Board of Trustees

Elizabeth Balgobin
Independent Chair

Elizabeth Balgobin has worked in the voluntary sector for over 20 years, currently as a consultant to and for the sector.  She is a specialist in governance, equalities, diversity and inclusion and an experienced facilitator and project manager.  She has a passion for all aspects of increasing performance and sustainable growth in service delivery.  Her career has included working on health and social care, employment and training, social regeneration, housing and third sector capacity building.

Before becoming the Chair of Voice4Change England, Elizabeth  was the interim chief executive at Charities Evaluation Services, chief executive at London Voluntary Service Council and at Hackney Training and Employment Network.  Elizabeth writes a monthly governance column for Third Sector magazine.

I was delighted to join V4CE as Chair in February 2011.  As small BME voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) face devastating spending cuts, the role of V4CE as a specialist infrastructure body becomes more essential than ever. Trusted and recognised by policy makers, V4CE occupy a unique position to support threatened VCOs and the vulnerable communities they serve. As a membership organisation V4CE are well placed to create new platforms of influence for the BME VCS and promote their vital role in creating a Big AND inclusive Society.

Elizabeth joined the Voice4Change England Board in March 2011.
 

Mir Juma
Centre for Youth and Community Development

Mir has over 30 years’ experience in leadership roles in the public and voluntary sectors. Currently, he is the Director of Centre for Youth and Community Development, a Luton based BME Charity.  Prior to joining CYCD, he was the Regional Director of The Prince’s Trust in the East Midlands for eight years, where he was responsible for the development and delivery of the Trust’s strategy in the region.

Mir initiated and led the development of a BME led partnership bid to secure £3m funding for the Belgrave area of Leicester. He was a founding member of Minority Enterprises East Midlands (MEEM), set up to champion the needs of BME entrepreneurs in the east midlands. As chair of MEEM, Mir promoted the supplier diversity agenda which contributed to the launch of Minority Supplier Development UK.

“I am passionate about the race equality agenda and the role of the BME voluntary and community sector in the delivery of public sector funded services. In the current climate of substantial change in public policy and funding, Voice4Change England (V4CE) has a critical role to play and I am proud to contribute to the voice of the BME voluntary and community sector, making sure it is heard at a national regional and local level”

Mir joined the Voice4Change England Board in October 2011.

Neena Samota
Coaltion for Racial Justice UK

Coalition for Racial Justice UK (CRJ UK) is a registered charity formerly known as the National Body of Black Prisoners' Support Groups. Their mission is to campaign for race equality in criminal justice and their vision is to be the key influential and representative voice of BME people's experiences of criminal justice. They aim to promote racial equality in the criminal justice system including, but not restricted to, the prison system.

They aim to redress the lack of BME people's experiences in policy or practice developments in criminal justice. CRJ UK strongly believes that by working with and sharing experiences with comparable national organisations we can contribute more effectively.

CRJ UK wish to shape national policy, development, and decision making and aims to provide a gateway for informed dialogue between government, criminal justice agencies and BME community organisations.

“CRJ UK is proud to serve on the V4CE Board. Both organisations are united by a common purpose and interest; to shape national policy on race issues and give a voice to BME groups where it matters most. In many sectors, including criminal justice, there is a concern around growing disproportionality. The Government's austerity measures will further disproportionally impact on BME communities. Having a voice in local decision-making will be crucial given that BME communities are under-represented in local decision-making and priority-setting agendas.

We have worked successfully in partnership with V4CE before and welcome the opportunity to share and influence the policy agenda on race issues in the public sector more widely.” 

Neena joined the Voice4Change England Board in October 2011.

Baljit Banga
Newham Asian Women’s Project 

Baljit is Director of NAWP, a BME women’s organisation providing holistic frontline support services to BME women fleeing domestic violence. NAWP also works to end violence against women and girls through research, campaigns, policy and capacity building work. NAWP is also focusing on the concept of gendering sustainability looking at strengthening women’s organisations to ensure that their capacity to deliver services to BME communities is strengthened. 

As a Trustee, Balgit brings a gendered understanding of issues affecting BME women specifically around violence, representation, organisation and movement, participation, inclusion, mobilisation, poverty alleviation and democratisation.

“I believe in the V4CE visions and NAWP has supported V4CE since its inception. We are glad to be working together with V4CE to improve benefits for BME and disadvantaged communities. Our shared vision allows us to promote an anti-racism and anti-discriminatory framework and address the injustices experienced by individuals and communities. Through strength and representation we can challenge inequality, under-representation and discrimination.”

Balgit joined the Voice4Change England Board in October 2011.

Rita Chadha 
Refugee and Migrant Forum of East London 

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Rita has over 20 years of experience working in the community and voluntary sector with various ‘excluded’ communities, including disabled women, people with learning disabilities, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, LGBT communities and currently asylum seekers, migrants and refugees.

As Chief Executive of RAMFEL, Rita has led the organisation through a significant change in its range of services, and more recently has become keenly focused on the issue of equality within the third sector or civil society. She currently chairs and facilitates Barking & Dagenham BAMER Forum, based in a London borough where the BNP at the last election more that doubled their share of the vote.

Rita is an experienced trainer in equality, and governance issues, and as
principle author of RAMFEL Speaks Out, Rita is passionately involved in campaigning around equality and in particular race equality issues.

“Born and educated in East London, it is difficult to divorce my personal and professional experiences from the reality of inequality and social injustice. This experience has given me a realistic understanding of contemporary power relations between the BAMER third sector and the public sector, as well as innovative solutions for how to address differences of opinion and approach.

Whilst the current trend is to champion mergers as a means of addressing the needs (in particular funding) of smaller BME organisations, I believe in upholding the independence of the sector and challenging both discrimination and prejudice towards BME organisations within the wider third sector.”

Rita joined the Voice4Change England Board in October 2011.
 

Abdul Khan
BECON 

Before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of BECON, the regional support organisation for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) voluntary and community organisations in the North East, Adbul Khan gained 17 years experience working in local Government. In 1989 he trained as a social worker at Teesside University and began working for Durham County Council as part of a generic children and families service. Prior to this he gained specialist experience of youth justice within a local Government setting.

In 2000 Abdul became the Asylum Support Manager for Stockton Council, leading a new team responsible for the development and provision of services to individuals and families seeking asylum. In 2004 he joined Connexions Tees Valley as Practice Development Manager, developing a team which led on equality and diversity for the organisation.
Throughout his career Abdul has advocated for the development of services to marginalised communities and is deeply committed to addressing inequalities.

Establishing Voice4Change England (V4CE) as a national policy body has provided BME organisations with a clear and open mechanism to take forward the views and needs of BME communities across England. I am confident that V4CE will continue to establish itself as a leading body advocating for the BME voluntary and community sector and I am proud and privileged to be part of this journey. In these times of austerity it is critical that the support and services provided to BME communities are still available and not disproportionately affected by public spending cuts.

 

Karl Oxford
Connections for Development 

Karl Oxford is the Director of Parity Associates and Urban Solutions, a support organisation developing strategic programmes for community organisations and social enterprises. Following rioting in the North of England in 2001, Karl was selected by the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber to design and manage community facilitation and cohesion programmes. In 2004, he was assigned lead responsibility for delivering the Home Office’s new Early Investment (ChangeUp) Programme for voluntary sector development. He also took responsibility for coordinating a strategic BME voluntary sector engagement initiative and a gang deterrence project.

Karl has supported a number of strategic community initiatives that have responded to social and economic challenges facing Black and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK.

Karl is a renowned ambassador and advocate of good practice in community engagement and development. He is particularly keen to empower marginalised communities to become active at a senior level of policy making and organisational management. He is also a Governor of Bradford College and a Board Director of the national Connections for (international) Development organisation.

V4CE is an invaluable organisation that has been very effective in raising awareness of key BME issues at the highest level of policy planning and decision making in the UK. The need for such a service grows ever stronger as our communities change and face different challenges in the future.

Ila Chandavarkar
MENTER

Ila Chandavarkar is the Chief Executive Officer of MENTER, the regional Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) network for the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the East of England. MENTER engages over 400 organisations and runs programmes funded by the Big Lottery to service the needs of the BME VCS. They support the development of youth leadership and improve BME access to employment and enterprise services. MENTER also work with refugee and Gypsy and Traveller organisations, improving the delivery and access of services to some of the region’s most excluded groups. Through her work at MENTER, Ila promotes race equality and advocates for the inclusion and recognition of disadvantaged BME communities.

MENTER is a founding member of Voice4Change England (V4CE) and fully supports their vital contribution as a committed national BME partnership. Infrastructure provision particularly around brokering relationships and policy development must be fully inclusive. An example of V4CE’s effectiveness is its successful partnership campaign against the proposal to end funding for single identity groups as proposed by the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. With a new government and rapidly changing policy environment, it is more important than ever that V4CE continues to fight for the BME VCS, strengthening their capacity to meet the needs of BME communities.

Rupert Daniel
Black South West Network

Rupert Daniel is the Programme Director for the Black South West Network (BSWN), an NGO focused on human rights, equality, access to knowledge and socio-economic inclusion. BSWN works within the framework of advocacy for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.

Rupert has over twenty years experience working within the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the UK in a variety of capacities ranging from communications to implementing social and economic development programmes. In his role as Programme Director Rupert has led the implementation of Black Net Solutions, an online front line infrastructure support service for the VCS. He has supported the development of management systems for the modernisation of the VCS and has been involved in lobbying for the introduction of equality measures within local and regional government. Rupert is a founding member of the new national infrastructure voice for the BME VCS, Voice4Change. He is also the Vice Chair of South West Stakeholders network, supporting civic participation in social and economic planning and of the South West Regional Race Forum.

I helped to create Voice4Change England (V4CE) because of the lack of a minority voice in the democratic and civil process. Through V4CE, BME groups are supported to make their voice heard and impact on the policies that effect them.
 

Jeremy Crook OBE
Black Training and Enterprise Group

Jeremy Crook is the Director of the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG), a national charity that works to improve education, skills and employment outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. He has 25 years experience of promoting diversity and developing practical solutions in the public, private and voluntary and community sectors.

Jeremy is a member of the Department for Work and Pensions Ethnic Minority Advisory Group and the Equality Scheme Reference Group. He is also a member of the Communities and local Government’s voluntary and community sector Board, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Equalities Advisory Group, a non-executive board member of Greater London Enterprise and a member of the Assessment Committee for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

In these difficult economic times Black and Minority Ethnic communities in England need effective civil society organisations to influence policy and tackle inequality. BTEG’s role as a specialist organisation is greatly helped by the generic voice provided by V4CE.