Gerald Oppenheim
Gerald is Chief Executive at the Fundraising Regulator, having previously been its Head of Policy and Communications. He was Director of Policy and Partnerships at the Big Lottery Fund and some of its predecessors from 1995 until October 2010 when he became a freelancer working with charities, Trusts and Foundations on a wide range of policy projects. His earlier career in the public sector was as a funder of charities and voluntary organisations.
He is a Trustee and Chair of the Camden Society (a charity for people with learning disabilities), a trustee at Citizens Advice Camden and an independent board member of the Asda Foundation. He chaired the former London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund from 2005-2008 and was a member of the BBC Charitable Appeals Committee from 2004-2009.
Carole Souter CBE
Carole Souter is currently Chair of The Heritage Alliance, Sulgrave Manor Trust and the Fabric Advisory Committee of Salisbury Cathedral. From 2016 to 2022 she was the Master of St Cross College, Oxford. From 2003 to 2016, Carole was Chief Executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund, overseeing the distribution of over £400m a year to projects making a lasting difference to people and heritage across the UK.
She began her career in the civil service and has over 20 years’ experience of policy formulation and operational management in the Departments of Health, Social Security and the Cabinet Office.
Carole has a BA in PPE from Jesus College, Oxford, an MA in Victorian Studies from the University of London and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. She is an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and was awarded the CBE in 2011 for services to conservation.'
Caroline Forster
Caroline joined the board of the London Emergencies Trust in September 2020. Caroline works part-time as Head of Operations at the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), a young charity that provides legal representation to victims of trafficking and labour exploitation. Caroline is also currently working as a consultant for The Fore. Prior to joining ATLEU Caroline was Deputy Chief Executive at the Social Investment Business and has worked in social investment, funding, grant making and community organisations for over 25 years. Caroline is a member of the Metropolitan Migration Foundation’s Committee and was previously a board member for London Funders, the membership body for funders and investors in London’s civil society. Until recently Caroline also volunteered at Southwark Citizen’s Advice Bureau, supporting the work of the Carers team.
Rita Chadha
Rita Chadha is a specialist in crisis management in small not-for-profit organisations. Since beginning her career in the early 1990s, Rita has worked with a wide range of charities, many of them working with ‘marginalised, vulnerable and hard to hear individuals and communities.
While much of her career has been focused on infrastructure support for charities, advising them specifically on governance, management, fundraising and stakeholder relationship issues, she has also worked for front line service charities. Most notably between 2006-2017 she served as CEO of the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London, where she led a number of national campaigns on the issue of immigration. During the pandemic Rita was also CEO of the Small Charities Coalition, where she regularly interfaced with the Government and regulators to improve support for community and voluntary sector.
Rita lives in East London and is also a local councillor.
Robin Allen
Robin Allen KC has worked in the field of employment, equality, human rights and public law since 1974. He is closely involved in the growing debate about discriminatory technology and hosts www.ai-lawhub.com. He has frequently been involved in test case litigation appearing in over 40 cases the House of Lords and the Supreme Court and frequently working with the Equality Commissions in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He is currently instructed in the COVID inquiry on behalf of local government.
Robin has had a long-term commitment to public service. He was chair of the London Youth Advisory Centre from 1984 to 1990, and the Brandon Centre for Psychotherapy from 1991 to 1993. He served on the Home Office’s Human Rights Task Force from1999–2001. He was a founding member of the Bar Pro Bono Unit and its chair from 2000 – 2002 and chair of Bar in the Community during the same period. From 2002 – 2007 he was special legal adviser to the Disability Rights Commission and from 2005 – 2008 a trustee of the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund. He was elected to the Bar Council of England and Wales in 2013 and chaired its Equality and Diversity Committee until 2019. Robin was a Recorder (part-time judge of the Crown Court) for 20 years and is a Bencher of Middle Temple. For 16 years he was Head of Cloisters Barristers’ Chambers.
Thelma Stober
Thelma Stober is a solicitor and mediator with extensive experience in the public sector. She served as Legal Director at several public bodies including the GLA where she played a leading role in bringing the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games to London .
Thelma suffered serious life changing injuries in theLondon bombings on 7th of July 2005 . Since then, she has immersed herself in voluntary advocacy, mentoring work, supporting victims of terrorism and recently the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire . She campaigns and lobbies nationally and internationally for support and for the voice of victims of terrorism to be heard.
As a member of the Home Office Victims Panel, Thelma played an influential role in the development of the Government’s Victims Strategy launched in September 2018. Thelma was invited as keynote speaker at the United Nations conference for victims of terrorism in 2019 and 2021. She has since worked with the UN Counter-terrorism unit to develop an all-member nations legislative template for support for victims of terrorism.
She is a Non- Executive Director and trustee of several charities and co-chair for Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission. Thelma currently heads the Local Government Association Legal Service.
Tim Wilson
Tim joined the board of London Emergencies Trust in March 2023. He works for City Bridge Trust where he is responsible for managing the operational delivery of Bridge House Estates’ charitable funding strategy and leading on the strategy and implementation of its social investment activity. Tim is a member of the Metropolitan Migration Foundation’s Advisory Committee and a former trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations. He has worked with civil society organisations in the UK, Nepal and the Balkans.