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Fundraising and charity leadership appointments round-up for April 2025
Howard Lake | 1 April 2025 | News
This round-up features appointments for AFP Global, Alcohol Change UK, CIOF Insight in Fundraising group, United Response, Revolutionise International Ltd, Harris Manchester College, Sight Scotland, Juno Women’s Aid and Bield Housing and Care.
Colin Skehan at Revolutionise
Colin Skehan takes over as CEO at Revolutionise International from today, having joined the accelerator for people with purpose just over a year ago.
He succeeds founder and CEO Alan Clayton, who will continue as Chair of the business.
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Skehan, based in Dublin, has worked with a range of Revolutionise’s charity clients in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, and Germany, supporting growth and impact in air ambulance services, military veterans’ services, mental health, youth mentoring, international development and medical research and care. He has also presented a number of Great Fundraising Masterclasses to international clients.
An avid copywriter and individual giving expert, he lead the Fundraising and Marketing team at Trócaire for six years during which time they twice won ‘Fundraising Team of the Year’.
Skehan said:
“Nonprofits have the same blockers the world over. Blockers that stunt growth in impact and income. This isn’t good enough, when these issues stop orgs from living their purpose and addressing life’s great problems. Revolutionise has dedicated over a decade to understanding these blockers, and how the Great fundraising organisations overcome them to unleash massive growth.
“Revolutionise has the solutions, and a genuinely amazing team. I watched and learned from this team intently over the past 10 years. So, it’s the privilege of my life to be able to work with that team and to help bring those solutions to the world.”
H. Art Taylor at AFP Global
H. Art Taylor has been appointed as the new president and chief executive officer of AFP Global (the Association of Fundraising Professionals), “the standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising” for 60 years. He and takes up the roles from 1 April 2025, succeeding Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, who has served in the role for the past seven and a half years.
For the past 23 years Taylor has been president and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, where he championed charity transparency and ethical fundraising practices, and spearheaded initiatives in donor trust and technology.
At the BBB Wise Giving Alliance introduced the Accredited Charity Seal, and helped support charitable giving through the launch of tools like AskGive.org and GiveSafely.io.
He also co-authored The Overhead Myth letters, challenging misconceptions about nonprofit efficiency, and collaborated with GuideStar and Independent Sector to create Charting Impact, a framework to help charities communicate their effectiveness.
He is also the founder and host of The Heart of Giving Podcast, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.
AFP has more than 26,000 members in over 220 professional chapters who raise over $100 billion annually for a variety of charitable organisations and causes across the globe.
Professor Beth Breeze is next Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Professor Beth Breeze OBE has been elected as the next Principal of Harris Manchester College in Oxford. She takes on the new role on 1 October 2025.
Breeze is Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the University of Kent, and founded the Centre for Philanthropy in 2012. Before that she had worked as a charity fundraiser, with experience of major gift fundraising. She was also the Director of Kent’s Global Challenges Doctoral Centre.
She was awarded the OBE in the 2021 New Years Honours list for services to philanthropic research and fundraising.
Harris Manchester College was founded as a dissenting academy in 1786 to provide higher education to Nonconformists when they were excluded from Oxford and Cambridge universities due to religious tests. It became a full College of the University of Oxford in 1996.
This radical tradition of inclusion and openness is maintained today through its mission of admitting and supporting mature students (aged 21+) at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Breeze herself undertook a PhD in Sociology as a mature student, graduating in the year she turned 40.
Professor Breeze said:
“Being elected principal of this extraordinary college sparks feelings of joy, gratitude and optimism. Joy to be joining a happy community that values academic excellence and inclusivity in equal measure. Gratitude for the talent and hard work of every member of staff and for the generosity of all the College’s many supporters. Optimism that together we can continue providing a unique university education that unlocks the potential of mature students taking the brave step to start or return to study in later life.”
The election of an experienced philanthropy academic with charity fundraising experience as a Principal of an Oxford University college is a significant achievement.
Mick Urwin at Alcohol Change UK
Mick Urwin has been elected as the new Chair at Alcohol Change UK by the national alcohol harm reduction charity’s board of trustees.
After more than two years serving on the Board at Alcohol Change UK and taking a leading role in its various sub-committees, Urwin brings extensive understanding and experience across policing, community projects and the charity sector. He steps into the role following the unexpected death of former Chair Prof Isabelle Szmigin in December 2024.
Urwin is a retired Police Sergeant who specialised in alcohol harm reduction, creating policies and strategies to tackle underage drinking and alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and violence in the night-time economy.
He is a former member of the National Police Chiefs Council Licensing and Alcohol Harm group, where he advised the Chief Officer lead and Home Office.
He is also an advisor to his local Police & Crime Commissioner as a subject matter expert on alcohol harm, acts as the Chair of a local community project tackling underage drinking and is Vice Chair of the board of trustees for One Punch UK, a charity focused on raising awareness of the devastation of a single punch or act of violence where alcohol is often a contributing factor.
Paul Seabrook at CIOF’s Insight in Fundraising Special Interest Group
Paul Seabrook has been appointed as the new Chair of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Insight in Fundraising Special Interest Group.
He takes over from Steve White, who was Chair for two years, during which time he ran the group’s first in-person awards since 2019. Next year is the 20th anniversary of the group.
Seabrook will be supported by two new Vice-Chairs: Leigh Wetherall, who will co-lead on delivering the 2025 Conference, and Anita Connolly, who will continue as Communications Lead. Holly Jevons has also been appointed as joint Secretary and Treasurer for the group.
Kate Terroni joins United Response as CEO
Kate Terroni has been appointed CEO of disability charity United Response, joining from Care Quality Commission where she was the deputy Chief Executive and interim Chief Executive.
Kate’s 23-year career in social care has been dedicated to ensuring that people with lived experience drive meaningful change. She began by working in frontline roles supporting people with learning disabilities, then as a qualified social worker, and manager and as a deputy director of commissioning.
As Director of Adult Social Care at Oxfordshire County Council she embedded a level of co-production across the county which the Social Care Institute of Excellence commended. She then spent over five years at the Care Quality Commission, overseeing the regulation of all adult social care providers in England.
As the CEO of United Response, Kate will use her passion for co-production to deliver a long-term vision which builds on the charity’s 50-year history as one of the largest providers of social care support in England and Wales.
Karen Hodgins joins Sight Scotland
Karen Hodgins is joining Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans as the new Head of Fundraising and Audience Development. She brings 18 years of experience in managing high-performing fundraising teams across diverse charitable causes.
She joins from the Scottish SPCA, where she served as Head of Public Fundraising for nearly two years. Before that, she spent two years at Children First as Head of Supporter Experience, following 11 years at the Stroke Association in various leadership roles, including Head of Regional Fundraising for the North.
She joins as Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans embark on an ambitious new three-year strategy aimed at transforming the lives of people with sight loss across Scotland.
Karen said: “My passion for the sector began in community fundraising, which I see as the ‘shop window’ of any charity, providing an invaluable connection to our dedicated supporters. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of leading teams responsible for appeals, legacies, corporate partnerships, and virtual events. What truly inspires me is seeing fundraisers push their limits to support vital causes.”
Yasmin Rehman to leave Juno Women’s Aid
Yasmin Rehman, who has worked in the women’s sector for 40 years, is stepping down as CEO at Juno Women’s Aid. During her time there she has steered the charity through significant changes in which it has doubled in size and extended its range of services to help women and children deal with the impact of abusive relationships.
She will be succeeded by her current deputy, Paula Clarke, who will step up as interim CEO from 1 April.
Of her role at Juno, Yasmin said: “It’s not an easy job. It’s damned hard work, and it can get quite frustrating. But I’ve worked with the best team, the most amazing women and incredible statutory and voluntary sector partners.
“I’m really sad to go… [but] I will still be working in the field of violence against women and girls in some capacity.”
Under Yasmin’s leadership Juno, which receives more than 16,000 calls to its helpline each year, has doubled staffing numbers to more than 100. The charity’s latest figures for 2023-24 showed it had worked with 2,980 women – an increase of 9% on the previous year – and 501 children, a rise of 6%.
Debbie Collins is new CEO at Bield Housing and Care
Debbie Collins is the new Chief Executive at Bield Housing and Care, having been appointed after a year as interim CEO.
A CIMA-qualified accountant, Debbie’s experience spans senior roles in both the public and private sectors, including six years working in social housing. She originally joined Bield in 2023 as the organisation’s first Chief Operating Officer, where she led across financial and organisational delivery.
Heather Little at SOFII Foundation
Heather Little MA FFIA has been appointed as the new Chair of the board of The SOFII Foundation.
A SOFII trustee since 2021, she is an experienced philanthropy leader with significant experience in the Australian higher education sector and with UK charities.
Little succeeds Meredith Niles who has served SOFII and its global community as first trustee and then Chair.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.