Board of Trustees - Pen Portraits
The following pieces were written by the Board members themselves and are listed in alphabetical order.
Ahmed Al-aagam
Ahmed is an enthusiastic young social entrepreneur, he was born in Aden Yemen and moved with parents and brother to Sheffield in 2000. To develop his language he immersed himself in the voluntary sector for the last 7 years in various roles, to mention a few, leading youth projects and assisting at a community event. He is very passionate about helping others in creating community impact, volunteering and believes that being on the VAS board is fitting with his passions.
Les Baker
Qualified accountant who has worked in local engineering businesses (James Neill, Stanley Tools) and took early retirement in 2000. Since then he has been involved in the following charities with local connections: Sheffield Crossroads Ltd (carer agency) director; CBA Projects Ltd (homeless charity) director (until June 2007); Johnnie Johnson Housing Ltd (housing association) director.
Wendy Bussey
Wendy works for Groundwork Sheffield, where she is the Green Space & Business Manager- responsible for developing programmes that integrate the economy with the environment. This includes facilitating links between academic institutes and the private sector, promoting sustainable construction and developing initiatives which improve green spaces. Wendy manages a small team who deliver projects ranging from green roofs to ethical investment. Prior to joining Groundwork, Wendy worked for SCEDU (Sheffield Community Enterprise Development Unit) where she supported social enterprises and small start-up businesses.
Amanda Forrest
I have worked in the public sector for over 30 years, including the voluntary sector, Local Authority and NHS. Most recently I was the Director of a Collaborative organisation supporting the 14 PCTs across Yorkshire and the Humber in developing their commissioning skills and commissioning consortia. Previous roles include Chief Officer of Sheffield Community Health Council, representing the public and patients on health issues and complaints and working with the members from political parties and the voluntary sector. I set up the Sheffield Advocacy Office which then supported people with learning disabilities to have their rights represented and met. I also worked for VAS's predecessor Council for Voluntary Service running the Volunteer Bureau and a network for supporting voluntary sector staff in developing skills. I served on a number of Boards including the Regional Council for the BBC as a consumer representative.
Sharon Gill
I am fine art trained to MA level, and have worked self employed for the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust part time for 10 years, involving the community within and without the hospital in projects with a health benefit. This led to becoming project manager for Open Up Sheffield a voluntary led organisation that delivered the annual region wide artists open studio event. My role included co-ordinating artsist as volunteers. I also managed the Garden Rooms artist studio complex part time, another charity organisation.
I currently work three days a week as the manager for the Broomhall Centre Charity, run by a local volunteers. This includes working with a wide variety of ethnic groups, personalities, cultures and languages. I also help co-ordinate the Art In the Garden event at the Botanical Gardens, which also relies on volunteers.
My experience with voluntary work began when I was 17 years old, helping an afternoon a week at a Mencap Day Centre, and befriending a young girl and taking her out socially. I also became the regional co-oridnator for the Sheffield NCT when my first child was very young. I continued to do some voluntary work with the schools my children attended and currently I am the Leaseholder Co-ordinator for the Lansdowne Estate.
Irene Ibanda
My name is Irene Ibanda, I am 23. I am married and have three children. I worked full time as a Customer Service Adviser for Freemans but have now found a part time job in the same field, working for Randstad RIS Vertex. I also attend college two evenings per week.
I am very passionate about helping people. I have volunteered with Assist Sheffield where I worked at the Signposting Table and Referrals - helping failed asylum seekers find temporary accommodation and referring them to organizations like Red Cross, food shelters and faith groups.
I have also volunteered with Northern Refugee Centre, helping newly recognized refugees integrate in the community by providing advice on housing, state benefits, applications for travel documents and passports. I undertook the N.R.C training course.
I have also volunteered with Darnall & District Advice Service, where I worked as a Welfare Benefits Worker and gained the Basic Advice Work Skills course certificate (N.O.C.N) accredited.
Luke Kenny
Luke began working in the sector as a Training Consultant specialising in Social Housing Tenants issues, giving him a solid understanding of the sector and the problems facing small groups as the majority of his work was with newly founded Tenants and Residents Associations. Through this work, he became involved with Voluntary Action Sheffield. He is currently employed as a Support Worker for Sheffield Housing Support Services.
Jane Leathley (vice-Chair)
Jane has been involved in the local voluntary and community sector since the early 1980s, as a volunteer, a committee member and a paid worker. She has worked for various organisations over the years including a welfare rights advice centre, a housing co-op, a regional tenant's organisation, and an environmental education charity. She has also been involved in campaigning, and was Branch Secretary for a voluntary sector union branch for six years. She joined the South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau in 1995 and was Bureau Director 1999 - 2005. In this role she was involved in local, sub regional, regional and national policy work on funding issues for the community and voluntary sector. She completed a MSc in Information Management at the University of Sheffield in 2006 and is currently working freelance in the fields of project management, information management and voluntary sector funding. She also volunteers as a farm guide at Whirlow Hall Farm Trust.
Roy Love
Roy Love came to Sheffield in 1978 to work as an economics lecturer in Sheffield City Polytechnic. Between then and 1993 when he left what had then become Sheffield Hallam University he had also lived and worked as an economist in Kiribati and Botswana. In the mid-1990s he and his wife co-managed a small charity conference centre/guest house in the English Lake District. This was followed by an academic year in Lesotho then several years back in Sheffield in part-time lecturing, and subsequently a further spell in Botswana which ended in March 2003. During these overseas contracts he became involved with local voluntary organisations, both on a hands-on role and as committee member. For a number of years he was also a volunteer advice worker at Pitsmoor Citizen's Advice Bureau in Sheffield and is familiar with the range of social problems faced in a city like Sheffield. Through this work he also has a certain lay knowledge of employment, consumer rights, immigration and social security issues. He has previous experience of being a trustee /director and has acted as treasurer. He continues to lecture part-time, engage in consultancy and to write and research.
Zahira Naz
Zahira Naz is currently the Education and Training Service Manager for SWT (Sheffield Wildlife Trust.) The Education team works with local Schools, Colleges and Early Years Settings to Enhance the Physical Structure, Management and Use of their Grounds, as a Resource for both People and Wildlife. They also run an Outdoor Learning programme aimed at school-aged children delivering national curriculum-linked educational activities with schools and an Environmental skills Training Programme delivering accredited vocational qualifications at Levels 1, 2 and 3. She has worked in the third sector for 9 years. Zahira is also a free lance tutor and has delivered the PPTLS (Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Sector) course and the ICDH (Introduction to Community Development and Health) course. She is a Mentor for Hallam University's Initial Teacher Training students and working on the Approved Internal Verification Status with Open College Network. Zahira is also doing her Level 3 NVQ in Information Advice and Guidance.
Maggie Rowlands (Chair, since December 2009)
Maggie is an export from the Welsh Valleys and moved to Sheffield in 1978 with a young family. Her first career was in teaching but she has worked in the voluntary sector since 1982. She worked for Home-Start, a family support charity, at a local, regional, national and international level. Maggie has been involved in the governance of VAS since the early 1980s as a Board member, Vice Chair of the Board, and also Chair and then member of the Personnel sub-committee. As Training Director for Home-Start UK she worked on various national committees involved in fostering the development of skills of employees and volunteers, including trustees, working in the voluntary community. She is committed to promoting the third sector and to ensuring a quality experience for all involved. She is currently working as a freelance trainer and consultant.
Nicola Smith
Nicola's initial involvement in the voluntary sector was as Chair of the National Childbirth Trust when she moved to Sheffield 25 years ago. With a background in mental health, Nicola has been CEO of Sheffield Alcohol Advisory Service (SAAS) for 12 years. This voluntary sector organisation provides a range of services for people with alcohol related problems and for families needing support around parenting and/or substance misuse. SAAS also provides training around drugs and alcohol for anyone who comes across substance misuse in their work. Nicola therefore has experience of managing an organisation that works with vulnerable people with multiple complex needs. She has contributed to national consultations and conferences on alcohol treatment for many years. She is especially interested in staff, volunteer and Board training and development and in collaborative working with other organisations, e.g. through the Wellbeing Consortium. Nicola recently completed the ILM Level 5 so has recent experience of being a recipient of VAS training! Outside work her interests are gardening, green issues, books, films, chamber music and wandering round interesting old towns.