Tamar Ghosh – Chair
Tamar has a strong track record in the voluntary sector. She was Director of the social action campaign ‘Give More’ on behalf of one of the Pears Foundation, promoting increased giving of money and time amongst the UK public. Prior to that, she spent 15 years developing and delivering funding strategies for international NGOs, including ActionAid and VSO. Separately, she founded and continues to run two social enterprises working in global and national healthcare. Tamar has an MBA from Imperial College, London and Masters in Development Studies, following an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Bristol University. She is also a trustee of Heart UK and BAAG, a consultant on fundraising and strategy development, and a guest speaker at Imperial College Business School on innovation and entrepreneurship as part of its MBA and Masters in Health programmes. |
Ann O’Connell – Vice Chair
Ann is a qualified treasurer and accountant with a particular interest in good governance. She has many years experience in banking, working in audit, finance, treasury, and risk. She has also worked as a non-executive Director of a Credit Union and a Building Society. She is currently working as a Director of Rhino Software Ltd., a company which develops innovative mobile apps for the SME market. Ann is a trustee and treasurer of the Leicestershire and Rutland branch of Emmaus UK, a national charity which works to end homelessness. She is also a Director of Leicester Health Insight (LHI) a not for profit company which aims to facilitate improvements in health and social care for the population of Leicester city. |
John Adams – Treasurer
John was the first Chair and is now the Vice President of the National Governors’ Association, was a founder member of the National Teaching Awards, spent four years on the board of the General Teaching Council, and has been a member of various advisory boards at the Department of Education. John is married with two adult children and lives in North Yorkshire. He is a member of five cricket clubs, including the MCC. John received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2012 for services to education. |
Tom Copley
Prior to his election to the Assembly, Tom worked for the Searchlight Educational Trust – an anti-fascist, anti-racist charity that works with communities to fight racism and hatred. He has also worked for the Labour Party and the Health Protection Agency. Following his election to the Assembly, he was made a patron of LGBT Labour. Originally from Derbyshire, Tom grew up in Wiltshire and has lived in London for most of the last eight years. |
Iain Deboys
He has had various leadership roles in humanist organisations for 25 years and is currently Chair of Northern Ireland Humanists and is a School Speaking Volunteer and the NI Humanists lead for Community Development. Iain worked closely with Andrew Copson and Boyd Sleator to set up the NI Humanists section in 2016 and is proud of the NI team and the achievements it has had in a short time in the very challenging local environment of sectarian politics and religiosity. |
Blaise EganBlaise Egan is a consulting statistician working for BT, where he has worked for over forty years, in a variety of roles involving the improvement of processes and decision-making. His work in the research department, developing telecare systems for the frail and elderly, was recognised by the British Computer Society and gained him a US patent. He has a strong interest in the mathematical sciences and holds a BSc in maths and an MSc and an MPhil in statistics. He is a Chartered Statistician and a Council member of the Royal Statistical Society. He lives in Essex with his partner Glenys.
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Ruth Kaufman
She has been President of the OR Society and chair of its ‘Pro Bono OR’ support service; and in 2016 received an OBE for Services to OR. From 2009 to 2014 she chaired Woman’s Trust, a charity helping women affected by domestic violence reclaim their lives. She has been an atheist all her life, a SACRE member since 2010 and is an accredited Humanists UK school speaker. |
Ewan MainEwan qualified first in Linguistics (York) then in Community and Youth Work (Durham). He has worked in various youth, advice, and welfare services and was a founder trustee of two local charities. For twelve years he developed and ran the national online support services – internet communities and email helplines – for unpaid carers for a UK charity, at the same time as freelance design and consultancy work in web, film, print and words. He has been a humanist celebrant since 2012 and served a term on Humanists UK’s Ceremonies Board. As such, much of his year is spent focusing on non-religious ritual and the important role it can play in people’s lives. Ewan lives with his wife in York, his home since 1997. |
Neil McKainNeil is a Head of Religious Studies with over ten years teaching experience. He graduated in Theology and RS from the University of Leeds His work nationally in RE has been extensive. Neil is part of an advisory group to the Rt Hon Charles Clarke and Professor Linda Woodhead Neil is a committed humanist and a firm advocate for RE which is objective, fair and balanced. |
Stephanie NivenStephanie is a portfolio manager of global equities, having spent her career in finance, starting at Goldman Sachs. She is currently based in London and over the last year has become a trustee of COIF Charity Funds, facilitating access to top class investment products to those in the charitable sector. Through her work she has become an Ambassador for the Diversity Project and a keen mentor to broaden access to financial careers. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and member of the CFA Institute. Stephanie is a History graduate from Merton College, University of Oxford, and is the mother of three young children. She has represented Great Britain in the World Championships for Age Group Long Distance Triathlon. |
David Pollock
In addition David was a board member (and sometime Chair) of the Rationalist Association (1978–2018) and was President of the European Humanist Federation from 2006 to 2012. He takes a special interest in policy and campaigning on the place of religion and belief in society and other questions of public policy. An Oxford classics graduate, after 25 years in management with the National Coal Board, he was Director of Action on Smoking and Health (1991-95) and then of the Continence Foundation (1996-2001) before retiring to (almost) full-time Humanism. |
Jeremy Rodell
Jeremy is the co-founder and Chair of South West London Humanists, a humanist school speaker, and Humanists UK’s (volunteer) Dialogue Officer. In 2011 he led a high-profile campaign for more inclusive admissions at a new faith school in Twickenham. He thinks humanists can make an important positive contribution to a fair, plural society. |
Imtiaz Shams
In 2012, he began creating ‘underground railroad’ networks for ex-Muslims around the world. In 2015, he co-founded Faith to Faithless, an organisation working to reduce the stigma faced by ‘apostates’ of all religions. It has been featured on the BBC and in Vice, the Guardian, and the Times, and has helped thousands find a place for themselves in a world that often dehumanises the non-religious. Faith to Faithless later became a part of Humanists UK. Imtiaz currently serves as its Chair. Imtiaz believes humanism is vital in the fight to bring happiness to apostates who face discrimination from their families, community, and state. He has a management degree from the London School of Economics and works as a consultant for high-tech solutions to problems including age-care, transport safety, and approaches to countering right-wing and Islamic extremism. He tweets at @imtishams. |
Emma Shepherd
Previously chair of Wales Humanists, Emma has been involved in humanist campaigns in Wales, particularly around education. Passionate about people and community, she regularly runs events to bring people together in her local area, and is a trustee of the local village hall. In her spare time, Emma likes reading, baking, running and being in nature. |
Amy Walden
In 2011 Amy initiated humanist pastoral support in prisons with a pilot project at HMP Winchester. This proved successful, with the initiative now being introduced in other prisons. Amy continues to be involved in Humanists UK’s pastoral support services. She is part of a team training Humanists UK members to deliver humanist pastoral support in prisons and hospitals across the country as well as within the armed forces. Amy is passionate about equality and the value of diversity. She has been part of an Equalities Consultation Panel within her workplace and delivered training in this area to her colleagues. Amy has a strong interest in science and nature. She enjoys walking and going to live music events. She is also a regular attendee at her local Skeptics in the Pub group. |
Hamza bin Walayat
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