Our Board of Trustees

After a management career at Royal Mail, Philippe became involved in grassroots initiatives such as time banking, volunteering, and community giving schemes to enhance participation. He is passionate about social action and is deeply interested in people and projects that bring together shared assets and diverse perspectives.  Philippe has participated in several community initiatives, including leading Rushey Green Time Bank/Lewisham Local through which he instigated the 'Lewisham Local Community Contributor Card' scheme to recognise the invaluable contributions of volunteers in strengthening communities and to encourage support for small businesses through local shopping.  He also collaborated with partners to establish the logistics of the ‘COVID-19 Lewisham Community Response Hub’ to support vulnerable residents shielding during the pandemic, as well as to recruit volunteers for COVID-19 vaccination centres across Lewisham.

Philippe advocates for equality and strong governance, which he believes is essential for a well-run, caring and sustainable organisation. He serves as a trustee for the Deptford Ragged Trust, and he works as an independent consultant for several other charities.

Shelina is an experienced, values-oriented and results-driven senior strategic leader in the charity sector who, throughout her career, has partnered with community and voluntary based organisations, locally, nationally & internationally, as well as other stakeholders at UN/EU level, to advocate for provisions and services for marginalised and vulnerable communities, premised on poverty alleviation, social justice, inclusion, & equity.   

Shelina took a career break during which time she pursued her PhD in Global Higher Education Policy part-time and continued with her voluntary commitments at two charities in North Kensington: Citizens Advice-Kensington & Chelsea where she had the privilege of serving on the Board for three consecutive terms (nine years), latterly as Vice and Acting Chair; and Kensington And Chelsea Social Council, an infrastructure organisation for the voluntary and community sector, where she is currently Chair. 

Shelina is a long-standing admirer and supporter of AgeUK as it caters for a demographic of the population very dear to her and she is extremely proud to be on the Board of AUK-Lewisham & Southwark, serving one of society’s most vulnerable groups in need of its high-quality services.

Katy is deputy director on Nesta's mission to create a sustainable future, which focuses on home decarbonisation. Katy joined Nesta from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), where she worked across a number of policy areas including household energy efficiency, consumer issues and COVID-19. Prior to working at BIT, Katy worked as a strategist for a leading advertising agency. Katy holds a first class degree in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge. 

Marcia originally trained as an economist and following post-graduate study at Cranfield Business School, worked for a number of years for several  multinationals in Europe and North America. Subsequently, she made a change of career and practised law. 

Prior to joining AUKLS as a trustee in 2012 she served as a trustee on the boards of a number of charities including the Field Lane Foundation where she chaired the board.  

Marcia is a Southwark resident and collects British watercolours. 

Romy van Es brings a blend of expertise in partnership development, digital technology and sustainable development. As a Partnership Development Strategist at Amazon Web Services since 2019, Romy specialises in driving the creation of digital solutions that address pressing environmental challenges through partnerships. She offers a unique perspective on leveraging AI, data analytics, and public cloud technology for use cases including smart cities, circular economy and sustainability reporting. Prior to AWS, Romy's dedication to community engagement is evident through her involvement in co-founding her university's crowdfunding platform and enhancing the communication strategy of the University Fund.