Our Trustees

Andrew Barnett is Director of the UK Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. As a strong believer in the value of collaboration, he played a major role in the establishment of the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Coalition, the Campaign to End Loneliness and the international arts and homelessness movement. He was a founding director of the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) and founding council member of Collaborate CIC.

He is a trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations. For six years, Andrew was the senior independent member of Healthwatch England, the statutory national consumer champion in health and social care. He previously served as chair of DV8 Physical Theatre, of Space Studios, group chair of People Can, a trustee of Addaction, of the Forces in Mind Trust, and director of Yorkshire Metropolitan Housing, among other appointments. He is a Church Warden at St Dunstan-in-the-West in the City of London.

Andrew joined the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation where he held the post of Director of Policy Development and Communications. Andrew previously held senior roles at UK Sport, the National Consumer Council, HSBC Holdings, the Arts Council of England, and the Foyer Federation for Youth, as well as working for the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homelessness and Housing Need.

He was awarded an OBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List for his contribution to social change.

Anderson is the lecturer of World Christianity and Religious Studies in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. He is an Anglican theologian and priest from the Church of South India (an Anglican Province).

He currently serves the Church of England in Lancashire, North West of England. His research interests and publications lay in the lived facet of World Christianity and its theological and missional engagement with other faith communities.

Anderson is also deeply passionate about social justice as a Gospel imperative and currently involved in a number of inter-religious and peace initiatives. Alongside being an expert in South Asian and West African Christianity, he is also conducting research on the diverse ethnic and racial make and its implications for Christianity in Britain. Anderson has published widely in the areas of Contextual Theology, Mission and Ecumenical Studies, and Culture and Christianity.

Alec is the strategic lead for involvement for one of twelve national learning programmes within the Fulfilling Lives initiative. Employed by Plus Dane Housing, he works with people who are often excluded from the support they need, and bring lived experiences of homelessness, offending, substance misuse and/or mental ill health.

A community development worker and activist at heart, he was instrumental in establishing a number of grassroots initiatives including the West Cheshire Poverty Truth Commission and the Welcome Network (part of Feeding Britain).

Alec is currently an external trustee of the Student’s Union at the University of Chester and has been a trustee of his local parish church.

Alec was previously the Living Wage Campaign Co-ordinator for Church Action on Poverty. Before that, he worked for ActionAid UK and also led the West Cheshire Foodbank where he worked alongside the board of trustees to catalyse social action initiatives and to campaign for food justice.

Sue is a retired housing association Chief Executive.

Sue is passionate about social housing, rural communities and the environment. She helped establish the Homes for Cathy group of housing associations that work to prevent and address homelessness.

Sue’s other interests include a community link with Tanzania and chairing her local Flood Group.

Sue was previously inaugural chair of the Rural Housing Alliance; co-chair of the Rural Housing Network; a Trustee of the National Flood Forum; Chair of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers and Chair of Gordon House Association (charity for compulsive gamblers).

Sue’s church is St Andrew’s, Paddock Wood, where she is lay Chair and was warden for seven years. Sue chairs the Bereko Community Partnership (church, schools and Town Council) and its parish link with Bereko, Tanzania. Sue also chairs Rochester Diocese’s Clergy Houses Committee and its Kondoa Companionship Group.

Philip holds several charity trustee roles linked to the Church of England, applying the experience gained during his career in the public service and as a lay minister (Reader) in a South London inner city parish for 40 years.

Besides CUF, he is a trustee of Canterbury Christ Church University, and chairs its Audit and Risk Committee. He is a member of the Southwark Diocesan Council and chairs its Diocesan Advisory Committee, which deals with planning issues affecting CofE churches. He sits on the national church Environment Working Group.

Previously, Philip was first Director-General and then Chair of Ofwat, the economic water regulator (2000-2012). He has been a Board member of Ofqual, the exams regulator. He spent 10 years as a member of the Archbishops’ Council, the central charity trustee body for the CofE, and chaired its Mission and Public Affairs Council. He was for 4 years Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District, responsible to the Commissioner and Home Secretary for the Metropolitan Police budget and most of its support services. Most of his career was in the Department of the Environment, responsible for policy advice and financial controls over local government finance, housing, the environment and urban regeneration.

Rob is now the director of a small consultancy focussed on supporting principle led leadership. Prior to this he has had an extensive career in the John Lewis Partnership retiring in 2020 as their Head of Partnership Democratic Engagement.

Committed to using his leadership experience Rob has supported many Christian and other organisations channel their energy and focus to deliver their key aspirations. He has taken on many speaking engagements including at the Faith in Business conference but especially enjoys talking about engaging effectively with employees. Encouraging leadership and supporting social enterprise are real passions of his.

He has been a Board Director of Westminster Abbey Enterprises since 2013 and along with his wife Liz runs a small Christian retreat house in north Norfolk providing much-needed recuperation for church leaders and staff.

In his previous commercial responsibilities, Rob was Managing Director of four separate John Lewis branches between 1997 and 2013 - most latterly overseeing the opening of the new Cambridge store in 2008. He has been a governor in schools and held a leadership role for many years in Bretton Baptist Church, Peterborough where he and Liz are still active members.