Anna is a leading non-profit governance practitioner, and a chartered governance professional, with established expertise in supporting charities, public sector organisations and school trusts to deliver effective governance. She brings specialist expertise in governance advisory work, including strategy facilitation, external reviews of governance, and developing governance documentation. Anna has led corporate governance efforts at the international education charity Ark and nationally recognised academy trust Ark Schools. She is an associate, examiner and trainer for the Chartered Governance Institute, and co-founder of Trust Governance Professionals, a national training organisation and community for 400+ academy trust governance professionals.

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​“I hold a firm belief in the potential for charitable and governmental organisations to effect wide-reaching social change. My technical knowledge as a company secretary and supporting Boards is accompanied by practical experience of sitting on the ‘other side of the table’ as a non-executive, in my current role as Chair of the Appointments Committee at the Institute of Osteopathy, and prior role as Co-Chair of the Trustee Board of international education charity AccessEd”.

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Anna holds a Masters in Corporate Governance, a Certificate in Charity Law & Governance, and is a certified GDPR practitioner. Anna was the Recipient of the 2018 ‘One to Watch’ award from the Chartered Governance Institute.

Jenny is an experienced governance professional with a proven track record in advising and supporting public, not-for-profit, and education sectors. She has successfully guided charities through registration and governance development, aligned with Charity Commission guidance. Jenny has also played a key role in shaping governance within multi-academy trusts and school federations.

 

Her work includes leading governance during academy conversions, recruiting trustees, and initiating quality assurance schemes for community groups. She has served as Vice-Chair of Governors and Member of a large academy trust.​ Jenny holds a ​Masters in Public Administration and Masters in Development Studies.

Nicola is an accomplished governance professional with over 25 years’ experience of working in the charity sector. She has in-depth understanding and practical experience of governance, having led in-house governance functions and delivered improvement programmes. In a consultant capacity, she has undertaken multiple external reviews of governance across a range of sectors, bringing a client-focused, strategic and analytical approach.

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Nicola offers a well-rounded perspective, informed by her experience as a Trustee and Chair of a national charity focused on improving children’s mental health and wellbeing. She has particular expertise in membership organisations, education and science policy, and in supporting multi-stakeholder bodies. She is motivated by the belief that good governance is built on a foundation of sound policies and processes, but it is people who make it effective – focusing on practical, enabling and diplomatic solutions that support lasting impact. Nicola holds a Masters in Voluntary Sector Management.

​Sarah has worked to support boards and executive leaders for more than a decade in a range of settings, including Local Authorities, education, housing and non-profits. This has included being time part of the governance team at Clarion Housing, and leading Board-facing governance at national charity Mencap.

 

Sarah is committed to the importance of schools providing an excellent education and pastoral support to young people, and spends one day each week as a volunteer counsellor with Place2Be in primary school settings.

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​Karen brings wide-ranging experience in non-profit governance and project management, and is committed to best practice governance within charities to support the Board and Executive in giving the best to their beneficiaries. She led governance at Ufi VocTech Trust, an endowed charity working to promote, fund and support use of vocational technology in education at a national level. Concurrently to this, she worked as Company Secretary of The National Garden Scheme, a well-regarded charity that has run for over 100 years to raise and grant funds through giving access to private gardens across England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands.

 

Karen has worked as Secretary and Clerk to Trustees for the Edridge Fund of Napo that provides financial assistance to staff in the Probation Service or Family Courts Service who are suffering financial hardship, including those who are retired or currently unable to work. Prior to this, she led governance and project management activities at Born Free Foundation, with additional roles in the education sector.

Mel has worked as a C-Level Executive Assistant for over 20 years across a variety of sectors including insurance, banking and education. She is an innovative and independent thinker with a history of optimising systems and processes, with the ability to implement efficient planning and to make insightful recommendations. She is a confident communicator making her adept at cultivating rewarding relationships with all stakeholders and takes on challenges with positivity, adaptability, and enthusiasm.

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Mel has experience of free schools, the maintained sector, academy trusts and independent schools and believes that effective governance makes a huge difference to the outcomes of children and young people. She believes that the key to good governance is to act as advocates for all stakeholders ensuring strategic oversight for the triangulation of the ‘lived’ experience within the trust / school. Together with holding strategic governance roles, Mel also has lead experience on compliance tasks such as data protection, policies and complaints management. She is experienced in panels for suspension reviews, permanent exclusions and complaints.

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In 2023 Mel was nominated for the NGA Outstanding Governance Lead Award and successfully reached the final stage where she received 3rd place in a strong field of candidates.

Rebecca has worked in education from a range of perspectives, including as a teacher and in publishing, before becoming an executive assistant and then moving into governance. In her roles in school trusts, she has acted as a point of contact for government ministers and officials, Ofsted, DfE and international partners. After leading governance in a trust for ten years, she now works with a range of trusts with a focus on interim local governance, and expert company secretarial, support.

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Mark’s executive career spans over 30 years in senior leadership roles, principally, but not exclusively in the third sector. This includes serving as an executive director at The Learning Trust in Hackney and CFO at EY Foundation. As a consultant, Mark undertakes external assurance reviews, adopting a coaching mindset and outside perspective to draw out board and executive learning. As a coach and trainer, Mark’s approach is to step back, take a broader view, enhance organisation learning, and strengthen governance and process.

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Mark brings expertise in delivering governance and assurance reviews across a range of non-profits and also within the education sector, alongside experience of managing and scoping resources both within teams that he has led, and in restructuring at an organisation-wide level. Mark also serves as an independent non-executive Chair of the audit & risk committee at the Institute of Osteopathy so experiences governance from all perspectives.

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Associate Certified Coach - Chartered Accountant - Chartered Company Secretary - Chartered Director.

Justin is a strategic education leader with school and commercial experience. Working at the Director of Programmes level with New School Development for two major consultancies, Justin has gained extensive expertise in board and committee operations, in-depth knowledge of education planning for new schools, and experience supporting principals-designate of academies and Free Schools through effective project management. Formerly Director of Academies for Tribal and Cambridge Education, Justin has managed over 80 successful academy projects, overseeing recruitment processes and strategic HR functions across multiple concurrent initiatives.

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Justin has served on various Trust Boards and governance bodies, contributing to stabilisation efforts for small Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), re-brokerage processes, and closure operations. His advisory roles include HR and operational guidance through the New Schools Network Development Programme. Recently as an education and HR consultant Justin has worked on a number of academy and Free School Projects, supporting development of education deliverables, recruitment, and development of the full range of policies. This has included both primary and secondary school projects.