Meet our Chair
Karen Morton
Chair of Trustees
Karen chairs RVA Board meetings and manages the CEO on behalf of the Board, taking overall responsibility for RVA’s strategy and monitoring of delivery. She is an experienced leader, manager, chair, facilitator, consultant and trainer, with a background in charity management and development.
Meet our other trustees
Peter Brierley
TrusteePeter is part of the Neighbourhoods and Communities team for a national Housing Association, specialising in Community Development. A firm believer in the core notion of community development, he is also passionate about volunteering and hopes his enthusiasm will be an asset to RVA and its aims to support Reading’s voluntary sector.
Kate Forster
Trustee
Kate brings to RVA’s Board of Trustees a broad variety of HR experience in a range of organisational settings and sizes in both the public and private sector.
Simone Illger
Trustee
Simone has lived in Reading all of her life. She currently chairs the Reading Physical Disability and Sensory Needs Partnership Board (PDSN), co-chairs the Thalidomide Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, serves as Chair to her local Residents’ Association and has recently been writing articles for RVA as a Community Journalist.
Lillian King
Trustee
Lillian joined the Board of Trustees in 2012 and as one of our Volunteer Adviser Team has a wealth of knowledge of the local voluntary and community sector.
Steve Leitch
Treasurer
Steve is a local businessman and company director with a background in finance. He works within diverse sectors such as IT, the internet, advanced motorcycle training and product sales. He is a trustee of a small local children’s charity and is a member of the management team for the East Reading Festival. He has a passion for music and can be seen manning the stage at local community arts and music events.
Julie Roberts
Trustee
Julie has worked in the voluntary sector for more than 20 years, mostly in the areas of disability and international development. She is a specialist in fundraising and market research and has led teams at a variety of national and international charities. She has an MBA in Charity Management from London South Bank University, writing a dissertation on mergers in the UK voluntary sector.
Sarah Stevens
Trustee
Sarah worked in the rail industry for 28 years, on projects including the £7billion investment programme for the upgrade of the West Coast Mainline, and developing and building the new high-speed rail line from London to the West, High Speed 2.
Gillian Thomas
TrusteeGillian Thomas worked for the NHS for over thirty years as a counsellor in the gastroenterology department of the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Her work entailed counselling people affected by ongoing gastroenterological conditions and providing training and information to nurses about the psychological care of patients.