OUR WORK

Benaifer Bhandari is CEO of Hopscotch Women’s Centre, coming from the world’s leading health organisation dedicated to women, La Leche League. She has a passion for robust governance ensuring every action is reflected in mission and insisting deeply that every minoritised person and group have support in a person-centred and trauma informed way.

She has now taken her knowledge across to other organisations as trustee for C4 (Camden Community Centres Consortium), Chair for Global Generation and more recently she has been honoured by the appointed as Chair for Voluntary Action Camden.

Mahira is a seasoned finance professional with a decade of experience in auditing and financial management. Having worked at renowned public accounting firms, Mahira brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Beyond the financial world, she is extremely passionate about social impact, volunteering and community development. Mahira is deeply committed to fostering positive change within the community by contributing her financial acumen to drive impactful initiatives.

Harry George is a social entrepreneur with a track record building profitable businesses that deliver impact and outcomes for a variety of disadvantaged groups including people with disabilities, refugees, the homeless, and young offenders. He owns and operates hidden coffee on Camden Road, where many of these groups are supported.

As a Camden local with deep roots in the area, he is keen to engage with isolated communities within the borough and provide his own network and knowledge to the board. He is humbled to be involved in a storied organisation like Voluntary Action Camden and hopes to channel his own skills into community outcomes whilst learning from the talented team.

I’m a local government worker, charity volunteer, school governor and local activist. For over a decade I’ve been a volunteer committed to working closely with community and charity groups in Camden who focus on women and young people. I was inspired to join the VAC Board as a trustee to help steer it as we move into these ever more difficult times and ensure that it continues to deliver for our community and local groups.

Chikwaba is the African Health Forum Lead on Ageing Better in Camden (a Partnership of 7 BAME organisations). Also a qualified counsellor and therapist, she has over 10 years’ experience supporting individuals and families and is committed to delivering client-centred support that empowers individuals to self-actualise. Being a VAC Board member is a two – way street. She will be expanding her skillset and network within the field whilst bringing her experience, expertise and knowledge, especially on Black African communities. She will work towards promoting collaborations with other diverse groups to improve and for better chances of sustainability.

Tricia has over 19 years’ experience working within the voluntary sector in Camden and became CEO of Castlehaven Community Association (CCA) in May 2019. She has created, managed and delivered a plethora of community-based projects and has set up and lead many partnership projects with national & local charities, businesses and schools/collages. Tricia has worked and managed over 60 international internships and has experience in recruitment of a multitude of roles. Tricia is the vice chair of the IAG Camden board, a trustee of Camden Community Centres Consortium (C4) and a rep for C4 on the Ageing Better in Camden Strategic Board. Tricia’s interest in becoming a trustee of VAC is purely based on sharing her knowledge, experience and finding out more about the voluntary sector in Camden, whilst supporting staff & volunteers who work within VAC.

Lotis is an educator with 10 years’ experience working across Primary, Secondary, Further and Higher Education, including Camden’s own City Lit. Prior to joining VAC, she helped to build campus-wide digital systems for graduate schools in Asia, as well as running an education technology company that matched charities across the UK with highly skilled student volunteers.

Lotis is passionate about using her knowledge of digital and learning to empower local organisations to reach more beneficiaries, more effectively, and is honoured to join an organisation with a long history of innovation and supporting the borough’s most vulnerable residents.

Kathy recently retired from her work in the NHS and public health and is now enjoying using her skills and experience in new ways. She is active in the UK Public Health Register, an independent, dedicated regulator for public health professionals in the United Kingdom. She recognises the importance of voluntary and community organisations, and people themselves, to improving health and wellbeing, and reducing health inequalities. Like so many others, she has gotten to know her neighbourhood better as everyone has helped each other during the pandemic. She is pleased to be bringing her experience of health, partnerships and leading public sector organisations to her role as a VAC trustee.