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ADD International's Trustees
Saghir Alam OBE (Chair)
Bob Niven CBE (Treasurer)
Chris Gillies
Liz Goold
Agnes Kalibbala
Charlie Massey
Sebenzile Matsebula
Neelam Makhijani
Sally Neville
Jane Anthony
Balakrishna Venkatesh
ADD International is committed to inclusion and diversity not just as a principle but as practice. At trustee level this is demonstrated by having a target of at least 50% of trustees being disabled people and 50% women. Currently, four of ADD’s ten trustees are disabled people, and four are women and the staff and trustees comprise people representing a community voice from Africa and Asia.
Saghir Alam
Saghir became Chair of ADD in June 2010, the position previously held by Chris Gillies. Saghir is a leading expert in Human Rights issues, advising a number of government departments. Saghir is a lawyer and Commissioner of the Disability Rights Commission leading on partnership and capacity building. In 2007 Saghir was appointed Independent Governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy by the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary.
Saghir is the Patron of Include Me Too, a national Black and Minority Ethnic families and children organisation and works with the Ethnic Disabled Children Society.
Bob Niven
Bob joined ADD's board of Trustees in July 2009. Bob holds several Trusteeships, including among others, being Chair of the Audit Committee and Non-Executive Director at the Office of the Public Guardian (appointed February 2008), Disability Law Service (appointed October 2007) and the Royal Association for the Disabled and Rehabilitation (RADAR, appointed March 2008).
Bob was the Chief Executive of the Disability Rights Commission (December 1999 – September 2007). Before that he held key positions in the UK government civil service, including among others, being Director, Employment Department and Department for Education and Employment; and the Cabinet Office Secretariat.
Chris Gillies
Chris is ADD’s longest serving Trustee having joined in 1989, and taking on the role of Chair in 1996-2010. Chris brings to ADD’s board the leadership skills demonstrated in his position as Head of Growth and Strategic Marketing - Zurich Financial Services' Global Life Business. Chris is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Zurich Community Trust (UK) and a Board Member of the Global Zurich Foundation.
Chris’s commitment to the empowerment of disabled people living in developing countries was recognised in 2007 with a Lifetime Achievement Award for promoting the Human Rights of disabled people in Africa and Asia from the Royal Association of Disability and Rehabilitation.
Liz Goold
Liz brings over 20 years experience as a consultant and facilitator in organisational development, capacity-building, learning and change. Currently Liz is engaged in consultancy with the UK public sector.
Agnes Kalibbala
Agnes brings a unique dimension to ADD’s board having once been the Country Director of ADD Uganda. Agnes left in 2002 to take up the position of Ambassador and Deputy High Commissioner of the republic of Uganda to Kenya and has since been appointed as the United Nations Deputy Permanent Representative of Uganda.
Agnes is also a trustee of Water Aid UK and the National Strategy for the Advancement of Rural Women in Uganda.
Charlie Massey
Charlie has extensive experience within the UK government of developing and delivering strategies and of the social model of disability through his work on pensions. Following a three year secondment to the UK’s regulatory agency for pensions, Charlie returned to his position as the Ageing Society Director in the Department for Work and Pensions.
Sebenzile Matsebula
Sebe is Deputy Vice President of Rehabilitation International, Africa. She played a leading role and was instrumental in the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was adopted in 2006.
Sebe is a Paul Harris Fellow, an award presented by Rotary International Award in recognitionof her contribution to the emancipation of disabled people.
Neelam Makhijani
Neelam is the CEO of the Resource Alliance, whose mission is to build capacity of organisations worldwide, primarily in fundraising and related areas. Resource Alliance has offices in India, Uganda, Brazil and Czech Republic. Neelam has worked as a fundraiser with Oxfam GB and Help the Aged. Prior to moving to the UK in 2000, Neelam was the Regional Director with Help Age India, based in Delhi and Mumbai.
Sally Neville
Sally is a Social Development Consultant with specific expertise in inequality and social exclusion. Working both internationally and in the UK, Sally has extensive experience in qualitative research and participatory evaluation, policy and strategy development and project and programme design and management. Much of her work has focused on promoting the rights and opportunities of disabled people underpinned by the social model to disability, for example she is currently managing a three-year study on the impact of adult social care on the lives of older and disabled people.
Jane Anthony
Jane is an Associate Tutor & Research Associate with the University of Sussex, where she lectures on International Education and Development Programmes. She has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in International Education and Development and a Masters of Educations (M.Ed) in Early Childhood & Special Education. Sally has worked internationally in the field of inclusive education for the past 15 years, with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Balakrishna Venkatesh
Venky is a postgraduate with a Diploma in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) from the University of London, and credits on Service Management at the University of Buckingham. He has worked for over 20 years in the field of disability and development. Besides successfully setting up ADD India, he has pioneered organizational work in disability through existing NGOs, and developed and implemented training, planning and monitoring modules and systems for this work.
Costs associated with attending trustee meetings are met by ADD and reasonable out of pocket expenses. Trustees are accommodated in accessible premises and, when required, travel arrangements can be organised on their behalf.
ADD International's Chair Saghir Alam. Photograph: Disability Rights Commission
Bob Niven, photograph: ADD International/James Oliver
ADD International's former Chair Chris Gillies receiving the RADAR lifetime achievment award from Lord Jack Ashley
Liz Goold, photograph: ADD International/Gail Johnston
Agnes Kadama Kalibbala, photograph: IISD and Earth Negotiations Bulletin
Charlie Massey
Sebenzile Matsebula, photograph: ADD International/Gail Johnston