Our People
Meet the team members working to implement our vision – and the trustees who meet regularly to oversee the charity’s vision, mission, and strategic direction.
Our Team
Senior Management
Camilla Knox-Peebles
Chief Executive
Matt Wenham
Director of Fundraising
Dr Aneesa Ahmed
Head of Programmes and Strategic Partnerships
Helen Blake
Head of Finance , Operations and People
Finance, Operations and People
Alice Mabey
Executive Assistant
Kate Burley
HR and Operations Manager
Eric Siu
Finance Manager
Programmes and Strategic Partnerships
Berna Umutoni
Programmes and Partnerships Manager
Madeleine Bates
Global Account Manager
Emmanuel Sengoga
Senior Programme Finance Officer
Sumara Amir
Senior Programmes and Partnerships Officer
Ellen Gamble
Senior Programmes and Partnerships Officer
Supporter Engagement
Isobel Spaven-Donn
Communications Manager
Caroline Swaker
Fundraising Manager
Helen Brabant-Bleakley
Philanthropy Manager
Patrick Ryan
Data and Insights Manager
Hope Ahipeaud
Fundraising Officer
Emily Crowley
Digital Fundraising Officer
Sarah Sheehan
Philanthropy Officer
Yohanah Rodney
Fundraising Administrator
Our Trustees
Paul Davey
Chair of Trustees
Since graduating from Leeds University Paul Davey has worked for more than 30 years in marketing and communications roles on global leader brands and challenger brands.
He worked for Diageo for 17 years in worldwide marketing roles and built a sales and marketing operation in Russia which he ran as General Manager based in Moscow.
Since 2003 Paul has been a partner at MMS (Modern Marketing Solutions), working for a range of clients on marketing strategy and business planning through to brand development work and communications campaigns.
Paul became a Trustee of Amref Health Africa UK in 2005 and remained on the Board for 10 years. Since 2016, Paul has been a member of the International Fundraising and Communications committee in Nairobi. He rejoined the UK Board in 2019.
Jill Anderson
Treasurer
Jill is a graduate of chemistry from the University of Exeter and qualified as a financial accountant at Shell before joining the healthcare industry.
Jill has over 30 years’ experience in the healthcare industry in a breadth of roles within global and entrepreneurial organisations including finance, commercial, supply chain and R&D. Most recently she was CFO for GSK Research and Development and prior to that CFO for ViiV Healthcare a company dedicated to people living with HIV. She has worked across many disease areas and is known for her collaborative leadership and building high performing teams.
Jill takes pride and enjoyment in roles which directly impact patients or communities. It is this experience that motivated her to join Amref because she is passionate about bringing healthcare access and equity to those that need it most.
Andrew Tuttle
Trustee
Andrew is the Chief Strategy Officer at Policy Cures Research, a research organisation focused on identifying gaps in biomedical R&D for global health issues, including neglected diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and sexual and reproductive health.
For more than 15 years he has worked with organisations delivering donor-funded public health programmes in Africa, including Chemonics International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MSI Reproductive Choices, and Global Health Strategies. He has led research, behaviour change and service delivery programmes in the areas of family planning, safe abortion, infectious diseases and maternal health. In particular, he oversaw a USAID-funded health behaviour change communications programme in Zambia and led the programme design and resource mobilisation team at MSI, which supported 17 country programme teams in Africa and 36 worldwide delivering essential contraceptive, maternal and safe abortion services.
Andrew holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins, a BA from George Washington University in International Affairs and he is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health at LSHTM related to the inclusion of pregnant and lactating people in clinical research.
Jill Anderson
Trustee
Since graduating from Oxford University, Beverley has worked for more than 30 years in marketing, operations and sales roles in the pharmaceutical industry.
The majority of her career has been at GSK where she is currently Head of Global Vaccines Commercial Operations. Her experience spans developing unique positioning and strategies for pharmaceuticals at launch and late lifecycle to building capabilities in the changing commercial environment. Beverley loves to travel ,especially where there are exciting physical challenges. Beverley first connected with Amref Heath Africa on a 6-month assignment for Amref based in Nairobi in 2014/15 supporting the medical outreach programme. Since then she has volunteered on a regular basis in the London office and is delighted to now deepen her relationship by joining the UK Board.
Beverley was appointed with the help of Nurole, a specialist board-level recruitment service. For more information, please visit www.nurole.com.
Bridie Layden
Trustee
Bridie Layden is Director of Investor Relations at the END Fund, where she works with activist philanthropists in Europe who are committed to harnessing the power of collaborative philanthropy to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases. She has worked with high net worth clientele in the private and non profit sectors for over a decade, supporting philanthropists on a wide range of giving across health, humanitarian, development, education, and the arts.
Bridie holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Leeds, and a Masters in International Development from Birkbeck University. Bridie joined the Board of Amref UK in 2020, and is excited to join an African-led organisation with a clear focus and deep-rooted knowledge of the health issues facing communities. She believes in the potential for philanthropy to be strategic and impactful but also joyful, and looks to build deep, meaningful connections between philanthropists and the people and places they support.
Bridie was appointed with the help of Nurole, a specialist board-level recruitment service. For more information, please visit www.nurole.com.
Jennifer Chimanga
Trustee
Jennifer Chimanga is a Partner at international law firm Clifford Chance and co-heads the firm’s East Africa practice. She has wide experience of advising on M&A and related commercial transactions in the Telecoms, Media and Technology sectors, and has a focus on emerging markets (particularly, Africa). Jennifer is a member of Clifford Chance London’s gender diversity committee Accelerate>>>, and sits on the firm’s London Pay Gap Working Group. Jennifer is also the firm’s pro bono co-ordinator for Africa and supports a range of the firm’s pro bono clients including Invictus Games Foundations, African Prisons Project and International Lawyers for Africa.
Outside of work, along with being a Trustee of Amref UK, Jennifer co-head of the International Cluster of the Africa CEO Forum’s Women in Business Network.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Nairobi and is qualified to practice law in Kenya and in England & Wales. She was born and educated in Kenya.
Jennifer is passionate about equality, education and empowerment.
Navita Yadav
Trustee
Global business leader and value creator, Navita has 25 years of senior management and board level industry experience with a unique combination of building, operating and monetising large financial services businesses from east to the western hemisphere. A recognized industry leader and international expert on European and Asian markets, she has held various CEO, Executive Committee and global roles in banking and financial services, where she continues to deliver consistent profit & market share growth.
Passionate about innovation in public policy and social impact, Navita is also a Central Bank Advisor and champions financial sector development initiatives in many countries. With vast people and diversity experience, she is a culture & inclusion advocate and actively supports nutrition programs for alleviating food poverty among children in India & the UK and now serves on the Board of Amref Health Africa UK.
Dr Sally Nicholas
Trustee
Sally currently leads the Health Systems & Environment workstream at the Wellcome Trust, which seeks to reduce barriers to the development and implementation of affordable, accessible interventions globally. As part of a wider team she manages and promotes the activities of the Infectious Disease Challenge Area.
She previously led a strategic initiative to reduce the burden of enteric and diarrhoeal disease in LMICs by accelerating vaccine and monoclonal antibody development in addition to leading the £10M Innovator Award fund. Prior to this, she worked at the Science & Technology Facilities Council as an Innovation Manager, identifying commercial opportunities arising from research activities and exploiting these through a variety of routes. She has additionally worked in business development in the science start-up sector for a number of years and has also spent time in marketing in the medical devices industry.
Sally holds degrees in the life sciences from the University of Toronto and Columbia University and an MBA from Yale University.
Sally truly believes that access to high quality healthcare should be universal and was drawn to Amref Health Africa UK, by the breadth and depth of the programs Amref leads and the real difference they make in improving the health of those most in need.
Dr Tinashe Chandauka
Trustee
Tinashe Chandauka, MD, PhD is the Co-Founder and CEO of TMAB Therapeutics, an oncology company developing multi-specific antibodies and radiopharmaceuticals from technology licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering and MD Anderson. A repeat biotech founder and inventor, his ventures have raised over $50M in the past three years.
A Termeer Fellow, Tinashe previously co-founded Nandi Life Sciences and held roles as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Texas Medical Center Innovation, Director of Early Pipeline Development at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, and investor with Oxford Science Enterprises, contributing to $350M in early-stage financings and the NASDAQ IPO of Vaccitech.
A Rhodes Scholar, he earned his PhD from Oxford and his medical degree with distinction from the University of Cape Town. He is licensed to practice medicine in the UK and South Africa and serves on the board of Amref Health Africa.
Our President and Patron
The Duke of Richmond
President
Amref Health Africa enjoys a long-standing association with the Duke of Richmond & Gordon and the Goodwood Estate. The 10th Duke and Duchess of Richmond first became involved with Amref through their connection with Michael Wood (Amref’s founder), his wife Sue, and their farm at Kilimanjaro. The Duke was a supporter of Amref from the early days, when we were known as the Flying Doctors of East Africa. In 1995, he was invited to become President of Amref Health Africa UK, a post he held for the rest of his life, and passed to his son, the 11th Duke of Richmond, on his death in 2017. Amref is honoured that the Duke and his family have chosen to continue his father’s generous support for the organisation.
“My family are very happy to continue this long and close association in supporting Amref in the vital work they do in Africa,” says the Duke.
HM The King
Patron
Amref Health Africa is fortunate to have as our Patron His Majesty King Charles. A strong advocate for the charity sector, His Majesty first encountered Amref during a trip to Kenya in 1971, becoming a Patron in January 1979.
“In the more than fifty years that have elapsed since I first encountered Amref Health Africa, the organisation has evolved to become Africa’s leading health NGO – never losing sight of its commitment to community-driven, locally-led change. By partnering with communities to find lasting solutions to the challenges they face, Amref has changed tens of millions of lives. What makes Amref Health Africa unique is its belief in people as a catalyst for change: a belief I share.”
– HM The King, speaking at Amref’s International Women’s Day event at Clarence House in 2019.
Image (c) Alexi Lubomirski
