Our Board
IVS employees are supported by an elected board of directors and trustees
Richard Williams
Chair and Company Secretary
Richard first became actively involved in IVS as a member of a local group. He has participated in international voluntary projects in the British Isles, Europe and further afield. He has served on IVS Committees in southern England, Scotland, at a national level, and internationally through SCI. He was IVS Hon Treasurer 2008-Oct 2009. Whilst ‘Action not Words’ is a good motto to follow, he believes that amongst the many words expressed amongst Trustees is a duty which includes ensuring that there are as many opportunities as possible, in a variety of ways, for people to volunteer for active community service with IVS. He believes that ideally, people’s first involvement with IVS should be as a volunteer.
Paul Winter
Trustee and Vice-Chair
Paul’s first international youth event was in 1958, in Edinburgh for the Festival, Scottish history and culture. The next five years, vacation travelling and volunteering across Europe were, on graduation, followed by four years as a teacher in newly independent Zambia. Back in England single parenthood provided a hiatus until teenage offspring no longer appreciated his presence while away on holiday. A 1986 London weekend taster with SCI and a CMP Bethnal Green Easter workcamp were the start of a long association with Christian Movement for Peace, Youth Action for Peace, Volunteer Action for Peace. And finally(?) back with SCI. What goes around comes around….
Mohammad Rashid (known as Rashid)
Trustee
Rashid has attended work camps and meetings in Europe and North Africa and participated with local and international volunteers. Some of the workcamps were based in remote locations, for example one host was a rural community, the Camphill Community in rural County Wexford in Ireland.
Rashid is early-retired from his full time work. With his commitment to promote and develop volunteering for peace he uses innovative and future-proof actions to help IVS and SCI successfully meet the objectives in their areas of activity.
Rashid also volunteers as a Public Governor at University Hospital Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
Gemma Taylor
Trustee
Gemma first became involved in international volunteering after university by partaking in a number of work camps in Europe and then Peru, which ultimately led to her relocating there in 2013. Following her volunteering she joined the board of Volunteer Action for Peace (VAP) – the organisation who had coordinated the volunteering in Peru – for which she was Treasurer from 2012 to 2024. Following this VAP merged with IVS and Gemma continues on the board under this merger.
Tim Marc
Trustee
Tim joined the local IVS group in Croydon in 1963 and remained with it until 1978. He was secretary of the group in 1968/69 and chair for six months in 1969/70. During this time, he was, for a short time, on the London Regional Committee. In I980, Tim joined Ealing local group and became its secretary and remained so until the group folded in about 2003. Tim was also on another incarnation of the London Regional Committee. This changed into the Southern Region Action Group (SORAG), on which he stayed until the reorganisation of IVS. He then became a member of the board. Tim went to an international camp in Germany in 1969.
Kerry Hargadon
Trustee
Kerry has been involved in both local and international volunteering since 2014. In 2018, Kerry found SCI through a volunteering placement at the International Secretariat in Antwerp, and has been part of the network in different ways ever since. Her main focuses are projects which connect the IVS network on topics that matter to all of us, like antimilitarism and decolonisation.
Rosemary Hobday
Trustee
Rosemary Hobday became involved with IVS in the late 1980’s, attracted by the Development, Education, Exchange programme DEEP and workcamps in India. She then joined the Namibia bus campaign in the Soviet Union in 1991. More recently Rosemary joined the London/Southern group and is now a board member.