Meet the NCL VCSE representatives
Who we are
From our diverse, individual experiences to our sector expertise, we bring a new perspective to health and care system conversations. We are a collective who are ambitious for our sector and our local communities. It starts here; we strive to evolve with our communities, tackle inequalities, and build resilience within the sector
Caroline Collier
CEO of Inclusion Barnet
Caroline chairs the North Central London VCSE Alliance. She is also the CEO for Inclusion Barnet, a Deaf and Disabled Person’s Organisation; a leader of the Barnet Together Alliance; and previously the CEO for Barnet Centre for Independent Living. Caroline also sits on the steering group of the Disability Benefits Consortium and is a member of the Disability Poverty Campaign Group. Caroline is passionate about the power of lived experience, disability rights, inclusivity, and equality. . Pivotal contributions to disability include influencing Acas guidance, leading to the wide dissemination of clearer advice for recruiters on employing disabled people.
Dr Geoffrey Ocen
CEO of The Bridge Renewal Trust
Geoffrey has worked as Chief Executive at The Bridge Renewal Trust for ten years; and worked within the sector for over 20 years. He has worked in academia, voluntary and community Sector, Local Authority and the NHS and has a strong track record of building trusted relationships with partners and communities. Geoffrey is passionate about reducing health inequalities and improving population health.
Janet Matthewson
CEO of Young Barnet Foundation
Janet is a representative for North Central London VCSE Alliance. She is also a leader of the Barnet Together alliance in her capacity as CEO of the Young Barnet Foundation.. She is passionate about civil society and the benefits of working across the sector to address inequalities in our communities. Janet has extensive experience in infrastructure support and in growing front line delivery services for adults and children/young people. Her mantra is “it takes a village to raise a child or in our case a Borough.”
Ken Kanu
CEO of Help on Your Doorstep
Ken has over 30 years experience within the sector. He is the CEO of the charity and limited company Help on Your Doorstep, an organisation that improves the health and wellbeing of people in Islington, especially those who are vulnerable and isolated. His contributions include the creation of Connect Service which provides information and referrals to specialist advice organisations, the Good Neighbours Schemes and Islington’s health and wellbeing events.
Donna Turnbull
Health Transformation & Partnership Manager of Voluntary Action Camden
Donna started working with Voluntary Action Camden in 2006, coming from a community arts and urban regeneration background. Her first role at Voluntary Action Camden was developing the Community Empowerment Network. Since 2013 she has been involved in developing Voluntary Action Camden’s work, and supporting community groups, in emerging policy areas important to our sector. These include community led and neighbourhood planning, and social prescribing/ health transformation. She leads Voluntary Action Camden’s social prescribing work and manages the Community Links service, and work with groups developing neighbourhood projects and services.
Kingsley Bempah
CEO for Ark Resettlement Services
Kingsley has worked in probation and the voluntary sector for over 15 years. He is also a regular guest lecturer at several London Universities in Social entrepreneurship and management studies. He has worked in ten local authorities as specialist offending group officers such as integrated Offender Management (IOM) and Multi Agency Public Protection arrangement (MAPPA). Kingsley has established strong working relationships with statutory providers including probation services, Local Authority, Police, Health professionals and other voluntary sector organisations ensuring non-duplication of provision. Kingsley has extensive experience in housing management working with ex-offenders London wide. He has worked with various charities in developing services and for vulnerable groups, including the homeless and people with substance dependency.
Navinder Kaur
CEO of Voluntary Action Islington
Navinder is the Chief Executive Officer for Voluntary Action Islington (VAI) which provides advice on governance, fundraising and strategy to the voluntary sector in Islington. VAI’s vision is a resilient voluntary sector that actively collaborates to support residents and community, VA has over 500 members and is taking a leading role in the formation of Islington’s first borough-wide network dedicated to Health & Wellbeing. She has over 15 years experience working within the sector and the local authority, her previous roles were as the Networks and Partnerships Manager at London Plus, which brought together voluntary, local authority and NHS responses to the Covid-19 outbreak across the capital and as Head of Policy, Partnerships and Communications, and was London Borough of Islington’s Voluntary and Community Development Officer.
Alex Tambourides
CEO for Mind, Enfield and Barnet
Alex is the CEO of Mind in Enfield and Barnet and the mental health representative for North Central London VCSE Alliance. He has worked in Mental Health for over 20 years primarily within the 3rd sector and has extensive experience in working alongside the NHS and other statutory partners, locally, regionally and across London.
Pam Burke
CEO for Enfield Carers Centre
Pamela has been supporting carers in Enfield for many years. As Chief Executive, Pamela is responsible for overseeing all aspects entailed in successfully running, and growing the services offered by Enfield Carers Centre. Pam has personal experience of being a carer.
Dan Rogers
CEO for Public Voice
Dan is CEO of Public Voice, a non-profit organisation that supports resident and community engagement to improve public services. Headquartered in Haringey, Public Voice leads (alongside Mind In Haringey) the Haringey Community Collaborative service, which acts as the strategic and capacity building lead for the borough’s voluntary and community sector. Public Voice also deliver the local Healthwatch service, and various projects and forums to engage Haringey residents.
Prior to joining Public Voice in 2022, Dan worked in government-funded innovation to improve placemaking and population health and wellbeing.
Colin Brummage
CEO for Camden Disability Action
Colin is CEO of Camden Disability Action (CDA), a pan disability, user-led, organisation that presses for the removal of barriers that disable people with conditions/impairments.
George Dunstall
CEO for All People All Places
George joined All People All Places (APAP) as CEO in 2022. He has over 15 years experience working across homeless and resettlement services in the voluntary sector. He has managed a variety of commissioned and non-commissioned accommodation services across London for national and local charities.
APAP are driving change in Enfield and Haringey. At APAP, doors are open to anyone who is facing the isolation of homelessness. They offer advice, support and advocacy to help more people find a safe place to call home.
Mark Gillham
CEO for The Stuart Low Trust
Mark is Chief Executive of The Stuart Low Trust, an Islington-based mental health charity, where he has worked for four years. He is a member of the Islington VCSFE Advisory Group, helping strengthen strategic collaboration across the local voluntary sector. With 30 years’ experience in the VCSE mental health sector, including 13 years leading a Mind organisation in London, he has extensive experience of partnership working with the NHS, local authorities and other public services. He has served as a charity trustee and director, founded a Community-Led Housing company, and chaired a VCS consortium developing a new partnership service model.
Jo Ikhelef
CEO for Enfield Voluntary Action
Jo Ikhelef is Chief Executive Officer at Enfield Voluntary Action, promoting volunteering and the work of the voluntary and community sector in Enfield. Jo has worked at EVA for 18 years and manages the strategic role to amplify the voice of grassroots organisations.
Her previous role involved funding advice and supporting small community groups to establish their activities and achieve their goals.
Monique Gardiner
Director of Communities at Inclusion Barnet & co-Strategic Lead Barnet Together
Monique is Director of Communities at Inclusion Barnet and one of the strategic leads for the Barnet Together Partnership, supporting the VCFSE sector across the borough.
A committed advocate for system change, she works across local and national networks to strengthen VCSE influence in health and care planning. She leads on infrastructure support, including governance development, funding and bid writing support, organisational capacity building, training, and facilitating strategic partnerships that enable local organisations to deliver sustainable high-impact services.
Prsna Hirani-Shah
Communications Officer, Projects at Inclusion Barnet
Prsna Hirani-Shah is the Communications Officer for the VCSE Alliance responsible for the bi-monthly newsletter and social media posts. Sign up for the newsletter here.