Portrait of a strong woman

By Brian Leveson
•
31 Oct, 2021
•

This week we have been delighted to 'virtually' meet JANE EAST the new Chief Executive of Public Voice (who run HealthWatch Haringey)

(Think Miss Cilla Black):What's your name and where do you come from?

Jane East, born in West London, living in South London, had a very meandering journey in between

What are you doing in Haringey?

Having the immense privilege of succeeding Mike Wilson as the Chief Exec of Public Voice

What did you do before this (not being funny, this bit sounds amazing)?

Right before this I was the Managing Director for two years for a small charity called The Cares Family which tackles isolation and loneliness by forging intergenerational friendships. It was a busy time during Covid, but I know I will look back years from now and think I did something useful.

Before that I spent nearly 20 years in international development – first as a VSO volunteer working on an HIV/AIDS project in rural Nigeria, then some time in DRC, three years supporting Amnesty International’s offices in the Global South and East, then I was Christian Aid’s Country Manager in Nigeria, and worked for a couple of years in Sierra Leone and Ghana.

My proudest achievement was making the ‘Voice to the People’ project happen in Nigeria – working with local partners, we gained significant DFID funding to mobilise local communities to hold their duty bearers to account. In the end, we raised £4m and expanded the programme across five states.

I was also the team leader for a period of the SABI programme in Sierra Leone. Through digital data collection, we enabled communities to identify their priorities and engage with their local authorities.

Amazingly, all of this experience is useful in my new job in Haringey…

What's your favourite thing to do when not working?

I run. I love my local park run, I love the whole idea of it. I cycle. I drink beers with friends.

Just in case you aren't sure who Public Voice are, they run various programmes in Haringey including HealthWatch, Haringey Circle and the Joint Referencing Boards.

And if you still aren't sure SHARON GRANT OBE is the Chair, as in yes, THE Sharon Grant OBE.

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