Who we are

The Board

Rodney Buse
Chairman of Trustees
photo of Rodney BuseThe focus of Rodney's work has focused on enhancing the effectiveness of both individual charities and the sector as a whole. He chaired the 'Commission' into the future of self-regulation of charity fundraising and also voluntary sector's Quality Standards Task Group. He is Chair the Venturesome Investment committee and Foyer Accreditation panel. He has held the position of chair of the charities I Can, ActionAid and Childhope and Vice Chair of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and a trustee of the Charities Aid Foundation and Charities Evaluation Services.

Michael Carpenter
Deputy Chairman
photo of Michael CarpenterMichael was the executive Legal Commissioner at the Charity Commission and Head of its Legal Division for the five years to October 2002. Previously he was in private practice as a solicitor, mainly with Slaughter and May and then with Withers, where he specialised in charity and personal financial issues. He is now a consultant with Charles Russell where he leads trustee training programmes and provides strategic advice to charities. He is Chair of the Alpha Common Investment Fund for Income and Reserves, a trustee of Reach Out Projects, and a trustee and administrator of a grant giving charity. Particular areas of interest include charity investment and trustee empowerment.

Richard Corden
Trustee
Richard CordenRichard Corden is interim Chief Executive of the Commission for the Compact on relations between the Government and the voluntary and community sector. Before that he worked in the Treasury, on the Government's review (2006/7) of the role of the third sector in social and economic regeneration. Richard's earlier career included appointments in the Office of the Third Sector, managing the Charities Act 2006 through Parliament; the Home Office, preparing the Charities Bill; the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, producing a review of the law and regulation of charities and not-for-profit organisations and the Charity Commission, in various policy and operational management posts.

Harinder Mann
Trustee
photo of Harinder MannHarinder is a Lecturer and Course director at the LSE, having previously worked for the Prime Minister's Interfaith Envoy as his advisor. Harinder is also on the board of Citzenship Foundation, a charity that focuses on providing political educational resources to schools; the founder and chair of the Sikh Healthcare Chaplaincy Group, a charity that supports the training, recruitment and development of hospital chaplaincy; a Governor and Trustee of the St Olave's School Foundation and a member of the appeals committee of chance to shine, an initiative putting cricket back into state schools.

Amit Popat
Trustee
photo of Amit PopatAmit has served on a number of national and European working groups advising on diversity and has spoken at a number of events - nationally and internationally. Prior to his current role as Diversity Advisor for the University of Arts London, he was NCVO's Diversity Officer and Head of Policy Development at the Black Training and Enterprise Group. He has co-edited two voluntary sector diversity publications - Making Equality Simple and Making Diversity Happen.

Uday Thakkar
Trustee
Uday ThakkarUday now manages Red Ochre which he set up in 2002. The consultancy specialises in the social sector economy, providing strategic and management services to charities, social enterprises, local authorities, faith bodies and community groups. Previously in 1999 Uday and a friend launched Smartchange, a charity which connected 2,500 small charities to the employees of some of the UK's largest employers - Royal Bank of Scotland, Diageo, AON insurance, Credit Suisse First Boston, Cable & Wireless, etc. In 1990 Uday launched his own consultancy. Supporting SME's in the UK and Europe the firm assisted with start-ups, business and management advice, capital raising and generally trying to keep business owners assets safe from banks. Uday has also been involved in the start-up of a number of enterprises as an investor/manager in the service and technology sector. Uday now writes and speaks extensively around the UK on and about social enterprise and governance issues. Despite trying to hide his accountancy background he is constantly called upon to contribute to the debate of charity finance, full cost recovery, decreasing grant dependency and becoming more entrepreneurial.

Tim Toghill
Trustee
Tim toghillTim began his career as Editor of an architectural journal. He then worked in the accountancy and legal professions providing PR & Marketing services and adding to his skills public speaking, management training and personal development. He was at Trustee on the management committee of the local village hall at the age of 18; representing the local drama group that used the stage. Since then he has been a volunteer/trustee with pressure groups, conservation organisations, arts festivals and hospitals. Tim believes that we should never forget that Trustees are volunteers too and that they need the same level of support and development.

Zöe Willems
Trustee
photo of Zoe WillemsSince graduating Zöe has worked for conflict resolution and development charities, and spent nine years at the Charity Commission, in various roles from charity advisor, business planner, to senior policy advisor. She developed and managed the original Large Charities team, and advised and lobbied on charity legislation. She has been an observer member of the Institute of Fundraising Standards Committee, and was on the steering group developing the model for the new self-regulation of fundraising body. Her main voluntary activity during this period was as chair of the departmental trade union. Zöe is now a freelance consultant, with a particular interest in the voluntary sector and links between governance and fundraising. Zöe is also a lay member of the Fundraising Standards Board, and a member of the fundraising committee for her grade 1 listed city Church.

The Staff

Karen Heenan
Chief Executive
Karen HeenanKaren's background is in law - she practised as a solicitor at Bristows in central London. In 1994, she made the move to the voluntary sector where she has held operational and developmental posts at two youth development charities. In 2000, she was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Travelling Fellowship and she spent two months in Australia and New Zealand studying leadership development in young people. She is currently a lay member of the General Medical Council's Fitness to Practise Panel and a lay member of Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council Standards Committees. She has recently completed a six-year term serving as a Member of Surrey Probation Board and is continuing as an independent member of their Audit Committee. Karen is a trustee of Getting on Board and is a School Governor.

Paige Sinkler
Deputy Chief Executive
photo of Paige SinklerPaige has worked in the voluntary and public sector for 20 years, covering operations management, grant-making, fundraising, editing and research. She was most recently with the Big Lottery Fund and is currently a trustee with Guildford RASASC and active with the National Childbirth Trust's Guildford branch. Paige works Mondays through Wednesdays.

Claire Farmer
Head of Operations
photo of Claire FarmerClaire Farmer joined CTN at the start of June 2007 as Head of Operations, having previously worked in a variety of charities, including in the areas of regeneration, supported housing and asylum. She spent 4 years working at the Charity Commission, most of which involved carrying out Review Visits to charities. Claire is also a trustee of Bishop Creighton House Settlement, a multipurpose community centre in Fulham, London.  

Dawn Whyndham
Membership & Events Coordinator
Dawn WhyndhamDawn joined CTN in January 2008 having previously worked in administrative roles in University and healthcare environments. A key aspect of these roles was managing records and providing information and advice to students, professionals and members of the public. She is, in her new role, looking forward to gaining a real insight into how to help trustees most effectively. 

Sue Howson
Admin Officer
photo of Sue HowsonWith nearly twenty five years of administrative experience Sue joined CTN in the summer of 2005 and works four and a half days a week. She has been involved as a volunteer with her local branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society for thirteen years and Age Concern Surrey for the past five.