Our Board of Trustees

David joined the Board in April 2024 and was elected as Chair in December 2024. He is a respected senior professional who has worked in the public health and wellbeing sector for over 30 years. He is a graduate of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London) and Coventry Polytechnic, and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians of London.

David has substantial and varied experience working in senior roles, in areas including research and analysis, strategy and policy development, and management. His employers and clients have included the NHS, local government, national government departments and bodies, the European Union, charities (UK, Uganda, Malawi, India), and pharmaceutical companies. David has worked in many of London’s diverse Boroughs, including 5 years working for the NHS in Lambeth, Southwark & Lewisham.

His areas of technical skills and knowledge include health and social care, quality assurance, equalities, governance, epidemiology, population health, health economics, applied research methods, and monitoring and evaluation.

David has also worked in a variety of volunteer and community roles delivering services to older people (including for Age UK), homeless children and young people, and children with disabilities and special educational needs.

David lives in Bermondsey and his interests include politics, social affairs, travel, and music.

Shelina is an experienced, values-oriented and results-driven senior strategic leader in the charity sector who, throughout her career, has partnered with community and voluntary based organisations, locally, nationally & internationally, as well as other stakeholders at UN/EU level, to advocate for provisions and services for marginalised and vulnerable communities, premised on poverty alleviation, social justice, inclusion, & equity.   

Shelina took a career break during which time she pursued her PhD in Global Higher Education Policy part-time and continued with her voluntary commitments at two charities in North Kensington: Citizens Advice-Kensington & Chelsea where she had the privilege of serving on the Board for three consecutive terms (nine years), latterly as Vice and Acting Chair; and Kensington And Chelsea Social Council, an infrastructure organisation for the voluntary and community sector, where she is currently Chair. 

Shelina is a long-standing admirer and supporter of AgeUK as it caters for a demographic of the population very dear to her and she is extremely proud to be on the Board of AUK-Lewisham & Southwark, serving one of society’s most vulnerable groups in need of its high-quality services.

After a management career at Royal Mail, Philippe became involved in grassroots initiatives such as time banking, volunteering, and community giving schemes to enhance participation. He is passionate about social action and is deeply interested in people and projects that bring together shared assets and diverse perspectives.  Philippe has participated in several community initiatives, including leading Rushey Green Time Bank/Lewisham Local through which he instigated the 'Lewisham Local Community Contributor Card' scheme to recognise the invaluable contributions of volunteers in strengthening communities and to encourage support for small businesses through local shopping.  He also collaborated with partners to establish the logistics of the ‘COVID-19 Lewisham Community Response Hub’ to support vulnerable residents shielding during the pandemic, as well as to recruit volunteers for COVID-19 vaccination centres across Lewisham.

Philippe advocates for equality and strong governance, which he believes is essential for a well-run, caring and sustainable organisation. He serves as a trustee for Bench Outreach and the Deptford Ragged Trust, and he works as an independent consultant for several other charities.

John worked in the Marine & Energy Insurance sector at Lloyds in the City of London for over 50 years (except for a brief and best forgotten year or so as a TV Repair Man), firstly as a broker during which time he became a Director of 3 Lloyds Broking Companies before swapping sides to spend the last 13 years as the Senior Energy Adjuster for a major Lloyds Syndicate.

He first became involved with Age Concern Lewisham as an insurance volunteer in 1998 and was invited to become a Trustee in 2000. By 2005 he had become Chair of that charity and in about 2007, alongside the then Chair of Age Concern Southwark, arranged the merger of the 2 charities to form Age Concern L&S which, following the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged to form Age UK, became AUKLS. During part of this time he was also a Trustee of the Voluntary Care Centre which became Voluntary Services Lewisham.

He is married with one son, lives in Sydenham and having retired in 2013 he now spends much of his time travelling both at home and abroad, supporting Arsenal FC, looking after 3 fish tanks and volunteering for English Heritage at Eltham Palace.

Katy is deputy director on Nesta's mission to create a sustainable future, which focuses on home decarbonisation. Katy joined Nesta from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), where she worked across a number of policy areas including household energy efficiency, consumer issues and COVID-19. Prior to working at BIT, Katy worked as a strategist for a leading advertising agency. Katy holds a first class degree in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge. 

Marcia originally trained as an economist and following post-graduate study at Cranfield Business School, worked for a number of years for several  multinationals in Europe and North America. Subsequently, she made a change of career and practised law. 

Prior to joining AUKLS as a trustee in 2012 she served as a trustee on the boards of a number of charities including the Field Lane Foundation where she chaired the board.  

Marcia is a Southwark resident and collects British watercolours. 

In March 2023, Maria joined the board of Age UK Lewisham & Southwark where she serves as a trustee and member of the finance sub-committee. 

Maria has deep connections to Lewisham, having first come to the borough as a student at Goldsmiths College. Over the past six years, she has been working at a Lewisham-based charity, progressing from roles within advice services to a senior management position. 

Before transitioning to the charity sector, Maria worked in the arts and education. As a qualified teacher and former freelance theatre director, she developed skills in communication, leadership, and creative problem-solving. 

Maria is multilingual, an avid reader and a technology enthusiast. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, attending theatre performances, and hiking. 

Nicky is involved in community social and environmental activities, green politics and has previously engaged in befriending and fundraising for AgeUK. In her professional career she worked for twenty-four years in teaching, leadership and management in Higher Education. Her last job was as Dean where she was responsible for the academic, strategic and operational leadership of the Design School and had wider responsibilities at College and University level, particularly in relation to climate and social justice issues and their embodiment in the curriculum and university practices. Her undergraduate and postgraduate studies were in the History of Art and Architecture and her PhD thesis explored the privatisation and utility of cultural institutions with a focus on museums and contemporary patronage. Nicky has also been a reviewer for the Museums Journal, worked as a buyer and merchandiser in the fashion industry and is a keen walker, having recently completed the 630 mile South West Coast Path. 

Romy van Es brings a blend of expertise in partnership development, digital technology and sustainable development. As a Partnership Development Strategist at Amazon Web Services since 2019, Romy specialises in driving the creation of digital solutions that address pressing environmental challenges through partnerships. She offers a unique perspective on leveraging AI, data analytics, and public cloud technology for use cases including smart cities, circular economy and sustainability reporting. Prior to AWS, Romy's dedication to community engagement is evident through her involvement in co-founding her university's crowdfunding platform and enhancing the communication strategy of the University Fund.