Sophie wardell (chair)
When Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees (CWR) became a charity last year, five Trustees were appointed. Sophie has previously worked for the British Council, National Trust and, more locally, the Cheltenham Trust. However, her passion for supporting refugees began with her role at Free Word, a small London-based charity that encouraged asylum seekers to take part in storytelling and writing workshops. Meeting refugee families was a big part of what Sophie loved about the job and led her onto volunteer for Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees in 2018 and now to take on the role of CWR’s Chair of Trustees.
Rev Simon Witcombe
Simon is Chaplain at the University of Gloucestershire. His work includes providing welcome to international students arriving in Gloucestershire and those links are what have made him a perfect fit as a Trustee of Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees.
Paul Baker
Paul describes himself as “born and bred in Cheltenham.” He has three grown up children and chaired Cheltenham Town Football Club for 21 years. He became a Cheltenham Borough Councillor in St Paul’s at the age of 22 and is now a Councillor for Charlton Park and the County Councillor for Charlton Park & College. He also managed to find the time to act as a governor of Pittville School, is a Trustee of The Lido and has worked in the insurance industry for nearly all his life.
EMILY WEBB
Emily is Head of Programmes at Good Chance Theatre, an international charity creating theatre with displaced artists and connecting communities through art. She has run Good Chance’s Dome theatre in refugee centres around Paris, was one of the producers of The Walk with Little Amal reaching 1 million people across the world, produced international Afghan kite flying festival Fly With Me reaching over 60 cities and towns worldwide, and led From Here On working with over 300 young people across Europe.
She grew up in Cheltenham and is delighted to be raising her own family here. She was thrilled when Little Amal was able to visit Cheltenham, thanks to The Everyman, CWR, GARAS and others, and is excited now to have a formal role with CWR as a Trustee.