Who are the Sustainable Funding team?

Find out about who the Sustainable Funding Team are

Leesa Herbert
Laura Smith
Olof Williamson
Rosaline Jenkins
Jess Farr
Emma Clements

Leesa Herbert

Leesa joined NCVO in January 2007 as the Head of Sustainable Funding and now heads up NCVO's Support and Advice team. For the past four years Leesa worked in Islington Council Children's Services as Policy and Development manager in Early Years, leading on the Government's childcare strategy to provide affordable quality childcare in the borough. Leesa led on funding, supporting and sustaining childcare in the voluntary sector.

Prior to that Leesa worked in education most recently as lead officer on school exclusions in Barnet Council, reducing the borough's exclusions rate in line with government targets. Before that Leesa taught in schools in three inner London boroughs as a classroom teacher, head of year and senior teacher. Before working in education Leesa worked for ActionAid, a large international development agency, as Kenya Team Leader.

Leesa has also been chair and treasurer of two local park 'Friends Groups' and is now a school Governor where she has recently led on bringing the school meals provision in house.

Email: Leesa Herbert
020 7520 2557

Laura Smith

Laura joined NCVO in July 2009 as Sustainable Funding Manager. She oversees the team's main service delivery functions, focusing on capacity building of local and regional infrastructure agencies, and the delivery of services to frontline organisations. She has been involved in several NCVO Consultancy projects relating to funding and income generation, and leads the Sustainable Funding Beacons programme.

Before joining NCVO, Laura spent more than three years working at the Big Lottery Fund, in both Scotland and London, leading the strategic outreach project for London, which involved working closely with infrastructure agencies to support skills development within frontline organisations. Laura has developed and facilitated several training workshops on various aspects of funding policy, and previously specialised in one to one consultations on bid-writing and project development.

Laura was a Chair-member of the Scotland Children's Panel in 2005-6. She has recently completed an MSc in Food Policy and takes an active interest in urban food systems. She currently volunteers as a funding innovation advisor to an international NGO which supports mountain farming communities, and with a charity offering outdoor breaks to vulnerable children and young people. In previous roles, Laura has worked as an Assistant-Director for a children's theatre charity, and has written and directed several theatre productions, including a sell-out comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Email: Laura Smith
020 7520 2570

Olof Williamson

Olof joined NCVO in November 2008 as Sustainable Funding Officer - Promoting Enterprise and is now a Sustainable Funding Senior Officer. He supports organisations to earn income through public service delivery and trading activity and helps to run the Funding Central website. This includes running training events on sustainable funding and enterprise, and preparing tools and resources for frontline and infrastructure organisations. He also supports the NCVO Public Service Delivery Network’s programme of work.

He has experience of advising charities on sustainable income and strategy, both in the UK and internationally. He has helped to set up a social enterprise in Sri Lanka and he is currently involved in grassroots sports in London.

Olof previously worked for the Scottish Government on strategic health and environmental policy, and studied Politics and Economic History at Edinburgh University.

Email: Olof Williamson
020 7520 2555

Rosaline Jenkins

Rosaline joined NCVO in June 2009 as a Sustainable Funding Officer delivering support, consultancy and training to frontline and infrastructure organisations. She is SFP's lead for the gift economy and grants resources and also manages the website and the monthly SFP newsletter.

Before joining NCVO, Ros worked for a range of frontline charities across the breadth of fundraising, marketing and project management, including experience in organisations delivering public services as well as those raising the majority of their income from the public.

Ros volunteers for the young offenders charity, Switchback and sits on the local board of Young Enterprise. She is also managing the development of new web-based social enterprise. She holds an MA in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University.

Email: Rosaline Jenkins
020 7520 2434

Jess Farr

Jess joined NCVO in March 2010 as part of the Foresight team and is now a Sustainable Funding Officer covering Ros's maternity leave for 2011. Over the past year Jess has supported Foresight to research the wider social, political, economic and technological trends that impact on voluntary and community organisations.

Before joining NCVO, Jess worked to generate publicity and funding for a variety of grassroots organisations, and maintains an interest in working at the community level. Jess sits on the steering group for the environmental organisation Transition New Cross and holds an MA in Literature, Politics and Geography from University of London.

Email: Jess Farr
020 7520 2434

Emma Clements

Emma joined NCVO in June 2008 as the Sustainable Funding Project Team Administrator and is now the Support and Advice Team Administrator. Her role involves supporting the Support and Advice Team's varied events programme and managing the production of web based and hard copy written information.

Prior to joining NCVO, Emma has worked in the public sector and for a large international charity as a Research Assistant. Her most recent role was working as a Project Assistant for a Primary Care Trust in London. Emma holds a BSc in Sociology.

Email: Emma Clements
020 7520 2519