Judging Panel 2025

Bushra Ahmed, Founder, West Croydon Voice
Peter Halewood, Director of Philanthropy, Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK)
Cheryl Hooper, CEO, Cecily's Fund; Independent Consultant, Global Changemakers Oxford
Dalton Leong, Independent Chair, Surrey VCSE Alliance
Srabani Sen OBE, Founder and CEO, Full Colour
Alison Talbot, Head of National Charities, Winckworth Sherwood LLP
Amanda Tincknell CBE, Chief Executive, Cranfield Trust
Grant Wilson, CIO, Asset Risk Consultants

Bushra Ahmed, Founder, West Croydon Voice
Bushra Ahmed is an experienced charity sector leader, named by Charity Times as one of the 15 most inspiring leaders in the sector to look out for on #IWD22. She is a Trustee of Lloyds Bank Foundation, HomeStartUK and many other boards, a member of the Survivors Advisory Forum at National Emergencies Trust and also a Civic Futures Leader Fellow at the GLA. Bushra founded West Croydon Voice after her family business was destroyed in the 2011 Riots, to successfully fight for compensation for the victims. She is a business woman, strategic consultant and community activist, with over 20 years of experience in community engagement, as a public speaker, sponsor and mentor, she uses her lived experience to advise and give support through various means on social justice issues around diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural intelligence.

Peter Halewood, Director of Philanthropy, Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK)
Peter Halewood is the Director of Philanthropy at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK), having joined the charity in 2014. During his time at ARUK, Peter has overseen the significant growth of their work with individual philanthropists, trusts and foundations. Peter led the team through ARUK’s successful £100m Defeat Dementia campaign, which reached its target a year early and raised transformational income for strategic priorities such as the Drug Discovery Alliance. Peter has 19 years’ experience in philanthropy fundraising and joined ARUK having established a new Major Donor function at The Salvation Army. Prior to this, he worked for both Cancer Research UK and World Vision UK.

Cheryl Hooper, CEO, Cecily's Fund; Independent Consultant, Global Changemakers Oxford
Cheryl Hooper is the CEO of international charity Cecily's Fund, as well as an independent consultant for Global Changemakers Oxford.

Dalton Leong, Independent Chair, Surrey VCSE Alliance
Dalton has worked in the private sector and not-for-profit sector. Firstly, in banking and financial services; working with retail, corporate and high net worth clients. After becoming a founding trustee of Shooting Star Children’s Hospice in 1995, he later joined them as Chief Executive. He was also Chief Executive of The Children’s Trust and Managing Director of Global (Radio) Charities, leading the appeals, corporate social responsibility programme and grant-giving at Capital, Heart and Classic FM, amongst others. He is now a Non-Executive Director, with a focus on improving health and care outcomes for Surrey’s residents. He is a Trustee of the National Emergencies Trust and Co-Chair elect of Board Racial Diversity UK (currently known as Action for Trustee Racial Diversity).

Srabani Sen OBE, Founder and CEO, Full Colour
Srabani has had an extensive leadership career in the not-for-profit sector. She has been the CEO of Alcohol Concern, Contact a Family and the British Association for Adoption and Fostering. She has more than 25 years' board experience, including chairing two not-for-profits: ActionAid and children and young people's charity The Winch. In 2014, she set up a consultancy specialising in supporting not-for-profit organisation on leadership, strategy and organisational development and she most recently founded Full Colour, which aims to develop emerging BAME leaders, and to support existing leaders develop practical ways to lead inclusively.

Alison Talbot, Head of National Charities, Winckworth Sherwood LLP
Alison Talbot is Head of National charities at Winckworth Sherwood LLP. She has over 20 years’ experience in providing strategic and commercial legal advice to a wide range of charities, social enterprises, educational institutions and individuals. With extensive experience in charity law and governance she regularly engages with the Charity Commission and is highly skilled in supporting charities through disputes, distress situations and organisational change. She advises the trustee boards of charities when taking sensitive and complex decisions and carries out governance and board reviews. Having been a trustee of a number of charities, Alison has a strong understanding of the issues which charity trustees face on a day to day basis.

Amanda Tincknell CBE, Chief Executive, Cranfield Trust
CEO Amanda Tincknell joined Cranfield Trust as a volunteer in the 1990s, after completing her MBA at Cranfield School of Management. With a background in market research and recruitment, she was an early project manager for the Trust and spent some time as a trustee before becoming Chief Executive in 2000. She holds overall responsibility for the direction and management of the Trust, reporting to the trustee board. Amanda has increased the Trust’s capacity and influence enormously over more than two decades and was awarded a CBE for her contribution to charity services in the Queen's New Year Honours list 2015. With others, she is a founding member of the Pro Bono Association. Amanda is highly motivated by the organisations and leaders that the Trust is privileged to work with. 

Grant Wilson, CIO, Asset Risk Consultants
Grant joined ARC in 2015 as Chief Investment Officer. He has worked in International Finance for more than thirty five years, initially as an investment manager and executive director of a number of fund management companies, including Martin Currie Investment Management Limited and Gartmore Investment Trust Management Limited. For the last ten years Grant has worked as an Investment Consultant based in Guernsey. Grant has served as a Trustee or Director on a number boards of charities, private and public companies. Grant is an Associate of The CFA Society of the UK (ASIP), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (MCSI) and an Associate of the Chartered Governance Institute (ACG). He has a degree in Business Administration from Strathclyde University.