Carol became CEO of Voluntary Action Swindon in April 2023 having been promoted from her role as Funding and Governance Manager. Before this Carol was Manager of Healthwatch Swindon & Bath and North East Somerset. She has managed teams in both Swindon Colleges, prior to them merging, and Adult Education at Swindon Borough Council. Mainly working with disadvantaged individuals and communities.
Pooja joined Voluntary Action Swindon in June 2025 as the Funding, Governance and Support Manager. Prior to this, she worked with the Alzheimer’s Society as a Community Developer in Swindon, focusing on strengthening local engagement, development and support networks. Pooja holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and brings a strong background in community development, partnership working, and strategic support for the voluntary sector.
Terry has joined us to help strengthen the Swindon Equality Coalition and other initiatives to promote equality and inclusion across Swindon. Terry will also encourage and support collaboration between Swindon’s voluntary sector organisations.
Shaz manages the organisations finance and accounts, as well as being the key person for administering requests for DBS checks.
Seniz has worked in the voluntary and community sector for over 12 years in both a voluntary and professional capacity. Her current role involves developing and expanding the services VAS offers, with a strong emphasis on our social media presence.
Chris joined VAS in 2025 as our Veterans Support Navigator. His role is to encourage the links between charities and organisations in local voluntary and community sector, statutory services and networks that provide support to military veterans. Chris spent 22 years in the army and over 15 years working in the voluntary sector.
Lily joined VAS in February 2024 as a Business Admin Apprentice, working towards her Business Admin Level 3 qualification. She has recently finished this and is now our Marketing, Communications & Admin Officer, managing room bookings, social media, VAS id, our Swindon Charity Directory and more.
Lisa manages our Youth Voice project, which has just opened for referrals in December 2023. Lisa has worked in advocacy or with care experienced young people for the last 13 years. Working in these roles increased her passion for how essential youth voice is for our children and for our society, which has led her to this role and project. Lisa is also the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Ansuiya joined VAS in March 2025 as a Community Connector. She completed her undergraduate degree in Dentistry, from India and her postgraduate degree in Public Health from King’s College London, last year. Ansuiya is enthusiastic for contributing towards reducing health inequalities within populations and improving health systems. She is excited for what’s going to be ahead for her in this journey.
Jade worked on a bereavement and power of attorney helpdesk for over 5 years and was a domiciliary carer for a year in 2024. These two roles opened her eyes to never really knowing what people are experiencing behind closed doors, so kindness and understanding should be practiced no matter how people portray themselves. Jade is looking forward to helping towards change on Parks as she is big on inclusion and making people feel heard. She is excited to continue discovering what is happening in the area she grew up in, and get involved.
Hannah joined VAS in February 2025 as a Community Connector. She has spent the past 4 years studying mental health and neurology and is currently taking a Social Psychology Degree with The Open University. Hannah has a tremendous passion for listening, helping others and delivering positive change within the Moredon community and is excited for what’s to come as plans begin to take place.
Emily joined VAS as a Community Connector in February. She has been a community volunteer for over 20 years and is passionate about bringing positive sustainable change to peoples lives and environments. Since the community connector concept was announced she was a keen champion of the project and eager to bring it to her local area, Penhill. Emily has a Level 3 in Adult Education and Training and has a BSc(Hons) Environmental Studies – both of which she uses in her role to inspire people and organisations in building stronger, healthier and happier communities.
James manages all aspects of the buildings we are responsible for, including the Sanford House building which we manage on behalf of Swindon Borough Council. James also manages the Swindon Shopmobility and Cafe Mobility services which operates from the rear car park of Sanford House.
Mesut is based at Swindon Shopmobility, situated in the rear car park of Sanford House, a project run by Voluntary Action Swindon providing mobility scooters, powered and manual wheelchairs to the general public to enable them to get around the town centre. His role involves booking equipment (in and out), checking/renewing memberships and general communications with customers. Mesut also completes cleaning and general maintenance and upkeep of the equipment and building.
Chris is responsible for day to day maintenance tasks across our three buildings. He also assists with the setting up of room bookings in our Sanford House building. Chris also provides additional support to the team in Shopmobility during busier periods.
Shabbir provides day to day support across all of the VAS services delivered at both Sanford House and Swindon Shopmobility. Shabbir also provides additional support at our John Street building as required.
Bob is a trustee of various charities in Swindon and Belarus; he is chair of governors at Westlea Primary School. By profession Bob is a facilities, health & safety and building projects manager, working on various projects in Swindon.
Steve has worked as an electronic engineer and as a Baptist minister. He is committed to helping Swindon to become a better and more equitable place both through his vocation and as the lead chaplain at Swindon’s Great Western Hospital. Committed to inclusion and diversity, Steve has been involved with the Swindon Equality Coalition and chaired the group for several years. .
Steve worked in IT for a large financial organisation in Swindon for 34 years before taking retirement. During that time, he was an active rep for the union and served on the National Executive Committee for over 15 years, including 2 years as President of the Union and a number of years as Treasurer. During my career I was a membership assessor of the BCS for a number of years and I was chair of the PTA for my boys’ primary school.
Dave served in the British Army as a Royal Engineer, serving in BAOR, Cyprus, Denmark, Gibraltar, Hong Kong as well as the UK. He has been employed as an HGV driver, process development technologist and technical officer. Dave is the current president of North Wilts Hockey Club and treasurer at Buckhurst Park Community Centre, where he coordinates welfare support for ex-Gurkha veterans. A busy man, Dave is also chair of the Meres Residents Association and a parish councillor for Nythe, Eldene & Liden.
Mark is an experienced business analyst and project manager. Mark has experience of working in communications. Mark is also actively involved in a range of charitable activities and roles within Swindon.
Neville became a Trustee for VAS in May 2025. He is passionate about helping to develop cohesive communities. He gained a Master’s degree in community cohesion management from Coventry University. Neville initially worked as an electrician, before retuning to education at 40 gaining an BSc degree in Psychology. He worked for Herefordshire Council for 20 years as a Race Equality Officer, expanding that role to become the County’s first Community Cohesion Development Officer and for 10 years the Prevent Lead and Channel Panel Chair for Herefordshire Council. He is also experienced in designing and delivering training and train the trainer sessions on all things EDI and prevent.
Pam was co-opted by the VAS Board on 30th July 2025 to join the Board of Trustees pending formal appointment at the next VAS AGM. Pam was previously the Head of the Zurich Community Trust before joining VAS as CEO in 2019 and latterly moving to a part time role representing the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE) in the Integrated Care System when Carol stepped up to CEO in April 2023. Recently retired from this role Pam continues in a voluntary capacity as the VCSE Partner Member on the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care Board and as a member of the BSW VCSE Alliance. Pam has always been and continues to be a passionate advocate of the VCSE and looks forward to continuing to use this passion in her new governance role for VAS and to support VAS in it’s delivery of it’s diverse portfolio of support to the sector.
Voluntary Action Swindon is a registered charity (287732) and company limited by guarantee (1604168).
