In this Episode, we are joined by Dr Ambreen Shah, a non-executive director at Smallwood Trust and Shana Begum who is a former Smallwood Trust Board shadowee.

Our guests will be helping us to explore shifting power and governance through reflecting over the Smallwood Board Shadowing Programme. 

Here is a little more about our guests: 

Ambreen was born in England and has lived here all her life, she is second generation Pakistani and is a mum of 2 girls. Ambreen has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years, funding and supporting charities to achieve maximum impact for their beneficiaries.  She brings knowledge of policy, communications, grant funding and social/evaluative research and extensive experience of working with senior stakeholders and strategy development. She is passionate about social and racial justice.

Ambreen is a non-executive director at Smallwood Trust and Charity Bank championing their work on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She sits on the advisory group of Migration Exchange. She is also an Associate of Getting on Board which supports greater diversity of people in the charity governance space and is currently championing a shadowing programme which aims to shift power to people with lived experience.

Shana Begum is a former Smallwood Trust board shadowee, a survivor of domestic abuse with a proven track record of making a significant impact in the field of domestic abuse prevention and support. As the Founding Director of St Helens the best me CIC and a pioneer trustee for Safelives, Shana has been instrumental in transforming board cultures to promote lived experience and create a supportive environment for survivors of domestic abuse. Shana's dedication to ending violence against women and girls is evident in her involvement in various initiatives, including supporting over 300 survivors and their families, initiating free DA training in India and Nigeria, and serving as the First domestic abuse prevention officer in St Helens council. Her contributions have extended globally through collaborations with Safe and together institute and nationally with organisations such as government departments like the MoD -defence safety authority and the domestic abuse commissioners office. 

In addition to her professional achievements, Shana has demonstrated a commitment to education and community service by dedicating 4 years as a governor for two schools in St Helens and actively participating in equality and diversity groups locally and regionally. As a Trustee of the national charity Safelives and the Chair of the BAME group locally, Shana continues to be a driving force in advocating for change and promoting inclusivity in all aspects of society. 

Links: 

Smallwood Trust: Reflecting on our board shadowing experience: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/news/reflecting-our-inaugural-board-shadowee-experience/ 

Smallwood Trust introduces to our inaugural board shadowing cohort: programme: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/news/meet-smallwood-board-member-shadowees

Lauren Currie and her work ( As mentioned by Ambreen in the podcast) - Join the confidence revolution. (weareupfront.com)

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