Trustees

Neil Hawkins – Chair

Neil Hawkins is a committed humanist with a strong belief in the values of kindness, tolerance, and freedom. Neil has spent 32 years in education, first as a teacher then as a middle and senior manager and then served for 16 years as Principal of Concord College, Shropshire; he now works part-time with a brief to facilitate high-quality education internationally. Neil is also Chair of Befrienders Worldwide, the foremost global network of suicide prevention and emotional support centres.He has long experience of leadership, change management, marketing, financial planning, the charitable sector and of governance.

John Adenitire

John is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London. He has written widely on freedom of conscience, with a particular focus on those categorised by courts as non-religious.

He also writes on animal rights, especially in constitutional law. At Queen Mary he is one of the co-directors of the Centre for Decentering the Human.

Samira Ahmed

Samira Ahmed is an award winning journalist and broadcaster with a special interest in the intersection of culture, politics, science and social change. She presents Front Row on Radio 4 and Newswatch on BBC One and writes a column in New Humanist magazine.

She previously presented Channel 4 News and the BBC One ethics discussion show Sunday Morning Live. Samira is a trustee of the Centre for Women’s Justice and on the advisory board of the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, Historic England’s blue plaques panel, and the editorial review board of Doctor Who Magazine.

She is an honorary fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.

Roland Davis

Roland is a corporate finance professional with many years experience working with government on the procurement of new roads, schools and hospitals and as employee of Eurotunnel during its financing and construction. He has run his own small company, taught at the Open University and London Business School and served as a Parish Councillor and a trustee of his employer’s occupational pension scheme. He currently specialises in regulatory economics.

Roland is a passionate supporter of humanism as a movement, as a way of thinking and a way of living. His hobbies include writing, programming, gardening and weight training. He occasionally admits to playing not-very-edifying computer games.

Tamar Ghosh

Tamar is Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, since November 2016. Prior to that she was at Nesta running the Longitude Prize, a £10m science prize looking for a rapid diagnostic test to fight antibiotic resistance. Before Nesta, Tamar founded and ran two social enterprises in global and national healthcare, which continue in her spare time. She was Director of the social action campaign “Give More” on behalf of one of the Pears Foundation and has also spent 15 years developing and delivering funding strategies for international NGOs, including ActionAid and VSO. She has an MBA from Imperial College, London and a Masters in Development Studies, following an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Bristol University. She’s served on charity Boards and Committees for more than 20 years, and was Chair of Humanists UK for 7 years.  

Charley Jarrett

Charley is policy and public affairs manager for exam board and education charity AQA. He has previously worked for a democratic reform think tank, as a parliamentary researcher, and as a campaigns intern at Humanists UK. He has a BA politics first from Sussex and an MRes in quantitative political science from the London School of Economics.

He is a governor of a local primary school, a trustee of his old youth club, a volunteer admissions assessor for his alma mater United World Colleges GB and the Humanist representative Lambeth SACRE.

A lifelong Londoner, his interests include urbanism, languages, and improv. Charley believes humanism and Humanists UK have an invaluable role to play in pursuing rational, secular policymaking – to improve society, promote freedoms, and enrich people’s lives.

Ruth Kaufman

Ruth spent much of her working life doing Operational Research (OR) – using scientific approaches to help organisations become more effective – in the public sector. This led to other senior management roles including pricing, strategy and change management.

She has been President of the OR Society and chair of its ‘Pro Bono OR’ support service, and in 2016 received an OBE for Services to OR. From 2009 to 2014 she chaired Woman’s Trust, a charity helping women affected by domestic violence reclaim their lives. She has been an atheist all her life, a SACRE member since 2010, and is an accredited Humanists UK school speaker.

Andrew Russell

Andrew is a public affairs, communications consultant, and investor specialising in the education and healthcare sectors. At present he is working with clients trying to tackle the care crisis across Europe. He has previously worked in similar roles for brands such as McDonald’s, Pearson, and social impact start-ups.

Passionate about rational, respectful dialogue, and debate, between 2015 and 2022 he served as a trustee of The Philosophy Foundation, a charity that promotes the teaching and practice of Philosophy across the UK.

Andrew also has an academic background in Philosophy and holds a BA and MA from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, respectively. In his spare time he runs two book clubs with over 5,000 members and is forever trying to finish a book of his own.

Emma Shepherd

Emma has over two decades of experience in the third sector, with a specific interest in grassroots community action. She is currently the National Head of Wales for BBC Children in Need, and a non-executive director of the Pen-Y-Cymoedd Community Fund. 

Previously chair of Wales Humanists, Emma has been involved in humanist campaigns in Wales, particularly around education. Passionate about people and community, she regularly runs events to bring people of all backgrounds and beliefs together in her local area.

Amy Walden

Amy has worked for HM Prison and Probation Service for 20 years. During this time she has worked in a variety of settings including community probation teams, courts and prisons. She is a qualified probation officer and currently works as Head of Offender Management Delivery and Resettlement at her local prison.

She has a BA(Hons) Criminology from Southampton Solent University and a Diploma in Probation Studies from Portsmouth University.

In 2011, Amy identified the need for non-religious pastoral support for prisoners and initiated this provision. Since that time she has played an integral part in developing and expanding non-religious pastoral care. As a founding member of the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network she held the positions of Chair and Vice Chair. She is also involved in the design and delivery of training for pastoral carers.

Simon Walker-Samuel

Simon is Professor of Biophysics at University College London, where he leads a research group applying physics to cancer research, including developing medical imaging and machine learning (AI) methods.

He has always held beliefs consistent with humanism, and is a school speaker and humanist SACRE representative for Croydon. In his spare time, Simon enjoys spending time with his family, running, playing music, and creating digital art.

Kate West

Kate is the Chief Operating Officer of the Electoral Reform Society. She was previously Head of Operations at political think tank Demos, and is experienced in charity governance, financial, operational and HR management. Kate has worked for local and national government, including the Charity Commission, where she provided advice and legal assistance to charities and worked alongside the Board and Directors to ensure high standards of governance.

Kate has worked with and volunteered for several charities, including the homeless charity Crisis and as a trustee for Wikimedia UK. She is a committed humanist and enjoys running, weight training and music in her spare time.