CVSL Annual Conference 2023 - Voluntary sector organisations’ response to the rise in cost of living

Tom Lawson, CEO, Turn2Us

Thomas Lawson has worked in the social sector since the early ‘90s in international development at UNICEF, HIV at Terrence Higgins Trust and NAM (the charity behind aidsmap.com), criminal justice at Prisoners Abroad and more recently in youth work at the award-winning Leap Confronting Conflict.

Recently he has been challenging the sector to address the barriers to success in the sector for people from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic communities. Tom has served on the boards of the charities: Centre for Youth Impact, Heart ‘n Soul and the National Peace Council. Tom is a non-executive chair of his family’s retail firm, Lawsons, and executive chair for Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd, which is Turn2us’s wholly owned subsidiary care home business.

He joined Turn2us in March 2019. Thomas is interested in how the social sector can work with, and challenge, state bodies and companies to create an inclusive society in which everyone can thrive. He is passionate about the role that people with lived expertise can play in the future of the leadership of the social sector and in addressing the complex problems we face.

Kaveed Ali 

Kaveed is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Equity Diversity and Inclusion at UK Community Foundations (UKCF). Kaveed’s career has focused on promoting positive social change. With extensive experience in community engagement, he has worked across the voluntary and statutory sectors leading work to address structural inequalities. 

In his role at UKCF, Kaveed works with member foundations to build the culture, capacity, capability, and knowledge they need to become better and more equitable funders. He also leads work within UKCF to advance and embed justice within the organisation’s culture, operations, and strategy.  
Before joining UKCF, Kaveed led a programme at the Greater London Authority (Mayor of London) aimed at addressing health and social care inequalities through a multidisciplinary approach.

He has also worked in community engagement for the Alzheimer's Society and the Lifeline Nehemiah Project, a grassroots NGO based in Sierra Leone.

Binita Morjaria

Binita is an Equality, Diversity, Inclusion And Belonging Lead with MK-ACT (previously known as Milton Keynes Women’s Aid). Binita has 21 years of experience in dealing with additional issues faced by Ethnic Minority communities in Domestic Abuse situations for example forced marriages, honour-based violence, Immigration, Izaat, Sharam to name a few.

Binita speaks Hindi, Urdu, English and Gujarati. Binita has written an 8-week programme about understanding the dynamics of the “Power and Control Cycle” of domestic abuse. This programme is called “ILAM-E-HIFAZAAT” which means knowledge of protection and is currently being delivered at the refuge and the community.

Binita’s passion lies in raising domestic abuse awareness with hard-to-reach communities as well as empowering individuals in understanding what domestic violence is and how it is affecting them as individuals and their children, how to break the cycle of abuse and control then supports them in rebuilding a safe and secure future for the family

Maggie Lennon

Maggie is Director and Founder of the Bridges Programmes, which for 21 years has been promoting the social and economic integration of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants in Scotland. The charity is recognised as an example of best practice in integration in the UK and Europe. 

She currently co-chairs the Employability and Welfare group of the New Scots Strategy, Scotland’s national strategy for Refugees.  She has worked extensively with colleagues in Europe on migrant and refugee integration and is a regular speaker at international conferences and seminars and has given evidence to several parliamentary committees on asylum and refugee issues and is a member of Human Rights Consortium Scotland.

She was recognised by the Open University in 2010 for her contribution to the educational, social, and cultural life in Scotland with the conferring of an honorary degree. She is an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh.

Anna Trudgian

Anna Trudgian is Operations Director of UK healthcare charity, Open Road.  Anna comes from a recovery background and started volunteering with Open Road 19 years ago, wanting to give something back.  This became a paid frontline role and Anna has never looked back, being a member of the Senior Leadership Team since 2008. Now in its 31st year, Open Road’s Essex and Medway teams help young people and adults on their journey to recovery from drug and alcohol addictions, plus employment, welfare, and homelessness services. 

Their criminal justice teams support young people/vulnerable adults in Essex police custody suites and help Medway young people as they leave prison, returning to London communities. 

Their Colchester and Chelmsford SOS Buses help vulnerable people at weekend evenings and provide weekday welfare services throughout Essex communities.  The charity works with local and national partners and funders. 

Clients remain at the heart of Open Road’s work.