Carolyn Norfolk Expand Carolyn joined Acorn as a Trustee in July 2017 bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise on VAT legislation. After receiving a 1st Class BA (Hons) in International Relations, Carolyn has spent the last 13 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, most recently as PwC | Director - Indirect Tax and in her previous career trained through a graduate scheme with HM Customs and Excise. Carolyn is also an ex-parent of Acorn’s Day Nursery in Shenley.
Damien Beedham Expand Damien joined Acorn in February 2020 and is a parent of one squirrel at Stanwick nursery. He studied film at university and worked in TV and video for over a decade, working on a wide range of content from short form TV commercials to long form documentaries and music programmes. He sat on the board for a small theatre company for a number of years, and worked for a social enterprise to produce video content with members of the community. In 2017 he changed careers and now works in Tax & Compliance, completing the ATT qualification in 2019 and is currently studying CTA.
Giles Chilton Expand Giles joins Acorn with vast experience in Project Management and a keen interest in analysis of social impact and the ability to co-generate value. Having gained a Bsc (Hons) in Engineering as well as a Post-Graduate Certificate in Business Leadership, Giles has worked in the rail industry for 16 years, now leading complex railway operations IT projects.
Hannah Evans Expand Hannah is a current parent of two children (Acorn and a Squirrel) at our Castlethorpe nursery and took on the role of a trustee in July 2017. Hannah is also an experienced Finance Manager, working at IG Design Group plc since June 2017 and previous to this worked as an ERP and Group Finance Manager at Domino’s Pizza Group plc where she worked since May 2011. Prior to this, Hannah spent seven years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP specialising in corporate tax. Hannah holds a BSc from the University of Northampton in Maths and Psychology.
Katy Boyd Expand Katy received a BSc (Hons) from the University of Loughborough in Psychology and Social Science and used this to enter the graduate scheme at John Lewis Partnership in 2004. Since then, Katy has developed a wealth of commercial, personnel and project management experience and is currently Operations Manager, Commercial Support with John Lewis Partnership. Katy is also a current parent of Acorn at our Castlethorpe nursery and has been a trustee with Acorn since July 2017.
Narendra Laljani Expand Narendra Laljani is a management educator, consultant, and CEO coach who specialises in strategic thinking, innovation, execution, the challenges of building market-focused organisations and leader development. Narendra has undertaken management development projects for a diverse range of clients and has consulted at board level with a large number of international organisations. Narendra studied economics followed by a postgraduate degree in management with a concentration on finance. He started his career with ICI and worked with the multinational for 15 years, in a range of general management roles in the UK, Belgium and India. He has a doctorate from Cranfield, was Dean of Graduate Studies at Ashridge Business School for five years, and is an Executive Fellow at Henley Business School and Professor of Practice in Strategy at Ashridge Executive Education.
Professor Dr Eva Lloyd OBE Expand Eva is professor of Early Childhood in the Cass School of Education and Communities at the University of East London and Director of its International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare (ICMEC), which she co-founded in 2007 with Professor Helen Penn. Her research and academic publications focus on international early education and childcare policies, particularly for disadvantaged children. She has held honorary positions at the University of Cambridge and the Queen’s University Belfast and in 2017 spent a semester as Visiting Professor at the University of Muenster, Germany. Eva has wide experience of providing expert policy advice to national and international government departments. She co-authored a range of government commissioned studies and evaluations and is currently on the team evaluating the 30 hours free childcare policy’s implementation in England.
Rebecca Charles Expand Becky is a parent trustee and has a daughter at Kents Hill nursery. She applied to become a trustee as she can see first hand the passion and dedication that goes into the care her daughter receives every day and believes strongly in the values held by Acorn. In terms of professional experience, Becky is a Safety and Human Factors expert with a PhD in human cognition and decision making in safety critical environments, and has a passion for strategy setting. She is currently a director of a professional body so is very familiar with the charity commission’s guidelines.
Ruth Stone - Chair of Trustees Expand Ruth spent over 30 years working in the charitable sector in a range of executive and non-executive roles, including being trustee and vice chair of a large national charity, and a range of community groups. Ruth recently retired, but for the last 15 years of her career she was CEO of Community Action: MK, the local umbrella organisation for over 1200 not-for-profit organisations.
Vanessa Freeman Gwynn Expand Joined the Board in February 2020 following a varied career of over 30 years in local government promoting employment growth (including provision of Early Years Services); lifelong learning; leisure and youth services; and the Safeguarding of children and young people irrespective of setting. At the point she retired Vanessa was the designated Director of Children’s Services for Milton Keynes. Vanessa holds an Honours degree and a Masters from the Open University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute; a lifelong member of the Institute of Economic Development; and has held a variety of board positions both before her retirement and presently.