influence: With experience leading both grassroots and national organisations, I can turn hyper-local insights into widescale policy and programmes
• Strategic & Financial Rigour: Constructive challenge in overseeing NCVO’s resources, drawing on my experience in business planning, change management and multi-million-pound budgets.
• Lived Experience: My first connection to our sector was through need - as a young, rurally isolated LGBTQIA+ person navigating a health crisis. This formative experience means I’m committed to authentically supporting and representingour country’s most underserved communities

I’d be honoured to support you and champion our vibrant sector together.

I've spent twenty years leading and governing charities, most recently as Executive Director of the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights in Scotland, and before that as CEO of the Anthony Walker Foundation.

Alongside this I've sat on national and regional bodies, and chaired smaller charity boards too. I understand the funding landscape well, having secured significant funding throughout my career, and I bring significant commercial experience, along with a willingness to think outside the box.

For me, governance means challenge and vision as much as oversight. It means supporting leadership while holding the organisation to account, thinking broadly, and adapting to changing circumstances without losing a strong sense of direction. NCVO's members deserve trustees who understand that from experience, not just in theory.

I've led a small, resource-constrained charity as well as huge commercial organisations, so I understand what NCVO's support means on the ground and at scale.

What I'd bring is constructive challenge without theatre, real governance discipline, and a habit of making sure the people affected by a decision are in the room. NCVO exists to make sure your voices carry weight.

I'd take that seriously as a trustee, and I'd be honoured to earn your vote.

I’m standing for election as my career has been dedicated to improving social justice both at the Probation service and in the health and social care sector. Society, now more than ever, needs to come together and bring our collective voice to create stronger communities and a fairer world. As trustee at NCVO I will bring my both professional experience and deep commitment to the sector to support NCVO to deliver on the ambitious new strategy and achieve that impact.

I have always enjoyed working directly with the front line, seeing and hearing the difference that the reality of people's daily work delivers - it's what motivates me. I also have the strategic and governance skills to contribute to the Board having been a trustee at Battersea Dogs and Cats home for six years, and a member of their global programmes grant committee.

In both my exec and non exec roles I strongly advocate for diversity ,inclusion and ensuring everyone is heard and/or seen for example through my senior sponsorship of the LGBTQ+ affinity network at the RSPCA and as the trustee lead for D&I at Battersea.

I've spent my whole career in the voluntary sector, and I care deeply about its resilience, its voice, and its ability to prove its worth. That's why NCVO's board matters to me.

I'm founder and CEO of Trust Impact, a social impact consultancy helping charities understand, measure and maximise the difference they make in the world, working with a diverse range of charity clients from Classics For All to Cancer Research UK. Before that I was CEO of sport for employment charity Street League for nine years, growing our impact across England and Scotland, and spent two decades before that founding and running grassroots local charities in education and youth work.

Alongside this I've had more than 25 years of board-level experience, as trustee and chair, including chairing Football Beyond Borders and the Sport for Development Coalition, as well as serving as a trustee of St John Ambulance and on the board of People's Postcode Lottery.

I was fortunate to help play a small role in shaping NCVO's new strategy, and I'd love to help govern its delivery. My particular contribution would be a relentless focus on impact and evidence, holding NCVO to the same high standards it sets for the sector, alongside hard-won experience of building income and resilience as a charity CEO.

I've always believed everyone should have the opportunity to be heard. That led me to pivot 20 years ago from corporate roles at Disney and the FT to the charity sector. Since then, I’ve dedicated my career to advancing equality and amplifying under-represented voices, first as CEO of The Women's Foundation in Hong Kong and as CEO of Media Trust since 2017.

Media Trust partnered with NCVO on our AI Essentials programme and I served on the members’ panel that recruited Kate as NCVO’s CEO so I’ve seen first-hand NCVO’s convening power and impact.

Media Trust is working on many of the evolving challenges facing our sector, from the opportunities/risks presented by AI and rising misinformation to a social-first media landscape. These changes can feel daunting but also represent exciting opportunities for innovation and collaboration. I would love to help NCVO support members in navigating them.

I bring charity leadership, commercial and legal expertise, governance experience and a track record of building multi-sector partnerships. I also bring curiosity, sound judgement, a collaborative approach and a commitment to listening to members. It would be a privilege to serve as a NCVO trustee and help strengthen the sector we all care about.