Valeria Locatelli
Chair of the Board
Valeria is a qualified Accountant and Treasurer with over 20 years of experience working in Audit, Risk and Compliance roles in Financial Services. She has held Trustee roles for various charities for over 10 years and is very passionate about giving back to the local community and volunteering in particular.
Samantha Alford
Data Protection Lead
Samantha Alford is an established technical author, instructor and business management specialist.
With over 35 years of experience in compliance, governance and oversight she supports our board as the data protection lead.
Alan Bucknall
Alan is a former Civil Servant, having spent 10 years as a scientist (Biologist & Analytical Chemist) and 30+ years as Quality Manager in what is now the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) which is part of the Department of Environment & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). As a Quality Manager, he helped the business efficiently and effectively deliver its services to customers and stakeholders in line with good practices embodied in various ISO Standards/Regulations and relevant legislation.
Alan also spent several years in the Government Office for Science helping to promote the use of Science-based evidence to achieve good government policy making and decision making.
He has held several volunteering roles. As a long-term widow and single parent, Alan was the local co-ordinator for the WAY (Widowed and Young) charity and a volunteer bereavement counsellor/trainer with Waverley & Guildford Cruse. Within APHA he served on the Equality Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) committee working to provide a ‘level playing field’ for everyone. As a member of the APHA Staff Engagement Committee he worked to involve staff with running the business. He was also an APHA Mental Health Buddy. Alan was a trustee on the St Andrews church PCC, a committee member and treasurer for the Farnham Society and a Trustee for the Farnham Public Art Trust.
Julie Friend
Julie has extensive experience as a commercial and results driven Senior HR Leader within the Corporate environment. She has held multiple global and regional HR roles across different industries; leading projects and partnering with leaders and executives on their strategy, organisational design, change management, talent management, transformation, mergers and acquisitions, leadership development and company culture.
In addition to her trustee role with VASWS, Julie is currently a Volunteer Nature Guide with Dose of Nature; where she leads one-to-one nature-based sessions with GP referred clients, to help improve their mental health in a way that is effective, sustainable and accessible. She also volunteers with the Research Team at Shooting Star Children's Hospices and serves on her local Patient Participation Group.
Meet Our Trustees
Our trustees are vital to the organisation. They help lead the organisation, set the direction and make key decisions. They work closely with our Joint-CEOs and Senior Management Team to ensure that the charity complies with its governance requirements.
Brenda Garcia Bravo
Treasurer
With over five years of experience in Treasury and Financial Planning within the Peruvian corporate sector, Brenda is now applying her professional expertise to the UK volunteer sector. In addition to her finance background, Brenda volunteers as a Spanish teacher for children. She is a firm believer in the power of volunteering to drive personal and professional growth.
Alex Green
Trustee
Sam Lewis
Sam is the Service Operations Manager at Pilotlight, a social enterprise working to grow collaboration between businesses and charities. Starting his journey as a Project Manager at Pilotlight, Sam has personally coached over a dozen charity CEOs and directly supported over twenty-five charities in the UK through Pilotlight's pro-bono programmes. Throughout his time at Pilotlight Sam has developed a strong understanding of what makes a successful partnership between the private and social sectors, and how mutually beneficial approaches can drive impact.
Now, Sam works within Pilotlight's Operations Team to drive efficiencies and ensure quality service for Pilotlights partners. Sam also serves on the DEI committee for Pilotlight, helping to build the knowledge of the team and enable an inclusive approach to service delivery.
Outside of work, Sam is a lover of wildlife and the outdoors, an occasional forager, photographer, and enthusiast of running, cycling, and Muay Thai.