Senior Staff

Chief Executive – Andrew Copson

Andrew became Chief Executive in January 2010 after five years coordinating the BHA’s education and public affairs work. His writing on humanist and secularist issues has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, The Times and New Statesman as well as in various journals and he has represented the BHA and Humanism extensively on television news on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, as well as on television programmes such as Newsnight, The Daily Politics, Sunday Morning Live and The Big Questions. He has also appeared on radio on programmes from Today, You and Yours, Sunday, The World Tonight, The World at One, The Last Word and Beyond Belief on the BBC, to local and national commercial radio stations.

He is a former director of the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and is currently First Vice President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), where he leads on Communications. He has previously served as a delegate of the IHEU to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and has also represented humanist organisations to the United Nations (UN) and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He has advised on Humanism for the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the BBC, and the Office of National Statistics among others. He is a member of the Advisory Group for the Humanist Library at London’s Conway Hall and, in a previous post in the office of Lord Macdonald of Tradeston in the House of Lords, he provided the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group.

Andrew studied Classics and Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford and was a member of the winning team of the 2005 Young Educational Thinker of the Year Programme. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, a Member of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Associate of the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University. He came to the BHA in 2005 from the Citizenship Foundation, where he worked on political literacy projects.

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Director of Public Affairs and Campaigns – Pavan Dhaliwal

Pavan heads the BHA’s public affairs team, and is responsible for the BHA’s campaigns covering a wide range of issues including public services, equality law, ethical issues, religion and schools, and social cohesion.

Pavan has worked in high level advisory and Head of Policy and Public Affairs roles for the past seven years. She is an equalities and human rights expert with a special interest in youth, criminal justice and education policy.

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Head of Education – Lisa Rønsholt

Lisa was educated in Malawi, Senegal, Gambia, Tanzania, Denmark, and London. She comes to the BHA having run extensive education programmes at the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, British Red Cross, and Save the Children, and managed refugee and migrant employability projects at Olmec, the black and minority ethnic-led social enterprise.

Lisa has responsibility for promoting understanding of Humanism, including through an educational setting, and for promoting the BHA to diverse audiences.

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Head of Ceremonies – Isabel Russo

Isabel worked as an actress in theatre, film and television for 20 years before becoming a humanist celebrant in 2009. Isabel then worked as a funeral, wedding and naming celebrant for four years, before taking on Head of Ceremonies at the BHA in May 2013. The role of ritual and storytelling in shaping and influencing community has been a central thread throughout her working life.

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Head of Operations – Catriona McLellan

Catriona studied at the University of Dundee and has an MA and MPhil in European Politics. After almost ten years in the money advice sector she joined the BHA as Head of Operations where she is responsible for the smooth running of our administration, ICT and finance systems. She is now working on her thesis for an MSc in Charity Management and Finance from London Southbank University, and is an affiliate member of CIPFA as well as a Prince2 practitioner. She is a member of the Central London Humanists, and spends her spare time in art galleries and rock climbing.

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Head of Pastoral Support – David Savage

David was a founder member of Labour Humanists. After gaining a BSc and PhD in Chemical Engineering he joined multinational company and for some years worked as a Strategic Planning Manager. Following a period working overseas he was appointed Technical Director of their international soft drinks business, with operations in over 30 countries. He is a Governor of a special needs school and works to protect river catchment environments.

Campaigns Manager – Richy Thompson

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Communications Manager – Liam Whitton

Liam joined in March 2014, after working with the BHA on a number of writing and design projects in 2012 and 2013. He completed his studies at the University of Oxford in 2011 with a BA in English Language and Literature, and subsequently worked in publishing as deputy editor of a legal guide, in addition to freelancing as a copywriter and researcher working with not‑for‑profits.

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ICT, Database and Web Manager – Andrew West

Andrew joined in May 2011, after two years volunteering as the BHA’s Photographer-in-Residence. He ran his own IT company for nine years before joining the BHA, and is now responsible for managing the BHA website, its many spin-off websites, the office computers, and the contact database. In 2011 he completed a part-time photography degree, where he spent four years trying to teach his tutors the difference between ‘humanist’ and ‘humorist’. He also represented the BHA on the Fourth Plinth.

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