Trustees & Patrons

The Board of Trustees oversee our strategic direction and monitor how we deliver our objectives. The Board of Trustees come from a diverse and varied background and have a great deal of relevant experience and expertise which they use to assist the Executive Team to achieve our vision.

Trustees

Harjit Singh

Chair, One Vision Project

Dame Helen Hyde DBE

Faizal Hakim

VICE PRESIDENT

Sharon Platt-McDonald

Gillian Joseph

Patrons

Robert Voss CBE CStJ

Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire

Henry Holland-Hibbert

Chair, Hertfordshire Community Foundation

Luther Blissett

Former Professional Footballer and Manager

Peter Taylor

Elected Mayor of Watford Borough Council

Cllr Asif Khan

County Councilor Hertfordshire

Cllr Mark Watkin

County Councilor Hertfordshire

Dean Russell MP

Member of Parliament for For Watford

OVE Dr Diane Whiteside

Superintendent of Police Hertfordshire Constabulary

Harjit Singh

Chair, One Vision Project

Harjit Singh is One Vision’s Chair of Trustees. He is also a Chair of Watford Interfaith Association (WIFA), Chair of the Eastern Region of Asian Fire Service Association (AFSA) and Trustee for Watford & Three Rivers Trust (W3RT).

He is an Executive Member of the Sikh Council, the Ex-President of Sri Guru Singh Sabha and a Founding Member of the British Organisation of Sikh Students (BOSS).

Singh is passionate about community engagement. He enjoys working in a team with like-minded individuals to bring about change in Watford and the surrounding areas.

In addition to community work, Singh works for the Hertfordshire Fire And Rescue Service. His wife and family are the most important people in his life as they are the ones who support him in achieving his goals.

Dame Helen Hyde DBE

Dame Helen Hyde studied at Witwatersrand University South Africa, King’s College London, and the Centre for Holocaust Studies at the Institute of Education London. A career in teaching culminated in becoming Head teacher of Watford Grammar School for Girls. She has been an External Advisor to School Governors and an Executive Mentor to a number of Head teacher. She continues to advise Headteachers.

She teacher the Kindertransport and Holocaust programs in a number of schools. Helen is a Fellow of the Imperial War Museum. She is a Trustee of the Holocaust Education Trust, the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage. She was appointed a Holocaust commissioner and sat on the Educational Advisory Board of the National Holocaust Commission.

She organises a large annual Holocaust Conference for 6 th formers and leads many educational trips abroad. Helen is Patron Director of the Rwandan Sisterhood supporting African Women and works with survivors of the genocide and deprived women in Kigali, Zimbabwe and more recently in Nigeria In 2012, Helen was made Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to national education and Holocaust education and in 2 18 she was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Education by the University of Hertfordshire. Helen Hyde is married to Dr John Hyde and has two daughters.

Sharon Platt-McDonald

Sharon Platt-McDonald works as the Director for Health, Women’s Ministries and Adventist Community Services for the Seventh-day Adventist church in the British Isles. Influenced by Jesus’ ministry of compassion she pursued a career in the caring profession and is a registered nurse, midwife and health visitor with experience in Health Service Management. She is a Certified Health Coach, and currently pursuing a PHD in Original Medicine.

As a motivational speaker, mentor, editor and author of over 30 publications, Sharon is enthusiastic about sharing the message of health, hope and healing. She believes that as we follow God’s directive for emotional, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing we will positively impact our churches and communities with the ministry of restoration to the glory of His name.

Gillian Joseph

Gillian Joseph is the award-winning presenter of Sky News Sunrise at weekends. She played a major role in the coverage of the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami and has reported from locations across the globe. Gillian joined Sky News in 2005 and has presented Sky News’ late evening strands, including ‘Sky News at Ten’ and ‘Live at Five’. Prior to joining Sky News, Gillian presented the news on ‘BBC Breakfast’ and on BBC London.

She has also worked as a presenter for BBC News 24 and Radio 5 Live. She presented live on air for BBC News 24 the day Iraq went to the polls in the country’s historic first democratic elections. She started her broadcasting career with the BBC in Manchester before becoming a radio reporter and producer with Radio Merseyside. During her time in Liverpool, she was one of the first to break the news of the Jamie Bulger murder case in 1993. Gillian moved to London in 1998, working as a reporter and newsreader on BBC Radio 1. Since then she has reported for the BBC’s ‘Black Britain’ programme, and both the one and six o’clock News, ‘Newsnight’ and ‘Holiday’. She also presented a Sunday morning reflective news show on BBC London 94.9FM and regularly presented for 5 Live.

Gillian has been presented with a Race in the Media Award from the Commission of Racial Equality and in 2004, won the European Federation Of Black Women Business Owners’ award for professionalism in her field. She is married, has two daughters and a son and lives in North West London.