Meet the Trustees
Ingrid Jacobson Pinter
Board Member
I joined the Board of the Volunteer Centre in 1998 and have served as Chair for the past five years. I was invited to join the Board the ‘old fashioned way’ – being asked by the Chair at the time who knew my work with another London-based organisation promoting volunteering, the Junior League of London. Although it took me about a year to figure out what value I could add to the already strong and able Board of the Volunteer Centre, I found that the work and dynamism of the organisation kept me learning and on my toes all the time.
Professionally, I work as a freelance consultant to small voluntary sector organisations, specialising in issues of governance, board development, and team building. I’m also a certified practitioner of the Birkman Method, a sophisticated behavioural assessment tool that facilitates team building, leadership development, interpersonal and organisational conflict resolution, executive coaching and career management. Before that, I spent many happy years working in both advertising and public relations, first at what is now Saatchi & Saatchi NY and, more recently, at RJH Public Relations in London as a media consultant to the Templeton Foundation, an organisation that encourages dialogue between science and religion.
I’ve been a volunteer all my life, starting formally as a Girl Scout at age 8 in the US. I’ve served in a huge variety of volunteering roles including, among other things, teaching swimming to the mentally and physically disabled, befriending families with a child at risk, serving on management committees, and raising money and interviewing applicants for Harvard where I got my first degree. I’m a member of Charity Trustee Networks, Volunteering England, the Junior League of London and the International Association of Junior Leagues.
In my ‘spare’ time, I’m also a choral singer, avid reader, active traveller, frequent theatre-goer and mother of three teenaged children.
Joseph Carim
Board Member
I first came across the work of the Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea when I was invited to participate on the Committee of one of its pilot projects called the City Skill Exchange. This was a potentially valuable programme which provided exciting volunteering opportunities for senior executives and professionals.
Although I am new to volunteering, during my career in the City I had often considered taking an active role in the voluntary sector and once I had met the volunteers and Trustees at the Volunteer Centre, I was very keen to translate this idea into practice.
Initially, I attended a Board meeting as an observer and I was delighted to see how professionally the Volunteer Centre's operations are organised and how seriously the other Trustees take their responsibilities. I also visited local charities and not for profit organisations in the Royal Borough, finding out about their work, their priorities and their concerns. These visits demonstrated how important the work of the Volunteer Centre is within Kensington & Chelsea.
This has been an interesting time to join the Volunteer Centre’s Board given the recent deterioration in the economic climate, the coalition government's proposed financial constraints and the likely effect upon the charities within the Royal Borough. I hope that being a Trustee will enable me to use the skills and experience that I have cultivated throughout my career to help sustain and develop the Volunteer Centre's operations through the difficult times that lay ahead.
Jennifer Clarke
Chair of the Board of Trustees
I joined the Board of the Volunteer Centre in July 2010. I have a passion for volunteering and am delighted to be able to play a role in supporting this dynamic organisation.
My professional background is in accounting. I am a US Certified Public Accountant who practiced international tax at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen, in the UK, the US and the Netherlands for over 10 years.
Since ‘retiring’ from corporate life, I have dedicated my time to raising my family and local volunteer work. I was a Trustee and Treasurer for the London Gallery of Children’s Art from 2004-2008. I am also a member of the Junior League of London, another UK charity, where I have taken on a range leadership roles over the years from the “hands on” role of running a community programme designed to help disadvantaged young people to increase their self awareness and confidence to the governance focused, full-time position of President.
My outside interests include chasing after my young daughter, traveling, keeping up with current events, and running.
Lorna Taylor
Board Member
I joined the board in November 2010, having recently moved to London from the North East. I am passionate about volunteering, having been involved in several volunteering projects as a student. After graduating, I managed Durham University Student Community Action for a year, developing supporting student volunteers and developing new community projects. I currently work as a fundraiser for a national charity.
I'm really excited about the opportunity to be a member of the board for VCKC and am looking forward to getting to know the Volunteer Centre.
Outside the charity sector, my other interests include travelling, modern languages and cooking.
Gail Le Coz
Board Member
As I just became a trustee in January 2011, I am one of the newer additions to the KCVC board. Whilst trying to figure out where and how I could volunteer in our local community, I came across the Volunteer Centre’s website. I was quite impressed by the services that the Volunteer Centre provides for the borough and decided that I wanted to help out.
Although my background is in financial services, mainly in asset management and investment banking, when I joined the board I had been running a not-for-profit membership association for nearly two years. Whenever possible, I try to apply my experiences in working with this association and being a member of its board to the KCVC.
My relationship with volunteering has gone up and down over the years, mainly as a result of moving house. When I lived in New York City, I mainly volunteered with students, including mentoring high school students and working to get underprivileged students to college. My volunteering took a hiatus when I was in France, but once I moved to London I began helping raise funds for charities. As much of this activity had an impact outside of the UK, I decided it would also be good to volunteer locally.
Working with the other Trustees and having the chance to see the energy and enthusiasm of the Volunteer Centre staff has been a terrific experience so far. This may be a difficult time for the voluntary sector as a whole, but you really have the sense that everyone is pulling together to try to make it work.
Michael Pearson
Board member
I became a trustee of the Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea in 2011 with the objective of supporting the local community in the borough where I have lived for over 20 years. As an experienced business consultant, and with training in corporate governance, I felt that I could make the best use of my experience to bear as a trustee. The voluntary sector faces significant challenges in the current economic environment and working with the Volunteer Centre is a real opportunity to help make a difference.
I have a professional background in business strategy and planning, and I am currently working as a consultant in financial services, which takes me across Europe and also, in the last few years, to several African countries. I find the experience of working in different countries and with different cultures to be both interesting and exciting, even if it is sometimes very challenging. My work has also shown me the real benefits of a sound strategy and rigorous planning, wherever you are and whatever type of business you are in.
My other interests when I am not busy travelling on business or for pleasure are golf, skiing, film and theatre, together with some occasional gardening.