Children in care and care leavers charity Become has appointed Anela Anwar as its next chief executive.

She will join in November from anti-poverty charity Z2K, which she has led since 2020.

Anwar has also spent five years at Oxfam, including a two year stint as its head of programme development and partnerships. She also spent four years as Convenor of The Poverty Alliance.

“Her extensive experience in rights-based approaches and proven track record across social justice issues, combined with her passion for putting care-experienced young people at the heart of decision-making, makes her the ideal leader for the next phase of Become,” said the charity’s chair Leslie Morphy.

"Every child needs love, stability, and the chance to dream big – yet far too many care-experienced young people are still being failed by the systems meant to protect them. That’s why Become exists, and why I’m proud to be joining this incredible charity. 

A priority for Anwar is to oversee an expansion of the charity’s community work supporting care experienced young people.
 
She replaces interim chief executive Clare Bracey, the charity’s director of policy, campaigns and communication.

The last permanent CEO at Become was Katharine Sacks-Jones who left in July after six years in the role to lead The Multibank, the charity set up by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Amazon to donate goods to families living in poverty.

“Throughout my career, I’ve worked alongside people whose voices have been ignored for too long,” said Anwar.

“Together with young people, our team, our Board, and our partners, we’ll work side by side with care-experienced children and young people to make sure they have the stability, support, and love they need to grow up safe and free to flourish." 
 

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