Executive Director
About Louise
Louise has over 15 years’ experience in leadership, fundraising, marketing and communications and account management within the corporate, social enterprise and charitable sectors. As well as experience working in and alongside multi-national corporates, Louise has been in executive and senior management positions within the charities MyBnk, Lessons for Life (now merged with Street Child) and Power2 before joining Diabetes UK in to work on delivering excellent customer experience across the organisation. Having previously worked in Hammersmith & Fulham, she is really excited to be back in the Borough to lead H&F Giving through this next exciting stage of development, and ultimately help to create a connected borough, where all kinds of people and every generation has what they need to thrive.
Administrator
About Sophie
Coming from years of experience in a veterinary background, Sophie is new to the voluntary sector. Having grown up in North London, she has witnessed the many struggles that the city has faced. She is passionate about the people of London and committed to supporting the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham through the work of H&F Giving.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Cinzia
Originally from Italy, Cinzia has lived in West London for 15 years. She is a photojournalist and set up the Photojournalism Hub to raise awareness and engagement to social justice issues, discrimination and human rights violations. The role of a panellist means a lot to her as it is essential for the delivery of aid.
What causes are you passionate about?
Race inequality and injustice, and economic inequality.
Who do you admire locally?
Mellezia Bowell of The Rena Initiative, for her passion and inspiring work providing an outlet for those economically disadvantaged to enter the art world. Her message of inclusiveness is wonderful.
Who do you admire internationally?
Photographer Hannah Kozak, who has documented the painful story of her mother that has become brain damaged following a punch from her violent partner. She tells her story to help women in abusive relationships to make the decision to leave, to make them understand that by not leaving they head to death, physical and mental impairment.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
When faced with an obstacle, rather than plunge into panic, impulsive decisions or no decision, visualise what the best outcome looks like and then slowly work your way to it.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
I have so many! I have a favourite walking trail which departs from Uxbridge Road, past Shepherds Bush Market and then onto Wood Lane, past White City Place and then through White City Estates.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Iashia
Iashia has lived in Hammersmith & Fulham for over 20 years. She is passionate about helping those in the community. She is a member of the OPDC Community Review Group (Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation). She says it is very exciting to be joining UNITED and it is a chance to make a really big difference in an area that she loves, helping those who need a little push in the right direction.
What causes are you passionate about?
Housing development, home education, homelessness and many more social issues affecting our borough.
Who do you admire locally?
Saskieja Belmont is someone I admire for her work ethic, positivity and sheer dedication to progressive change in Hammersmith and Fulham. She has inspired me, my family and many others to be the best version of themselves.
Who do you admire internationally?
I have always found Misty Copeland awe-inspiring as a black American ballet dancer who has paved the way for women of colour in ballet. Her pose, grace and determination are remarkable.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
Shepherds Bush Green war memorial, it is nice to sit and watch the busy world go by.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Jeannetta
Jeannetta has lived in the area for over 20 years bringing up her family. Before raising her family, she was a solicitor. She has volunteered her time for local causes and sat on many committees. She says that being a panellist means she can immerse herself in the heart of the community, and thinks local projects should be encouraged and supported.
What causes are you passionate about?
I am interested in a range of issues but, in particular, loneliness. It has only relatively recently been recognised how many people suffer from loneliness and what an impact it can have on both physical and mental health. It spans across every age group and has exacerbated during lockdown.
Who do you admire locally?
Hammersmith & Fulham is host to numerous inspiring people. To pinpoint one is difficult but there is a lady I admire who shares my interest in baking. A few years ago she decided to take the plunge and convert her hobby into a business which I think is a really hard thing to achieve. Due to sheer determination and hard work she now runs a very successful local bakery.
Who do you admire internationally?
Angela Merkel has an innate sense of duty and fairness and has served her country with continued stability and reliability. She always behaves with dignity and, in my opinion, demonstrates the qualities of a great leader.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t take anything in life for granted and cherish every day as you never know what is around the corner.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
Furnival Gardens, I love to sit there and enjoy the view of the river and the wildlife with Hammersmith Bridge in the background.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Louise
Louise has lived in Shepherds Bush for 15 years. She is actively involved in the community, having volunteered for various charities and groups locally, and runs two businesses while raising her children. She believes that local community has become even more important to us throughout covid and that is is a real privilege to to help organisations that are benefitting the diverse community around us.
What causes are you passionate about?
I work with young families and have a family of my own so I am proud to champion the youngest in the borough. I’ve also volunteered in food banks and homeless kitchens and feel passionate about helping the most vulnerable in our community.
Who do you admire locally?
All the teachers at our wonderful schools who have worked tirelessly and often without thanks throughout the pandemic to do their best for our children.
Who do you admire internationally?
Frida Kahlo for overcoming adversity, being herself, and because I love her paintings.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
It is better to try something and fail than not try at all.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
Walking along the river in all seasons and all weathers. It’s calming and beautiful and I love the mix of old and new buildings.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Ramona
Ramona has been living in Hammersmith & Fulham for 13 years. She is visually impaired, and her mission is to educate people, businesses, schools and community groups about blindness and partial sight. She sits on the Visually Impaired Access Panel for the Postal Museum and is a member of the Disabled Residents Team- Planning and Design Hammersmith &Fulham Town Hall. To her, being a panellist means helping to make a difference to individuals, organisations and communities in the borough.
What causes are you passionate about?
Homelessness, single parent families, mental health and disabled people, especially those living with sight loss.
Who do you admire locally?
I admire my Vicar Matt Hogg. When joining the church as a visually impaired person I was nervous as I was unsure of how I will be welcomed. Matt welcomed me with open arms and made an effort to understand what support I will need to access services and join in with everyone. He also recognised my abilities and gave me the opportunities to take part in events and activities.
Who do you admire internationally?
I look up to Martin Luther King as his dream was for black, white and other ethnic groups to live side by side and be treated fairly in regards to jobs, housing, and more. He quotes “I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, crooked places be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh see it together. This our hope”. My hope for us all today is to live in hope, without judgement and stereotype, and to love one another.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Follow your dream and don’t let anyone or anything stop you from achieving your goals.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
Ravenscourt Park as it’s peaceful and allows you to have that space to clear your head and be quiet without a lot of noise.
‘United to Give’ Grants Panellist
About Trey
Trey was born and raised in Hammersmith and Fulham. His interests lie in politics having been involved with the Hammersmith & Fulham Youth Council and Hammersmith & Fulham Policing and Crime Commission. He says it fills him with immense pride to know that through his role he will be able to give back even more to the borough that has given so much to him.
What causes are you passionate about?
Homelessness and food poverty.
Who do you admire locally?
I admire Councillor Matt Uberoi for his kind and generous nature and the way he represents the residents of Sands End. Having joined Matt on the campaign trail in 2019 I was able to see this first-hand but above all of what I have stated already, he is a great man with a lovely wife and an adorable daughter.
Who do you admire internationally?
Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness for the way he has handled and navigated Jamacia through several tough situations whether that be the floods or the pandemic.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Stay humble and always be willing to listen and learn.
What’s your favourite spot in the borough?
North End Road market is so full of life and is a hotspot for conversation. I am telling you, the conversations I have had with market stall owners is second to none and it’s a place I frequently visit.
Chair of Trustees
About Joanna
Joanna Kennedy is a retired solicitor. After leaving her legal practice she developed and ran a London based advice and campaigning charity called Z2K . In that role she was responsible for all aspects of management and leadership including financial management and fundraising, volunteer management, casework management and campaigning .
Since she has retired from any employment role she has obtained a CELTA qualification to enable her to teach English as a foreign language to refugees which she is currently doing through West London Welcome.
Joanna has sat on and chaired numerous charity Boards in both the theatre world and the advice sector. Her main current roles of this kind are as Chair of the National Youth Arts Trust which works to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the performing arts, as a trustee of Advice UK, the national umbrella body for advice agencies. and locally as Trustee of both the Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre and the QPR Community Trust.
She is passionate about improving the lives and the life chances of her neighbours in Hammersmith & Fulham.
Trustee
About Elise
Elise is a consultant and project manager in the classical musical industry. She has over 10 years of experience in artist management, spanning a 20 year career in the arts, music and entertainment businesses.
She combines her interests in culture and the arts and a desire to assist her immediate and wider community. As well as spearheading her own voluntary initiatives, Elise is on the Development Committee for Clean Break and is a Board Director at Leeds Conservatoire.
Elise grew up in Kensington and Chelsea. Having attended school in Hammersmith & Fulham and now being resident of the borough, she is passionate about supporting the local population.
Trustee
About Helen
Helen has almost a decade’s experience of coordinating and managing funding programmes. As a grants manager for Community Foundation Wales, Helen worked on a range of investments from education and hardship grants for individuals, to multi-year large grants awarded to organisations from Comic Relief and Big Lottery Fund programmes. More recently, as Third Sector Development Officer, her experience has been in the management of public sector grant programmes, overseeing the £2.3million Corporate Services funding for voluntary organisations for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Currently Helen is the Grants Manager for a small consultancy organisation that manages grants on behalf of the Mayor of London and Central Government. This organisation also specialises in consultancy projects which evaluate the social benefit of various different funding initiatives and programmes of support. As part of this consultancy work she is part of the project team for London’s Giving, looking to develop a framework and tools to support Place-based schemes across London measure their individual and collective impact on behalf of London Funders.
Helen has been a resident of Hammersmith and Fulham since moving to London three years ago and is a Trustee for Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity. She regularly volunteers for various good causes throughout the borough through her involvement in GoodGym Hammersmith & Fulham and is a lead resident for her neighbourhood on the H&F social network NextDoor.
Trustee, Vice Chair
About Julian
Social worker by training who started life as Probation Officer, worked for local Social Services and spent the years before retirement running the Ealing branch of Mencap the charity for people with learning disabilities
Julian has lived in Hammersmith since 1978 and was a local councillor for 4 years. I identify closely with the area and have been a school governor at several schools and a trustee for several local charities over the years. My children went to school locally and some of my grandchildren are at Wendell Park School. Hammersmith is my home.
Hammersmith and Fulham is a lovely place to live, but it is a place of extremes and although Grenfell Tower is just out of borough, it can be seen from many locations in H&F and provides a challenge to us all. I think H&F Giving will work towards developing a sense of greater neighbourliness. The well off and the not so well off can help each other understand local needs and meet them. With H&F Giving’s support those who can afford to give can identify projects in their area they would love to see thrive.
Trustee
About Chris
Chris spent most of his working life teaching chemistry and physics in Hammersmith before retiring as the Assistant Head of Latymer Upper. He was the Latymer Foundation trustee on the Hammersmith United Charities for over 12 years and most of that time was spent as the Chair of the Grants Committee where the dormant “relief in need” was converted to the ambitious grant awarding body it has become today, helping to reduce poverty and deprivation in the north of the borough.
He is currently the national Chair of the Association of Members of Independent Monitoring Boards which has in its membership approximately a quarter of all the current members of prison monitoring boards in England and Wales, Vice Chair of the Sulgrave Youth Club and a trustee of the Sulgrave Trust.
Trustee
About Vivienne
Vivienne has lived in Hammersmith for 35 years. Now retired, she was previously a Director of Specialist Social Services in a central London borough, Chaired Hammersmith and Fulham Mind and Yarrow Housing, was the Councillor for Fulham Reach ward, and Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care.
Trustee
About Sue
Sue was brought up in the Borough and as a child lived in West Kensington moving to Fulham when she married 45 years ago. She was educated at Captain Marryat Primary School, Fulham County School for Girls and the City of Westminster College.
She worked in local government for the London County Council, Greater London Council and for 15 years before retirement at Hammersmith and Fulham Council. She has in the past served as a Councillor and School Governor. She also served as a Magistrate for 33 years. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Trustees of Fulham Good Neighbour Service, with which she has been associated since 1979. She is also Vice-Chair of the Trustees of Dr Edwards & Bishop King’s Fulham Charity, Chair of its Governance Committee and member of its Relief in Need Committee.
Sue is strongly committed to supporting the voluntary sector in the borough and sees the creation of H&F Giving as a positive move to support this vital sector of our community.
Trustee, Treasurer
About Hugo
Hugo Sintes has over 20 years of experience setting up and managing programmes in the charity sector in the UK, but also in Latin America and Africa. He has worked for organisations such as Oxfam, Southern Housing, Big Society Capital and The Big Issue Group. His main areas of expertise are around social housing, employment, social enterprise and corporate partnerships.
Hugo grew up in Spain, and has lived in the Hammersmith for 15 years. He has been a Trustee to Hammersmith United Charities since 2021, and joined H&F Giving as a Trustee and Treasurer in 2023. He also chairs our Development Committee.
Patron
About Hugh Grant
Coming soon…
Patron
About Baroness Blower
Christine, Baroness Blower of Starch Green, enjoyed her own education so much that she decided to become a teacher. She taught in comprehensive schools in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, and later joined the Behaviour Support Team in Hammersmith and Fulham working with Primary children.
Christine joined the National Union of Teachers as a student. Her activism saw her elected to office in the local branch and then as National President in 1996/7. She was elected Deputy General secretary of the NUT in 2005 and the became General Secretary in 2008, a post from which she stood down in 2016 whilst continuing to carry out international work, in particular in her capacity as President of the European Region of Education International.
In 2019, Jeremy Corbyn awarded Christine a peerage.
Today, she holds positions as trustee or patron of a number of international solidarity organisations. She remains as committed as ever to education as a human and civil right and a public good globally.
She joined H&F Giving as a Patron in June 2020
Patron
About Lord Dubs
Lord (Alf) Dubs was one of the Czech children rescued from the Nazis in the Kindertransport. He has since been a keen campaigner on the plight of refugees: in 2006 he co-published a paper promoting humane alternatives to detention of asylum-seekers, especially children. In spring 2016 he tabled an amendment to the government’s immigration bill in the Lords, which would have forced the government to accept 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees stranded in Europe.
He joined H&F Giving as a Patron in September 2019.
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Patron
About Lord Willets
Lord (David) Willetts is a life peer, and academic. He is President of the Resolution Foundation. He served as the Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), as Minister for Universities and Science (2010-2014) and previously worked at HM Treasury and the No. 10 Policy Unit. His book The Pinch is about uniting the generations.
He joined H&F Giving as a Patron in August 2019.
Patron
About David
David Goodhew has been Head of Latymer Upper School since 2012 and is a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference. Born in West London, David attended a local comprehensive school and was the first member of his family to do A levels or go to university. He graduated from Oxford with a First in Classics.
David is committed to advancing social mobility through his School’s bursary programme, in conjunction with its partnership and outreach work. In 2017 he launched the Inspiring Minds campaign, with the aim of raising £40m to offer 1 in 4 pupils a means-tested bursary by 2024 – the Latymer Foundation’s 400th anniversary.
In 2018, Latymer won 3 TES Awards, including ‘Independent School of the Year’; David was also a finalist in the ‘social mobility champion’ category of the UK Social Mobility Awards.
He joined H&F Giving as a Patron in July 2019.
MP
Patron
About Andy
Andy Slaughter has been MP for Hammersmith since 2010 and before that was MP for Ealing, Acton & Shepherds Bush (2005-10) and Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council (1996-2005). He is currently a candidate in the General Election and therefore not an MP. He has been the patron of a number of local charities including the Upper Room in Shepherds Bush and is a governor of William Morris Sixth Form in Fulham and trustee of the Hammersmith Law Centre.
He joined H&F Giving as a Patron in July 2019.
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