Our trustees and directors
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Taahra Ghazi, co-CEO and Director of Innovation and Impact
Taahra brings extensive experience in international development and anti-racist communications to her role. With a track record of driving change and amplifying the voices of women, girls and their movements worldwide, Taahra’s leadership will be instrumental in shaping ActionAid UK's strategies for global impact. A former teacher and education advisor, Taahra also has many years' experience working within ActionAid at an international and UK level and has previously worked as a strategic advisor across the development and education sectors.
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Shade Odupelu, co-CEO and Director of People and Culture
Shade has over 25 years’ experience at a strategic level for organisations including Save the Children, Salvation Army, Teach First, and Livability. She leads organisational change to help improve performance, governance, and culture, and builds accountability levels to make the workplace a thriving environment for everyone. She is committed to contributing positively to ActionAid's mission, and to developing a deeper understanding of intersectional feminism, transgender and racial equity.
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Hannah Bond, co-CEO and Director of Advocacy and Influencing
A passionate expert in women, peace and security and feminist leadership and foreign policy in the UK and globally, has a wealth of knowledge and a strong dedication to advancing the rights of women and girls and their movements worldwide. With extensive experience in developing partnerships and working with feminist movements, Hannah has worked within the UK Government and civil society driving forwards innovative approaches and collaboration for a more peaceful, just world. Hannah's innovative approach to programming and advocacy, personal commitment to activism and feminism, and prior experience of being a director in the sector will be invaluable in steering ActionAid UK towards greater gender justice.
Our trustees
Our board of trustees has to listen to the needs of women and girls living in poverty, and balance that with being accountable to our supporters for using their money in the best possible way.
They make sure we are true to our mission and values, set our strategic direction, check our progress is in keeping with our strategy, and see that we comply with the Charity Commission guidelines.
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Rajiv Vyas, Acting Chair
As an active campaigner for inclusion, equality and diversity, Rajiv is both honoured and proud to be able to serve on the board of trustees.
He has over 27 years of experience within the Financial Services sector and has undertaken several voluntary governance roles at other not-for-profit organisations and in local government.
Rajiv is currently an active member of the All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group. He is a Principal of the Institute of Operational Risk, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Freeman of the City of London.
Rajiv intends to use the experiences he has gained over his professional career to add value to the wider work of ActionAid in eradicating injustice, alleviating poverty, and creating positive long-term and sustainable futures.
Rajiv is the Deputy Chair and currently the Acting Chair of the Board of Trustees. -
Stella Abani
Stella has over 25 years senior management experience across the public, private and third sectors. Most of her work has been focused on on addressing inequality and ensuring that inclusion is at the heart of developing new services and programmes.
Stella has experience of working in non-executive director roles and is delighted to join ActionAid UK as a trustee. She is passionate and committed to delivering ActionAid’s ambition to achieve social justice and eradicate poverty.
Stella is looking forward to working with the trustees and team at ActionAid UK. -
Amina Folarin
Amina is a UK Group CEO at OLIVER agency, which designs, build and run in-house marketing ecosystems for brands. She will be helping to solve the challenges of modern marketing while making the business a force for good in the world.
Previously, Amina was a global chief inclusion and people officer at the same agency, and oversaw a 500-person-strong recruitment and diversity and inclusion team to support brands, as well as secured a #40 spot on The Times’ Best Places to Work list. -
Sophie Healy-Thow
Sophie is a student on a mission to educate young people about food security, climate change and injustice. At 16 she won both the Google Science Fair and the European Union Contest for Young Scientists with a team project entitled ‘Combating the Global Food Crisis: Diazotroph Bacteria as a cereal crop growth promoter’. Through her work, Sophie met some inspirational people and began to think about how she might be able to change the world for the better. The people she met also sparked her interest in food security, climate change and educating the next generation, especially women and girls.
In 2015 Sophie was invited to be a Global Youth Leader by the United Nations at the Global Goals Mobilising Generation Zero Hunger Conference in New York. She also gave a TedX talk entitled ‘Food Security: Everybody’s Business’. Sophie is a Youth Ambassador for the ONE Campaign and the ISPCC and in 2014 she was named one of Time magazine’s top 25 most influential teens.
Working with ActionAid offers Sophie the opportunity to help make tangible improvements to the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people and she hopes that by adding the voice of youth she can really make a difference. "It is a privilege to be an ActionAid Trustee and work with change-makers and professionals who are at the forefront of international development working to end global poverty and injustice," she said. -
Abdul Shiil
Abdul is a director at Sahan Cares C.I.C, a social enterprise empowering disenfranchised and low-income BAME members of the community in West London to gain new qualifications and employment within the health and care industry. He was recognised by the Federation of Small Businesses and SME National Awards in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category in 2019. Abdul also holds fellowships with the School For Social Entrepreneurs, EY Foundation and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business programme in partnership with Said Business School.
Abdul loves what ActionAid stands for as a charity and the amazing successful projects and fundraising missions the charity carries out around the world. He is really excited about joining the ActionAid family as a trustee, as this aligns with the principles he and his company stand for and live by every day: supporting and empowering those in need to do better. He can't wait to be a part of ActionAid's active support network and embark on this new journey. -
Faraz Tasnim
Faraz has over 20 years experience across both manufacturing and financial sectors. He supports ActionAid by bringing key skills in transformation, change execution and finance from his previous corporate experiences.
He has held a number of previous board roles across non-profit organisations with a keen interest in equality, diversity and inclusion and is excited to join the Action Aid organisation in helping the organisation deliver its full potential and strategy. -
Ruchi Tripathi
Ruchi has 25 years’ experience in International development, human rights, gender and social justice. She has worked on Right to Food, Land Rights, Gender just agriculture policies, Farmers’ Rights within the context of global trade agreements, Corporate accountability, and Ecological and Climate Justice.
She combines her unique global perspective with respect for lived realities of those most affected by climate change, gender and social injustice, marginalisation and hunger. She has lived and studied in India, UK, USA, Japan and South Africa. Ruchi is a grounded, strategic, reflective, impactful leader practicing feminist leadership in her personal and professional life.
Ruchi currently is Director Climate and Nature with the Global Alliance for the Future of Food working at the intersection of climate, nature and food. Prior to this she has worked with VSO as their Global Practice Lead for Resilient Livelihoods working on youth and women’s empowerment in the context of decent livelihoods and green jobs. Ruchi also headed up Concern Worldwide UK’s Policy and Campaigns team delivering on successful ‘Unheard Voices’ campaign focusing on marginalised women farmers. Ruchi has a long history or working with ActionAid in various roles including as Head of Right to Food, Head of Resilient Livelihoods and Climate Justice, Head of Trade Justice Campaign with ActionAid International, UK and India. Ruchi currently lives in Kent, England with her family. -
Roy Trivedy
Roy Trivedy is retired from full-time work. He is the Honorary Consul of Timor-Leste in Scotland. He also works as a part-time volunteer mentor for the United Nations and for the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
He served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Timor-Leste from February 2018-November 2022 and as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea from December 2013 to December 2017. Prior to that, he worked for the Department for International Development UK for 13 years. He was a Senior Civil Servant and served as Head of Civil Society Department (2009-2013), Team Leader for the UK White Paper (Building our Common Future 2009), Head of DFID Tanzania (2006-2008), Programme Manager Central Asia and the Caucasus (2003-2005) and Conflict Adviser (Africa) 2000-2003.
Roy joined DFID after 20 years of working for non-governmental organisations in the UK, Mozambique, India and Malawi. He studied at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex and the University of Sheffield. -
Anne Tutt, Treasurer
Anne is a finance professional by background, with more than 30 years board level experience in private, public sector and not-for-profit organisations as finance director and non-executive director.
In her not-for-profit experience Anne has focused on governance, risk management, finance strategy and development in the Global South.
She is passionate about helping everyone, regardless of their race and background, to have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and she is totally committed to ActionAid’s feminist principles and focus on women and girls.
Anne is delighted and honoured to be appointed a Trustee & the Treasurer of ActionAid UK and to become part of the team of ActionAid International. -
Fikerte Woldegiorgis
Fikerte is delighted to join ActionAid UK as a trustee and thrilled to be part of our mission to achieve social justice, gender equality and poverty eradication by working with women and girls living in poverty and exclusion.
Fikerte has extensive experience of Marketing and Digital Transformation in the commercial sector, as well as in Leadership and Organisational Change Management. She is also a passionate champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, advocating for marginalised groups that are excluded from fully participating in various commercial sectors.
The ActionAid trustee role is an exciting opportunity to apply these skills and experience in the not-for-profit sector and to benefit the causes that Fikerte cares about most. She is inspired by the passion and commitment of the ActionAid team, and she looks forward to supporting us in our fight against poverty and injustice.
Bond Governance Award 2018
In February 2018, ActionAid UK won the inaugural BOND International Development Award for Governance, a new category created to recognise NGOs who practise and promote good governance within their organisation.
ActionAid UK staff and board members collect the Bond Governance award.
The award was given in recognition of the Board’s work around diversity and the decision to implement feminist principles across the whole organisation.
Page updated 20 June 2024
