Our Board

Rob is the Chair of our board. He lives and works in Hackney and has worked and studied in the fields of community development and regeneration for over ten years. He is currently Head of Communities at the Housing Association Charitable Trust.

William has joined the community in Hackney from West London, with the hope of exploring the historical culture of the east-end. He has worked in varying capacities, in roles ranging from Comms to infrastructural development. He is keen to explore the third sector to bring together his understanding of International Planning systems, from his studies at The Bartlett, University College London.

Behrouz has over 20 years of technology and product development experience in the entertainment and financial services industries. After moving to Hackney in 2023 and recognising its unique qualities, he is excited to use his private sector experience to benefit the community and help make Hackney an even more wonderful place to live.

Phil is the Trusts and Foundations Manager at The Felix Project. Through his time at Felix, he learned how critical volunteering is for building community and social infrastructure as well as reducing social isolation and loneliness, which is what VCH is all about. He hopes to bring hisfundraising experience and knowledge of the fundraising landscape to VCH to support with the growth of income generation, income diversification, and social impact.

Adelle Grisaffe lives in Hackney and has worked with several charities across Australia and the UK. She is passionate about driving change in her local community. Adelle has more than 15 years of experience in marketing within the financial services and banking sectors.

Olivia lives and works in Hackney, and wants to give back to a borough that has brought her nothing but joy. She is a results-driven corporate fundraiser with a strong track record in forging meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships for a variety of causes. With so much passion to bring to the board, Olivia is also keen to learn more about a charity that sits at the heart of the community.

Michelle’s career spans both the private and third sector. She is the founder and chief executive of charity Link Up (UK), as well as the co-founder and partner in a property company specialising in rural developments. Having worked in marketing, she moved into the voluntary sector, running corporate and community giving and developing strategic and fundraising plans.

Rachel has worked in the charity sector for over 8 years, both in-house as an expert on impact assessment and as a consultant supporting senior management teams with strategic decision-making. While her current day job focuses on international development, she has lived in Hackney since 2011 and is passionate about local volunteering.

Jonathan joined the Trustee board in 2016, bringing over 20 years of HR experience to VCH. A Hackney resident for over a decade, he is keen to leverage his corporate experience to benefit the wider community.

Jade, a Hackney resident for 6 years, has volunteered with VCH’s befriending and vaccination programmes, which led to a stint supervising volunteers within the programme. The experiences forged a desire to support Hackney’s diverse community. Jade brings with her twenty years of experience working in the film and TV industry.