Our trustees

Chair of Trustees

Karin Woodley CBE

Karin is Chief Executive of Cambridge House, a London-based charity tackling poverty, social inequity and injustice. 

Karin has over 35 years’ leadership experience in social action charities, specialising in the development of social policy and the delivery of empowerment services.

Karin is currently a non-executive director and audit and risk committee member of the Ministry of Justice’s Office of the Public Guardian and a core member of the Better Way Network.

She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours for services to social justice, and the Lifetime Achiever Award at the 2016 Excellence in Diversity Awards, 

Previously, Karin held roles as the Chief Executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust (now Blueprint for all), the Tabernacle Centre for Arts and Learning, and the Minorities Arts Advisory Service. 

Past non-executive roles include parliamentary appointments to the Economic and Social Research Council and the Legal Services Board Consumer Panel. 

She was the UK representative on the Global Social Economy Forum, a member of the Wellcome Trust’s Understanding Patient Data Advisory Committee, the founding Chair of Kensington and Chelsea’s Race Equality Partnership and Chair of an MPS Independent Advisory Panel on Race.

Trustee

Amanda Pinto KC

Amanda is a barrister at www.3rblaw.com chambers. An expert in international financial wrongdoing, Amanda practices in some of the most high-profile cases in the field, including corporate crime, fraud, money laundering and corruption cases with an international dimension.

She was Chair of the Bar of England and Wales in 2020 and Chair of the International Committee of the Bar Council from 2015 to 2018. In 2021, she was appointed to the P.R.I.M.E. Finance expert panel as a global expert in complex financial products.

She has been a part-time Judge in the Crown Court for many years and a Bencher on the governing body of Middle Temple. She is a trustee of Paintings in Hospitals, the UK’s leading national arts in health charity, a Patron of the Next 100 Years organisation celebrating the successes of women in law, and an Honorary Member of the Slynn Foundation, promoting the rule of law internationally and working with many different judiciaries around the globe to improve the delivery of justice.

Trustee

Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal

Jagbir is a Reader in Sikh Studies in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on contemporary societal issues in the Sikh community in Britain, such as representation, racialisation, mistaken identity, gender and health inequalities.

Jagbir began her funded research career on several Ministry of Justice projects at the University of Oxford, looking at the Children Act 1989 proceedings with a particular focus on race and ethnicity in the family justice system. 

She retains an interest in law, justice and equality issues in family jurisdiction having worked on guidance for judges on the anonymisation of children judgements.

Jagbir was a member of the Government’s Sikh Roundtable on coronavirus (COVID-19). 

She is a lay member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Women’s Network, which allows her to address issues of discrimination and racial inequalities with policy makers. 

She is an advocate for change so that more inclusive learning opportunities are created to allow everyone to thrive and flourish because they are treated equally and with respect.

Trustee

Donald Mbeutcha

Over the past 15 years, Donald has worked in financial technology, specialising in payments. He now works for FullCircl and uses his payment knowledge to help businesses do better business faster through data-led insights. 

Donald has looked to break down barriers with race within the fintech sector and has been part of various groups, such as the Black Technology Network.

Donald also uses his experience in the corporate sector to tackle hard-hitting topics surrounding men’s mental health in work, being a father, and dealing with baby loss. 

He is co-founder of the Fatherhood Awards UK and founding member of Parents Promise.

Donald has appeared on several media outlets and podcasts in an attempt to debunk taboo topics. He makes a point to speak about his experience and struggles with miscarriage. By sharing about his suicide attempt and how he managed to take the steps necessary to overcome wanting to end things, Donald hopes to help other men who may be faced with the same thoughts.

Donald believes businesses need to do more to support their employees and is an advisor to King’s College London, Facebook, Twitter, Jojo Maman Bebe, and Deloitte, as well as a trustee for Beyond Equality.

Trustee

Reena Anand

Reena is a lawyer and former ombudsman specialising in consumer vulnerability and the Equality Act. She founded her consultancy after her son was diagnosed with autism and she realised how little representation and bespoke support there was for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) parents in similar situations.

Her work focuses on recognising cultural biases and misconceptions which can impact BAME autistic children getting a diagnosis and accessing support.

Reena spends her time writing about her parenting experience and lending her voice to discussions about the impact of health and social policy on BAME communities. She delivers talks to organisations seeking to support their employees with autistic children and workshops for parents and communities who want to support their members more inclusively.

Reena is also a Trustee at Aubilities, a social enterprise helping organisations use autistic neurodivergence to increase value, and Chair of the governing body at her local primary school.

Trustee

Dr Melvina Woode Owusu

Melvina has an academic background in medical anthropology, gaining a First Class degree from Durham University in 2006 and a PhD in Translational epidemiology from the University of Manchester in 2011. 

She is passionate about reducing health and social inequalities and creating more equitable opportunities for groups often left behind. 

Over the past 15 years, her experience has spanned national surveillance, health promotion and research management in international (WHO, ECDC, UNAIDS), national (PHE, HQIP, NHS England) and local (CNWL Trust) projects and organisations.

Melvina is a Senior Research Fellow at UCL’s Centre for Population Research in Sexual Health and HIV, where she is the Programme Manager and Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) lead on SEQUENCE Digital. She is pioneering a cross-study initiative to embed coproduction, and broaden and improve community experiences of research. 

In 2016, Melvina founded Purple Pen, through which she provides independent research and evaluation management services and equality, diversity and inclusion reviews to organisations seeking to embed inclusive working practices and increase community reach and impact.

Melvina has been part of the Race Equality Foundation since February 2020, has three children and enjoys yoga and interior design.

Trustee

Clenton Farquharson MBE

Clenton is the Chair of the Think Local Act Personal partnership. He has extensive knowledge of health and social care and other social policy areas, particularly in relation to equality, diversity and co-production. 

He is an expert in accessibility issues working in a variety of sectors and disciplines with theoretical knowledge and training, combined with personal experience and practical insights. 

He holds a number of key positions as a member of the Coalition for Collaborative Care Co-production Group and a Trustee of In Control.

He is Director of Community Navigator Services CIC, a user-led organisation for people with disabilities, and acts as an ambassador for their programme ‘Skills for Care’. 

His work emphasises the importance of supporting our overall health and well-being in society, and how inequality limits human potential. His aim is to use Co-production to join up central and local government, health services, the voluntary sector and housing to deliver more human services. 

In 2014, Clenton was awarded an MBE for services to people with disabilities.

Trustee

Tricia Lawson FCIPD

Tricia has had a successful and extensive 35-year career in HR in financial services and is currently EMEA Region Head of HR with Wells Fargo.

Having juggled parenting and caring responsibilities with work priorities in a male-dominated environment, she advocates for policies and practices that increase inclusion and address bias and privilege. Through this, she seeks to break down barriers to enable women and other under-represented groups to achieve their potential and to progress to the most senior levels in organisations.

Tricia has a Modern Languages degree from Oxford University and has a Post Graduate diploma in HR from London Westminster University. She is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.Tricia is a Trustee of the Parallel Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust that provides special and alternative education to children excluded from mainstream schools. Tricia serves on a number of executive committees with Wells Fargo.

Trustee

Tajinder Gill

Tajinder has worked in the field of education for over 35 years. She completed a Diploma in Executive Coaching in 2015 and has a specific interest in coaching aspiring leaders from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. She is currently establishing her own business in this field of work.

She formerly worked at local authority level with schools, support agencies, parents and communities to improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people. This work focused on encouraging healthy and happy participation at school, and growing young people’s confidence to better communicate their needs and contribute to society.

For the past 14 years Tajinder has held several roles with the National Education Union. In the first two years she worked in the race equality department contributing to forming policies. For the past 12 years she held the role of Learning and Development Officer, where she has led and developed the national professional development programme for teachers.

Tajinder now sits on the Board of Governors at Strood Academy and has contributed to the work of the Education Standards Committee since 2011 to improve teaching, learning and equality of opportunity.

Trustee

Professor Gurch Randawa

Gurch is a Professor of Diversity in Public Health and the Director of the Institute of Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire.

His research is focused on the development of patient-centred care pathways to manage a range of long-term conditions amongst diverse communities, such as mental health, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, transplantation, cancer and end-of-life care. 

He is currently involved in healthcare improvement projects related to social prescribing (for example, access to gyms, befriending services for elderly people), telehealth, culturally competent robots, and implementation science in health and social care.

Gurch has been commissioned by the NHS Blood and Transplant to develop the Faith and Engagement Organ Donation Action Plan which was published in partnership with faith leaders. 

He has also received grants from other organisations for his research such as the Department of Health, National Institute for Health Research, Kidney Research UK, Big Lottery Fund, European Commission, and the King’s Fund.

He has extensive experience in a number of policy and practice positions:

• Co-Chair of the European Working Party on Public Issues in Organ Donation and Transplantation
• Chair, Transplant 2020 Stakeholder Group
• National Member, National Black and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance
• Expert Advisor, National Institute for Clinical Excellence Centre for Guidelines

Formerly he has served on the UK Donation Ethics Committee, Organ Donation Taskforce and as Chair of various NHS boards for 12 years.