Our Board of Trustees

Andrew Penny – Chair 

Andrew Penny is a retired private client solicitor with a particular interest in charity law and acts for a number of significant grant-making and service-providing charities.  Since 2008 he has been a trustee of CARIS Camden and Chair for the past twelve years.  Andrew is also a trustee of C4WS Homeless Project which supports homeless adults in Camden and acts as a host at-home for refugees and asylum seekers seeking a temporary place to stay.   

Andrew’s in-depth knowledge of charity governance and deep commitment to homelessness issues is an asset to the leadership of our Board. What attracts him to CARIS Families’ work is the quality long-term impact that a small charity can make to both adults and children experiencing homelessness. He line-manages the Director of CARIS Families.   

Mai Charissa Tran Ringrose – Treasurer 

Mai Charissa joined CARIS Families in 2024 as Treasurer.  She is a Chartered Accountant specialising in international development at BDO LLP.  She trained in financial services audit at Mazars LLP and prior to her current job worked at a sustainable development NGO in Cairo.   

She has a commitment to using her professional skills to support communities facing disadvantage and inequality and CARIS Families benefits greatly from her financial acumen and specialised knowledge of charity financial management.  Prior to taking up the role of Treasurer at CARIS Families, Mai Charissa volunteered with Accountants for International Development, advising international NGOs and charities on improving their governance policies and financial controls.   

James Storey 

Jamie is currently Head of People and Culture at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, having forged a career delivering transformational HR strategies to engage people to be their best at work.  Industries include public sector, hospitality and aviation, and arts management.  His in-depth business and people management insights are an asset to CARIS Families as a growing charity, as is his personal commitment to supporting disadvantaged young people, not only at CARIS but as a Governor for Heartwood House, a group of schools which provide educational and wellbeing support for students missing from mainstream school because of bullying.   Jamie is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). 

Flora Newbigin 

Flora is a senior leader in the charity and social impact sector, specialising in the cultural industries and organisations that deliver impactful programmes for people and planet. She was most recently Head of Programmes at the Design Council, leading partnerships and initiatives using design to create inclusive, planet-centred impact. 

Previously, Flora was Director of Programmes at Cardboard Citizens, working with people affected by homelessness and building partnerships with organisations including Crisis Skylight, Groundswell and Depaul UK. She is also a qualified SENCo and has worked in specialist education settings, as well as in advocacy roles with Coram supporting families in temporary accommodation. 

As a trustee, Flora brings experience in charity governance, partnerships, fundraising and programme delivery, alongside professional expertise in homelessness and family inclusion. She is also a mother of three young children, which gives her a strong personal understanding of the realities of family life and the importance of accessible, family-centred support. 

Emilie Yamadjako 

Emilie grew up in Benin (West Africa) before leaving her family to pursue her studies in Europe for university, aware of her fortune in being one of the lucky few who could do so.  Since then she has built a career in the financial industry, working for top investment banks in Paris, Tokyo and London including Credit Suisse, M&G plc, Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank, while maintaining an interest in giving back, volunteering as Vice-President of a women’s shelter in Tours and as a career coach helping long-term unemployed individuals.   

Emilie joined our board in 2021 so as to be able to contribute her technical skills and complex project delivery skills to initiatives aimed at empowering women and improving conditions for children.   

Huseina Emozozo 

Huseina is originally from Nigeria but has lived in the UK for over a decade and has raised her two children here.  She has a degree in Economics and a Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools.  Over her career she has worked as a healthcare provider and academic support worker and currently works as a medical laboratory assistant.  Between 2017 and 2022 she lived in a temporary accommodation hostel with her two children and was a beneficiary of CARIS Families’ services.  She has a passion for giving back, having previously volunteered in healthcare and education, and is proud to lend her first-hand knowledge and insight into life in temporary accommodation to the board of CARIS Families, having appreciated the positive impact the charity had on her own family. 

 Alison Penny MBE 

Alison is the Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network, the national second-tier support organisation for services for grieving children.  Within this role she set up the National Bereavement Alliance, leading collaborations to improve bereavement care for all ages and to raise awareness of bereavement as a potential trigger for loneliness and poor outcomes.    

Alison has worked in the voluntary sector with vulnerable families for 20 years and prior to her role leading the Childhood Bereavement Network worked supporting prisoners’ families in London, improving provision for families in the Crown Courts and prisons, and helping train and supervise volunteers working on a telephone helpline. 

Alison brings her extensive experience in fundraising, project management, practice development and national policy work to CARIS Families’ work, along with her understanding of the varying needs of families experiencing hardship.  She was awarded an MBE in 2021 for her dedication to improving support for bereaved children and adults.  

Geoffrey Browne 

Geoffrey is a retired accountant and book-keeper and has been a trustee of CARIS Camden since it became a charity in 2007. As such, he brings a deep understanding of the history of the charity and its activities to the Board.  He was formerly CARIS Camden’s treasurer and was instrumental in supporting the formation of CARIS Families as a new project of CARIS Camden in 2016 (see Our History).    

Geoff is involved in other voluntary work and for many years supported our sister charity C4WS Homeless Project with its book-keeping, as well as book-keeping for his local church and acting as bursar of a local primary school.   

‍