Our Board

Outward is governed by a committed voluntary Board of Trustees, who provide direction, leadership and oversight through their time and a wealth of experience and expertise which all supports Outward to be the successful and thriving charity it is today.

• Oluyemisi Akosile Board Member

  Oluyemisi was born, grew up, and studied in Nigeria before moving to England 26 years ago. Oluyemisi has an MSc Degree in Social Work; she is registered with Social Work England and is also a member of the British Association of Social Workers. Oluyemisi previously had BSc and MSc degrees in Political Science in Nigeria before moving to the UK. Her working experience in Health and Social Care services spans over 23 years. She has worked with adults with physical frailty, physical and learning disabilities, autism, and dementia. She has also worked in various Local Authorities, including hospital settings, in various capacities as a Social Work Assistant; Social Worker; Senior Social Worker; Practice Educator; Best Interest Assessor; and Team Manager. Oluyemisi lives in Kent and currently works as an Independent Social Worker/Best Interest Assessor.

• Matt Tandy Board Member
  

  Matt joined the Outward Board in September 2023. He has previously run businesses in recruitment, technology, and social enterprise.

  In 2019, Matt left the private sector to join Thames Reach, a homeless charity in London, where he works in the Rapid Response Team: a night-time outreach service that operates 365 days a year. The RRT visits 20,000 locations annually and works with 4,000 people sleeping rough.

  Matt has a BA in Philosophy from the University of Nottingham and is currently undertaking an MSc in Psychology from Birkbeck College, University of London. At Outward, he hopes to combine his business background with his frontline experience of working with vulnerable people.

• Daniel Haile Board Member
  

  Dan joined the Outward Board in July 2023.

  Dan is an economist, working for Alma Economics, a consultancy specialising in providing economic and research advice for charities and governments. He has worked on projects about homelessness, adult education and children’s services.

  Dan has a background in the civil service, working in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Health and Social Care. He led DHSC’s analysis on supported housing and home adaptations.

  Dan lives in Hackney and was drawn to Outward through his experience working on social care issues at a national level and family experience of the care sector. He joined the Board in order to support high-quality service user-led care provision in his local area.

  Dan has a degree in History and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Masters in Economics from UCL.

• Alison Muir Board Member
  

  Alison joined the Newlon and Outward Board in January 2023. She is an accomplished Non-Executive Director with a combination of local authority, private sector, G15 housing association and homelessness charity sector experience. As a driven, dynamic senior leader who builds and nurtures diverse organisations, Alison creates and deploys effective change strategies and engages with stakeholders at all levels. She is proactive, innovative and a commercially focused leader with highly developed interpersonal skills both at an executive and operational level. She also has an Executive MBA.

• Ashley Staines Board Member

  Ash joined the Outward Board in 2022. Ash is the CEO and co-founder of Volunteero, a volunteer management platform for charities, NHS trusts, and local authorities. Volunteero is a platform that enables voluntary organisations to save time managing volunteers and provide the best possible volunteer experience.  It was awarded Innovate UK grant funding and CVC Young Innovators award and featured in national publications like the BBC.

  Before starting his own business, Ash spent 6 years working for Goldman Sachs. Ash has extensive experience dealing with the third sector and in launching Volunteero has managed all aspects of business development from fundraising, sales, operations and marketing.

• Eilish Kavanagh Board Member
  

  Eilish is a qualified accountant, ACMA, with senior leadership experience in the commercial and charity sectors, from Nestle and Sotheby’s to Friends of the Earth. She has held senior Director roles overseeing all aspects of internal operations including Finance, HR, IT, Facilities as well as Strategic and Business Planning. Bringing these skills and experience together she has also led transformation projects enabling organisational improvement and excellence.

  She has a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Masters in Environment, Society & Policy from the Open University.

  Eilish is also a non-executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, the National Park City Foundation and the Schools Energy Cooperative.

• Jane Everton Chair of the Board
  

  Jane joined the Outward Board, as chair, in September 2022 and is also a Newlon Housing Trust board member.

  Jane is a former senior civil servant with 38 years of public sector experience and principal interests in social policy and housing, particularly in homelessness and supported housing. As a recognised national leader in housing, planning and social policy, she has a track record of delivering complex national policy, legislation and major corporate change.

  Most recently Jane served as Deputy Director for the Social Housing Department for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government where she helped to deliver the Social Housing White and Green Papers, a key element of the Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, working with residents in social housing around the country.

  Jane was awarded a CBE for public service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2015.

• Rama Varsani Board Member
  

  Rama was brought up in Kenya and moved to England about 35 years ago. She gained her degree in computing at the University of Westminster.

  Rama has had various roles as a solution consultant professional working with software companies. She currently works as a leader in solution consulting. She has worked with many customers on helping them with their digital transformation journey. Rama’s career has provided her with skills in software technology, supporting sales organisations, creating business cases, customer success and helping clients increase efficiency within their organisation.

  Rama is a STEM ambassador where she volunteers at various schools to inspire young students, especially girls in STEM roles. She is a trustee with a charity organisation called Learning to Work. Rama is passionate about inspiring women in technology and is currently a co-chair of the woman’s belonging group.

  Rama was attracted by Outward as she saw an opportunity to give back to a great cause that is close to her heart.

• Zahra Maye Board Member

  Zahra joined the Outward Board in 2020. She is a Housing Related Support Commissioning Manager, responsible for undertaking all aspects of the commissioning cycle and delivering a strategically relevant and user-centred housing support function for those experiencing homelessness. Zahra has extensive work experience across homelessness and is committed to developing services with the people who use them, and is passionate about removing the barriers that keep people trapped in a revolving door of homelessness and dependency.