Engage 2024 - Speakers

Andrew is lead Policy Trustee for DSC. He was an international Board Member (and Vice Chair) of the global development charity ActionAid from 2013 to 2020.

He is a former Chair of Safe Passage International, ActionAid UK and of three other UK charities, a Deputy Chair of two others and a former Board Member of the Charity Commission and of the Parole Board.

A former fast stream civil servant, he has held senior leadership positions in NCVO, CPRE, and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and been a special adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury about the world outside the Church.

He was a p/t adviser to The Samworth Foundation on their grants policies and has been a governance consultant to charities including YHA and OxfamGB. He is a Trustee of the charity Choose Love and of his local Church of England church.

Andrew is a contributor to Civil Society News and blogs about the campaigning role of charities and charity regulation at www.andrewpurkis.wordpress.com.

Jay Kennedy is the Director of Policy and Research at the Directory of Social Change (DSC), where he has worked since 2003 in a variety of roles involving research, policy and public affairs, and senior management. In 2024 DSC published Jay’s Speed Read on Campaigning, which is an accessible, introductory guide for charities wanting to influence the UK political system.

Jay is responsible for DSC’s Research Team, which researches information for DSC’s fundraising publications and its funding website www.fundsonline.org.uk, and conducts bespoke research for a range of grant-makers and other charity clients.

Jasmine has been working at Crisis for over six years, and is currently their Head of Policy and Campaigns.

Jasmine has led a number of significant initiatives in policy, public affairs and campaigning over the course of her career. This includes the introduction of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act; campaigning to twice achieve investment in housing benefit; and achieving national policy and practice changes in pensions, social security and healthcare.

Prior to Crisis, Jasmine worked in the policy teams at disability charity Sense, and at Which?, the Consumer Association. She has also studied a double MSc at the United Nations University in Public Policy and Human Development, specialising in Social Protection Policy Design and Financing, and interned at the European Commission.

Richard leads CFG’s policy team, working across numerous policy issues. The team works alongside the government, charities and corporate partners to improve the operational and regulatory environment for charities and social change organisations.

Shaun is the executive director of Green Alliance. Prior to joining Green Alliance in 2017, he was chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity. Previously he led ABCUL, the credit union trade association.

From 1994 to 1999, he was MEP for London South East, serving on the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Shaun chaired the Greener UK coalition of environmental groups and has sat on various government committees, including the Strategic Trade Advisory Group and the Green Jobs Delivery Group.

His book, How to build houses and save the countryside, was published by Policy Press in March 2018.

Roberta is Head of Influencing at ACEVO, the membership body for senior leaders in charities in England and Wales.

She has over 20 years of experience in public policy and communications roles gained in the public and social sector, including central, regional and local government, charities and charity infrastructure. Roberta is a trustee of a national carers’ charity and volunteers in her local community.

Helen Barnard is Director of Policy, Research and Impact at the Trussell Trust. She was formerly Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Research and Policy Director at Pro Bono Economics.

She is a leading national expert on poverty, inequality and social policy. Her extensive body of research and policy work have covered poverty, destitution, labour markets, housing, social security and civil society. She is author of ‘Want (Giants: a new Beveridge Report)’ which examines modern day poverty and the institutions and reforms required to address it.

Debra has worked in the charitable and voluntary sector for nearly 40 years with brief forays into the private sector. Amongst numerous other roles, she is Co-Chair of the Soldiering on Awards. She is a Trustee of In Kind Direct, one of the Prince's Foundation Charities, a governor of the Berkshire NHS Community Foundation Trust, a Commissioner on the Local News Commission of the Public Interest News Foundation, and just recently stood down as trustee of the Berkshire Community Foundation. She is also an Africa Advocacy Foundation Ambassador for women and girls at risk of or affected by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Debra has served as a trustee of several charities including being the co-founder of the Small Charities Coalition and was its first Chair. She served on the Charity Commission's SORP committee for over 7 years and was the Vice-Chair of Governors of Whiteknights primary school for 6 years.

She is a renowned public speaker with many years' experience of training and coaching and is an internationally published author of several books on management and leadership including It's Tough at the Top; The Pleasure and the Pain; It's Murder in Management and It's a Battle on the Board. Debra has a regular monthly column in Third Sector magazine and has appeared on Radio 4's The Moral Maze.

Chris has over 15 years experience of working with Westminster and Whitehall, and is currently working in the UK advocacy team at Malaria No More UK.

He started his career working for several MPs in Westminster, and has also worked for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and Federation of Small Businesses.

Tamara Sandoul is Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK, leading on work related to carer finances, social security benefits and cost of living issues. Previously, she worked at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health for over 5 years, where she led on a successful campaign to bring in primary legislation for a licensing scheme for cosmetic procedures, as well as leading policy work on the private rented sector. She also worked at Breast Cancer Now, Asthma and Lung UK and the Department of Health.