Meet our trustees

• Denise began her early career in finance with the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group, before moving into the energy sector where she worked for British Gas, BG Group Plc and National Grid Plc.
• During her corporate career, she was the Head of Insurance & Risk Management for British Gas Plc, and then Director of Investor Relations at BG Group Plc. At National Grid Plc she led the Global Audit function and set up a new Shared Services Division in the UK. As Commercial Director she was responsible for pricing and customer operations. Subsequently as Global Transformation Director, she led the program to standardize technology, process and workplace culture across UK and US operations.
• She also served for 8 years as a trustee for the Benefact Trust, on the board of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, was Chair of the Royal Academy of Arts Friends Board, and has held various other subsidiary and charitable board positions.
• Denise has just stepped down from the board of the University of Hull, where she also chaired the Remuneration Committee. She has been a mentor to senior leaders in the business and CEOs of large national charities, and is an advocate for good corporate governance and diversity in leadership.
• She is a graduate in Modern Languages, speaking fluent Spanish and a qualified FCII. She was awarded an OBE in the 2016 for services to women in business, and in 2018 an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Hull.

I’m delighted to be joining Girlguiding as chair of the board of trustees. As girls and young women continue to face pressures and inequality, Girlguiding has a vital role to play in supporting them. I look forward to being part of the wonderful work that makes Girlguiding a safe space for girls to laugh, learn and have adventures.

• Tracy is a Girlguiding qualified trainer and has held commissioner roles at all levels. Before taking up the role as chief guide, Tracy was chief commissioner for Anglia.
• She's a registered social worker and, for over 20 years, has supported people impacted by domestic abuse. She’s worked in both the public and charity sector and is currently the Quality and Practice lead (with a domestic abuse specialism) at Spurgeons family charity.
• Tracy was awarded an OBE in January 2026 for services to Girlguiding.

I am constantly inspired by both our amazing volunteers, who give their time and care to providing a welcoming space for girls to experience the fun and adventure guiding offers, and our young members that I see each week laughing with friends, stepping of their comfort zones to try new things and their confidence grow.

• Sally is an adventurer, and the first person to row the Atlantic Ocean twice from east to west.
• She is an accomplished professional speaker, presenter, and management trainer with experience across many sectors.
• Sally is also the co-founder and CEO of the Active Pregnancy Foundation which supports women to stay active throughout pregnancy and beyond.

• With a wealth of experience spanning 3 decades as a qualified accountant in the financial sector, Richard is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He also serves as a senior advisor to the Financial Reporting Council.
• Richard held a number of senior finance roles at NatWest Group, and before that ABN AMRO Bank N.V. in a career spanning over 20 years.
• Richard has a number of longstanding charitable associations and a strong commitment to community, including his local church and being a treasurer for his local Scout group.
• Richard’s dedication to finance, governance, and charitable initiatives, along with his drive to make a meaningful impact, aligns with our Girlguiding values and mission.

• She was fintech growth lead at a B2B fintech focusing on turbocharging the firm’s growth and expanding their portfolio of fintech clients. Most recently she was a sales director within the wealth management business at Lloyd’s Banking Group. She currently spends most of her time building out her portfolio career by consulting with various fintech startups.
• Outside of work, she also runs a female professional community called the ‘Now You’re Talking Network’ which has over 3,000 members from tech and financial services.
• She is also part-time lecturer for Wharton Business School's Executive Presence & Influence and Entrepreneurship Acceleration programmes and a non-executive director for Do It Now Now, a social enterprise committed to the empowerment of Black people.
• Mary's recent accolades include being shortlisted for Women in Banking & Finance Future Leader Awards 2025, Precious Awards Winner 2024 - Outstanding Woman in Banking and Finance, Startups Magazine’s 23 Most Influential Womxn of 2023, Black Women in Asset Management 40 Under 40 Winner, Money 20/20 Europe VIP Speaker 2023, Brummell’s 30 Inspirational Women in the City list 2022, Black Tech Achievement Awards finalist, MCA Young Consultant of the Year finalist 2021, Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist 2020 and No.1 for the Global EMpower Future Leaders List 2020.
• Mary sits on the Nominations and Governance Committee.

Female empowerment has been a key part of my personal and professional journey to date - from being a Brownie and Guide in north London to starting the women in finance society at my university, to launching my own female professional network. The Girlguiding values of sisterhood as well as teamworking and problem solving are why the role of a trustee stood out to me.

• Lately, Amrita has joined the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors as a member of their newly formed Valuation Assurance Committee.
• For her passion for diversity and inclusion, Amrita has been ranked as one of the top 5 Diversity Champions in the UK.
•  Amrita holds a Master’s degree in Commerce (Business), with an advanced diploma in Cyber Security.

Girlguiding is a leading organisation which has been empowering the girl child for decades. I bring significant global corporate experience working for highly respected global brands, experiences such as growing up as a girl child under intense terrorism in the Indian state of Punjab and being the first woman in my family to enter the corporate world.

• During her time at university, Emma held multiple roles including vice president for welfare & community. In this role, she led the creation of the SU housing accreditation scheme, developed a wellbeing network, and secured hundreds of thousands of pounds in rent refunds for students during the pandemic.
• Emma is currently the Head of Services for a local branch of Citizens Advice, where she leads a team of paid staff and volunteers to deliver high quality advice to thousands of households every year.
• Emma is a member of the Finance Committee.

• Alison set up her own consultancy business, Alma Verde Advisors in September 2017.
• Alison has advised companies at board level on managing risks both as general counsel and lawyer. She was head of responsible investment at a private equity fund manager and developed its approach for responsible investment, achieving recognition via an award-winning governance framework for implementation.
• Currently, Alison is a non-executive member on the risk committee of Asper Investment Management, having previously sat on the finance and risk committee of Muscular Dystrophy UK.

I’m so thrilled to be carrying out my guiding promise to ‘use my time and talents wisely’ to help this fantastic organisation empower the next generation of girls.

• An experienced chair of governors in thr London Borough of Islington, Jill worked for national governors association training chairs and clerks.
• Jill was a Brownie, Guide and Ranger guide in the 60s and 70s. She attained the Queens Guide award and silver Duke of Edinburgh award.  She continued to support her local guiding units as a young adult on expeditions.
• Jill recognises the opportunities that she enjoyed as a guide, the social relationships formed, skills learnt from sailing, canoeing, map reading, hiking, leadership, first aid, ironing and many more, as well as the opportunity to travel to Europe and around the UK on expeditions.
• In Hertfordshire, in the 70’s guides worked closely with scouts, and she notes the opportunities for outdoor activities afforded through visits to the scout centre of Lochearnhead, Perthshire.
• A keen tennis player, Jill enjoys the diversity of London’s theatre, restaurants and communities.

• Hannah previously worked as a Process Engineer for Shell in the Netherlands, and received Chartered Engineer status, but now works as a Quantitative Researcher in the finance industry.
• She has been a member of Girlguiding since she first joined as a Rainbow aged 5, and now leads a Guide unit along with being a member of the trustee board since 2020.
• Outside of work and Guiding she loves to run and do yoga, reading good books or baking.
• Hannah sits on the Finance Committee.

Girlguiding is really unique in the way it provides girls and young women with a safe environment in which to be wholly themselves and try new things that they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity or feel able to do, and I think it is so important to have this in today's society. 

• Deborah is widely published on issues relating to how companies can free themselves from legacy IT infrastructure and ways of working, use data to strengthen connections to customers and better use analytics to prepare for AI.
• She is involved in a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the number of women working in technology and in 2025 co-authored the Lovelace report which was launched at the House of Commons.
• She is also a Fellow on the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
• Deborah sits on the Audit and Risk Committee.

Girlguiding provides young women with the opportunity and confidence to have new experiences and build skills vital for their future and also for broader society. I am very proud to be able to use my expertise in digital transformation to support Girlguiding to evolve and continue this important mission.

• She currently works as a safety and risk consultant.
• Prior to that she was Co-op Group Head of Safety, as part of the Co-op’s risk leadership team.
• Previous voluntary roles as a scout leader, chair of her local scout group, and Chair of an inner city school have informed her passion for ensuring that all children have access to organisations like Girlguiding to build their confidence, have equal access to opportunities, and help them to have the achieve their ambitions.

I am proud to be returning to Girlguiding to support the new strategy, in particular to help us to be inclusive for all. We have an important role to play in helping girls to develop the skills and confidence they need for success.

• Supriya is a chartered accountant with over 15 years post qualification experience.
• She is currently the head of regulatory assurance at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and has held various roles within finance, regulatory and risk areas for over 11 years. She has been involved in the diversity and inclusion agenda at RBS, as the lead on gender. And mentored external mentees and female colleagues through her involvement in a race-related mentoring scheme
• Supriya has completed an advanced diploma in psychotherapeutic counselling.

As Girlguiding continues to grow and expand, I can support the board by sharing my experience in finance, strategy and risk management from many years of working in big, complex and regulated companies.

• Abbie particularly enjoys running camps and events for the young members in her local area.
• Abbie has previously been a Girlguiding Advocate.
• Professionally, Abbie is a Mental Health Nurse, working within an NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health outpatient service. Abbie works with individuals, families, and wider systems to support young people with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental difficulties and brings safeguarding knowledge from this role.
• She also works as an equestrian coach, primarily working through the pony club, where she is also the volunteer health and safety officer for her local branch.
• In her spare time, Abbie is a lifeboat crew member for the RNLI in her town, and enjoys playing the bagpipes in her local pipe band.
• Abbie is particularly passionate about ensuring young people's voices are at the heart of decision making within the organisation. She also has a keen interest in charity governance and regulations.