Four new trustees for charity

The Royal Free Charity has appointed Caroline Clarke, Melanie Sherwood, Nicola Grinstead and Katie Morrison to its board of trustees.

Caroline Clarke has been group chief executive of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) since February 2019, having previously served as the RFL’s deputy chief executive and chief finance officer.  She was formerly director of strategy at NHS North Central London and before that she was an associate partner in KPMG’s health strategy team. Caroline is also a trustee of Overcoming MS and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the representative body for finance staff in healthcare.

Melanie Sherwood worked for many years in the retail, publishing and property sector, having gained an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.  She is a trustee of two charities: It’s Your Life, which helps underprivileged children and families in the UK, and Grenada Schools, an educational charity.  She has also been an active member of various charity committees, including Save the Children and Centrepoint.

Nicola Grinstead, currently director of West London Children’s Healthcare at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, brings leadership experience in both the NHS and as a charity trustee.  She was deputy CEO at Great Ormond Street Hospital, having previously served as director of operations and performance at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and has held a number of other senior management positions in London teaching hospitals.  She is also the former chair of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Katie Morrison has 20 years’ experience of communications and is currently director of communications, campaigns and UK programmes at Plan International UK.  She previously led the communications functions for both Great Ormond Street Hospital and Charity.  She started her career at the BBC before moving to Comic Relief and then UNICEF UK, where she managed the organisation’s UK media and communications work.

Judy Dewinter, chair of the Royal Free Charity, said: “I am delighted to welcome Caroline, Melanie, Nicola and Katie to our board.  The Covid-19 crisis has reinforced the critical role we play as the lynchpin of support for RFL.   I know each of them will play a seminal part in driving the charity forward at this critical time, as we align even more closely with the trust to help it fulfill its clinical, research and teaching ambitions.”