Patrons and Trustees
Our trustees are responsible for the overall management of Humankind, its strategic direction and decision making
Board of Trustees
Carolyn Regan
Chair
Appointed in April 2023, she is currently Chief Executive of West London NHS Trust, which provides a full range of mental health, physical healthcare and community services for children, adults and older people living in three London Boroughs, as well as specialist and forensic mental health services, including high secure services.
Carolyn is currently a member of the North-West London Integrated Care Board; chair of the Mental Health, Learning Disabilities & Autism Programme Board; and co-chair of the Proactive Population Health Management & Reducing Inequalities Board for the North-West London Integrated Care System. She chairs the Volunteering and Voluntary Sector Programme; and is a Director of Imperial College Health Partners.
Carolyn is a highly experienced Chief Executive, both within the healthcare sector and the justice system, where she was formerly Chief Executive of the Legal Service Commission.
She has also worked in the charitable sector in the UK at Coram and internationally; was chair of Just for Kids Law; a board member of the Press Recognition Panel; independent Board member of City, University of London and national lead for the health components of the London 2012 Olympic bid.
Carolyn has been listed in the Financial Times ‘OUTstanding’ list of the top 20 LGBT public sector leaders and is regularly recognised among the top 50 NHS Chief Executives.
Caroline Gitsham
Vice Chair
Caroline has over 30 years of experience working in the Public Sector, including 15 years working at an Executive Level. She is passionate about customer service and making a difference and has worked with a variety of partners across her career including working in an advisory capacity to the Government and other bodies.
Caroline’s experience includes managing a range of complex services and a number of new, innovative and award-winning services have also been developed under her leadership. Now a consultant, she works to encourage, challenge and inspire people and organisations to enhance their contribution to customers, communities and society.
Caroline became a Trustee of Humankind in December 2018 and was appointed Chair in 2021 with effect from 1st April 2022. She holds a number of other voluntary positions including being an active member and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing, as well as a member of the North East Chamber of Commerce. Caroline was the Founder Chair of Women In Social Housing North East (WISH) and remains actively involved on the North East Board and the national WISH CIC. She has been involved in the South Tees and Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Groups since 2017 and is currently Chair of the Primary Care Committee. Caroline is also a Governor for a school that is an alternative learning provider and an Ambassador for Signal which is part of the global Poverty StopLight Movement eliminating poverty.
Alex Boyt
Trustee
Alex was an intravenous drug user for 15 years, having extensive experience receiving treatment in rehabs, in the community and prison. Being an expert by experience, between 2009 and 2017 he was employed in Camden to deliver service user involvement and peer support projects. Before Alex’s work in service user involvement, he spent 20 years building international IT networks for financial institutions and writing plays and articles about the drug treatment system.
Alex joined the Blenheim board in 2014 and is delighted to be joining the joint Board following our merger with Humankind in April 2019.
Bhakti Seth
Trustee
Bhakti currently works as Head of Operational Risk in the banking industry with over 20 years of experience in risk management and compliance.
As part of her life journey, she has contributed to many charitable organizations, local support groups, and family business ventures, and has coached and mentored students and colleagues through internships, graduate school and throughout their careers. Bhakti is extremely passionate about supporting our communities and improving the lives of those less fortunate.
In her commitment to Humankind’s success, Bhakti brings her technical expertise in risk management and governance and uses her prior experience to contribute to its operational efficiency in innovation, whilst reducing risks and improving process excellence. Her background also includes a PhD in molecular genetics and an executive MBA.
Danielle Oum
Trustee
Appointed at the end of May 2023, Danielle has a strong leadership background in strategic development, stakeholder engagement and transformational change spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors. In addition to her role as Chair for Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, she is also the Chair of Audit at Healthwatch England.
Previously Danielle has held the positions of Chair at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, Chair at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Healthwatch Birmingham and Solihull, Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Walsall Housing Group.
Danielle is committed to tackling inequalities and is excited by the potential of ICSs to improve health services and promote healthy lives for the whole of the populations they serve.
Ian Ayling
Trustee
Ian has had a business career working in several marketing, strategy and change roles with a range of the UK’s favourite brands.
Driven by an interest in customer-led change Ian has also developed data science solutions for the likes of Tesco in the UK and Groupe Casino internationally.
From personal experience of mental ill health, Ian’s focus now is to work with organisations that can address root cause issues in society. Alongside the NED role with Richmond Fellowship, Ian is Director of Communications and Marketing with the Soil Association and helping to develop a start-up organisation to face into issues of diversity and inclusion in talent management processes.
Ian Macqueen
Trustee
Ian is an experienced businessman who has spent his career within the retail industry having been involved with a number of well-known UK companies. Since retiring as Group Managing Director of Fiskars Brands UK Ian has founded an online retail company based in the West Country. Ian is a trustee of the St John Ambulance County Priory Group, a fundraiser for Children with Cancer UK and Chairman of the Exmouth Chamber of Trade.
Ian is keenly aware of the impact problematic drug and alcohol use has on the individual, their family and friends, and the wider community, which is why he believes the work EDP does is so very worthwhile.
James Walder
Trustee
James was proud to have been appointed as a trustee at Humankind in early 2023. He is currently Executive Director of Finance and Business Support at North Star, a registered provider of social housing based in Stockton. This role covers a range of areas including procurement, company secretary, risk, data and digital.
James’ previous roles have been at Kier North Tyneside, a joint venture with North Tyneside Council, and he worked for eight years at Home Group in their finance team based in Newcastle. He qualified as an accountant working at Haines Watts and then PwC. He has also been involved with several charitable organisations in the North East.
Throughout James’ career, he has focused on working with organisations that possess a strong sense of social purpose, just like Humankind.
Dr Kapil Bakshi
Trustee
Kapil trained as a Psychiatrist in London and East of England and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
He attained a Masters in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Birmingham and was awarded the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Award for Senior Healthcare Leadership by NHS Leadership Academy.
Kapil has over 17 years experience of working with people with mental illness and substance misuse. He is a practising clinician and works as a Consultant Psychiatrist with a large adult community mental health team.
He is the Deputy Medical Director at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, where his responsibilities include medical leadership, clinical strategy and revalidation of doctors.
He also sits on the Executive Committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Eastern Division.
Maureen Hopcroft
Trustee
Maureen is a technology and change expert with non-executive experience in the housing and charity sectors.
She honed her technology career at a global healthcare provider and a management consultancy.
As an independent consultant, she has delivered outcomes across the housing sector from G15 landlords to more specialist providers.
Maureen is a Board member of saha, a subsidiary of The Salvation Army and a trustee of Women’s Solace Aid.
She sits on the National Housing Federation’s Board member group for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and is a member of BME National and Olmec’s Black on Board community.
Paul Najsarek
Trustee
Paul is the former Chief Executive of Ealing Council (until December 2021) where he led the Future Ealing transformation programme. He was previously acting Chief Executive and Chief Executive of Harrow and Bolton Councils respectively.
His experience in partnership work includes leading for SOLACE on health and social care, regeneration for the West London Alliance, and adult services for London Councils.
He is the Chief Executive lead for Thrive LDN, London’s initiative to promote mental health and well-being.
He was head of policy at the Audit Commission and was part of the central government team that drafted ‘Every Child Matters’ which has transformed children’s services nationally.
Paul is currently leading the adult social care response to COVID-19 in London and leading SOLACE nationally on the public health response as well as health and care reform.
Sarah Shepherd
Trustee
Sarah runs a consultancy business working on change processes and leadership development with a range of organisations in health and social services and working with service users, doctors, nurses, managers and leaders, particularly in West Yorkshire and the North East. She also has a long experience in governance in further education.
Sarah was acting Chair of SMHS prior to its merger with Humankind and was invited to join the Humankind Board following the merger. She has a long interest in creating services with those using them, so am delighted to be working with this team. Adding clinical services to the wide range of services Humankind provides, creates an interesting opportunity to support communities and people in their aspirations.
Selina Douglas
Trustee
Selina is currently an Executive Director for a large mental and community foundation trust in North East London, Essex and Kent.
She was most recently the managing director for Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest Integrated Care Partnership. She has an adult social care background and has held a number of senior commissioning and operational roles over the last twenty years.
Selina has a passion for working with excluded and vulnerable people to help develop high-quality, sustainable services.
Susan Moore
Trustee
Susan is a Chartered Accountant who qualified and worked with KPMG, before moving to take on roles with major public companies internationally and in the UK.
She has also worked in the public sector and local government before moving into the regulated social housing sector.
Susan has held key finance positions in two of the largest housing associations.
She is currently Director of Financial Accounting and Control at Orbit Group and previously worked at Sanctuary Group, a major social housing and care provider.
Susan has particular expertise in risk and assurance, management and statutory accounting, transactional accounting, tax and pensions. She has also been closely involved with two major transformational system implementations (Sap and D365), as well as group integration and reorganisation projects.
Patrons
Tracey Crouch MP
Patron
Born in 1975, Tracey grew up and was educated in Kent. Tracey studied Law at The University of Hull and after graduating worked as a researcher to a Conservative MP.
After two years of working in Parliament for various MPs including Michael Howard, Tracey left to work as a political consultant. In 2003, Tracey was asked to return to Parliament to become Chief of Staff to the Shadow Education Secretary Damian Green, before moving to become Chief of Staff to Shadow Home Secretary David Davis shortly after. Having seen David Davis’ majority treble in the 2005 General Election, Tracey once again left Parliament to work in the City for insurance giant Norwich Union and its FTSE parent Aviva.
Tracey was selected for Chatham & Aylesford in November 2006 and became the Member of Parliament there in the 2010 General Elections.
In 2012 Tracey was elected as a committee member of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee, and in 2013 she was elected as a member of the Political & Constitutional Reform Select Committee. Previous Chairmanships include Chairman of the All Party Alcohol Misuse Group and Vice Chairman of the All Party Groups for Dementia and Women in Sport. Tracey is also a member of the Women in Sport Advisory Board set up by the Secretary of State Maria Miller and in May 2015, and held the position of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport and Civil Society from 2017 to 2018.