This group is made up of the local infrastructure organisations whose own role is to support the VCSE organisations in their area.
The steering group guides the work of the Alliance and helps develop partnership structures with the NHS. It brings together the VCSE local infrastructure organisations in the counties and district that comprise the BOB integrated care system.
The steering group has nominated members to:
- BOB Integrated Care Partnership
- BOB People Committee
- BOB Place & System Development Committee
- BOB Health Inequalities working group
- Oxfordshire Place Partnership
- Its members sit on the Health & Wellbeing Boards of the counties and districts.
Hover over each image to view their bio.
Steering Group
Rachel Spencer
CEO of Reading Voluntary Action
Member
As CEO, Rachel is building a creative and dynamic VCSE in Reading so enabling residents to thrive. RVA hosts social prescribing link workers and Rachel sits on Reading’s HWB.
Katie Higginson
CEO of Community Impact Bucks
Deputy Chair
Katie led regional grant-making for Children in Need. CEO since 2019, she sits on the Bucks Health & Wellbeing Board and helps people find volunteering roles that they care about.
Philip Bell
CEO of Involve
Member
A qualified social worker, Phil has worked across health and social care. He joined Involve in 2019 to support community groups and local charities to grow and develop through training and networking. Involve also hosts social prescribing link workers.
William Butler
Chair
William held leadership roles in national charities like Addaction and Arthritis Care. He is Chair of Directory of Social Change and a patient representative on Thames Valley Cancer Alliance.
Laura Price
CEO of Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action
Member
Laura was a County Councillor for 8 years after an earlier career in publishing. She has led OCVA since 2020, offering training and advice to all kinds of VCSE organisations from football clubs to community larders. She sits on Oxfordshire’s HWB.
Garry Poulson
Director of Volunteer Centre West Berkshire
Member
Garry has spent 25 years as CEO advising and supporting the local VCSE in West Berkshire, especially community transport and befriending schemes.
Stephen Barnett
Alliance Director at BOB VCSE Health Alliance
Stephen worked for professional leadership networks in social care, health and VCSE. From 2018, he combined strategic advisory work with running a young dementia club before taking up the Alliance role in 2022.
Emily Lewis-Edwards
Co-CEO of Community First Oxfordshire (CFO)
Member
Emily’s organisation follows ABCD principles which focus on what’s strong not what’s wrong in communities. She has developed rural community transport schemes in Oxfordshire and worked on profiles of healthy communities.
Tim Parry
CEO at Connecting Communities in Berkshire (CCB)
Member
Tim has always had a fondness for the heritage, landscapes and communities that make up rural Berkshire and has been the charity’s CEO since 2012.
