David was the Mayor of London's Executive Director of Resources and Chief Finance Officer and worked in regional and local government for 42 years. He previously worked in senior finance positions in several London Boroughs, including being the Director of Education Resources at the London Borough of Ealing.    

He is also a Trustee at The Elliot Foundation.

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Elizabeth is a local resident who has been involved with The Trust since 2001 when the first of four children to attend started at The Charter School North Dulwich, one year after the school opened. From 2007, the year before the school converted to academy status, Elizabeth was vice-chair and then became the Chair of the Local Governing Body and a Trustee in 2011. She became a Member of the Trust when it became a MAT in 2016. Elizabeth was instrumental in the campaign to open a new Free School, The Charter School East Dulwich.

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Steven is a partner in PwC's restructuring practice, with nineteen years of experience in corporate change management, specialising in advising companies in turnaround situations.

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Manny is a trusted adviser to some of the world's foremost companies and NGOs. He has been a consultancy leader for over ten years, following his earlier careers in the business and NGO sectors.

He maintains a deep commitment to community and societal issues and has been directly involved with the Trust as both a parent and a governor in the past. He was a founding governor of The Charter School North Dulwich, and was lead founder on the team which successfully bid for the opening of The Charter School East Dulwich in 2015.

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He brings extensive experience of finance and risk management, as well as in project management and strategic delivery and governance for large complex organisations. Outside work David currently leads a local cub scouts group.

He live in South-East London and has three children.

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Claire is a senior civil servant at the Department for Transport, and lives in Southwark with her two young sons and partner. Claire has extensive board experience having previously served on the boards of a range of organisations from a housing association to HM Land Registry. She is passionate about the role that schools can play in the local community.

Committee membership: People and Pay, Finance, Audit & Risk

Hermione is a senior civil servant who has worked for the UK government in London, Paris and Brussels. Previous roles include running the community cohesion unit in the Department for Education and capacity building for the education Ministry in Rwanda.  She has previous experience as a school governor, a Trustee of an international Education charity, and as a non-executive director of the French National School of Government. She is passionate about encouraging excellence and opportunities for all.

Committee membership: Chair of People and Pay committee

Karen has been involved in school governance since 2007, including as a Trustee of the Dulwich Hamlet Educational Trust before it joined The Charter Schools Educational Trust in April 2021.

She has also served as the Chair of Governors at Dulwich Hamlet Junior School and Bessemer Grange Primary School and was a Governor at The Belham Primary School. Karen has extensive senior experience in HR strategy and Leadership roles in private sector corporations.

Committee membership: Standards, People and Pay

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Laura is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC. Previously, she was a Partner at The Capital Group Companies. Laura also worked at Goldman Sachs. She holds a CFA Charterholder and a BA (Hons) in International Business from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania. Laura lives in Southwark and is the parent of a pupil at Charles Dickens Primary School.

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Committee membership: Chair Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Jonathan left his role as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education in 2020, and was previously the Director of Education in Islington. He has a passion for the work that Academy Trusts do and brings his wide range of skills and experiences to benefit the children and families in all the Trust's schools.

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Previously, he led two large education reform programmes in Pakistan, focused on getting out of school children into school, and improving education quality in primary and early secondary schools. He is a director of a social enterprise addressing inequality in UK cities. He lives in South London with his two children. 

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Rachel has worked in communications for 30 years and is currently global head of communications for a FTSE 20 company.  Coming from a family of teachers, Rachel is passionate about schools and excellence in education for all.  She has two sons who attended Dulwich Hamlet Junior School and are both now at the Charter School North Dulwich.

Cassie joined the Trust as CEO in April 2020, bringing 16 years of school leadership experience. She was previously Headteacher at Charles Dickens Primary School, where she played a key role in leading the London South Teaching Schools Alliance (now the London South Teaching School Hub) and establishing the Charles Dickens EEF Research School.

A National Leader of Education and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Cassie has extensive experience of leading organisations collaboratively. As CEO, her focus is the sustainable delivery of the Trust’s mission to transform the lives of children and young people and strengthen local communities, through excellent schools, investment in staff and meaningful partnerships. Cassie was awarded an OBE for services to Education in 2020.

He has experience over 20 years experience in FE and HE  and is an experienced communicator. His work centers around the intersection between education, technology, and the creative industries. He is a multi-media content producer, as well as an educator and has produced documentaries for BBC2, Channel4, BBC4, and BBC Radio 1. Lawrence has been recognised by The Lloyds Banking Group and Thomson Reuters as one of the most influential black creatives in Britain in their annual Power List.    

With a background spanning design, construction, and estate management, Charlie brings a creative yet practical approach to overseeing the trust’s estate portfolio. A former visiting lecturer in Design at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a trained cabinet maker, he combines academic rigour with hands-on experience to provide strategic oversight for future-focused educational environments.

Lucy is the school improvement partner for the primary schools in the Trust, and has worked in education for 26 years in many roles, including deputy director, local authority improvement advisor and headteacher. Lucy is a passionate advocate of every school can improve no matter where they are on their journey, and works alongside school teams to realise that potential. She is equally passionate about climate change and sustainability education, and the power of professional learning communities to transform pedagogy and practice in the classroom.

As a headteacher Gary was a DfE National Leader of Education (NLE)  and supported a number of schools, trusts and education authorities.  Prior to working in London Gary taught science in Tanzania for Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

Sarah Botchway boasts a 20-year career in education, covering a broad spectrum from teaching 3-year-olds through to Key Stage 3 and 4 students, along with adults in London and Paris. Sarah has held many significant leadership positions, including Headship and Associate Headteacher in London, Her current role is Director for the London South Teaching School Hub, part of The Charter Schools Educational Trust. The Teaching School focuses on supporting Department for Education (DfE) initiatives for teacher recruitment and retention. Her responsibilities span from initial teacher training to the continuous professional development of teachers, school and trust leaders across Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark.

Belinda is responsible for strategic leadership of the Trust HR function, the operational management of HR support to schools, and the wider HR team. She oversees staff recruitment, retention, policies, and wellbeing, ensuring that each school is equipped with the HR resources needed to thrive.

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Belinda joined the Trust in 2023, following eight years in Education HR consultancy with Babcock International and Strictly Education.

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Prior to that, her career has spanned both public and private sectors including working in HR management with the probation service, higher education, retail, childcare and technology organisations.

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Belinda is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Shalene leads on governance and compliance for the Trust, providing advice on statutory guidance, regulation and policy, legal, constitutional and procedural matters. She is also the Trust's Company Secretary.

She joined the Trust in 2013, initially in the SEN department at The Charter School North Dulwich, followed by roles including, PA to the Headteacher and then Head of Careers and Communications, before taking the role of Head of Governance.

Before this she had a long and successful career in marketing communications and account management working with clients including The City of London Corporation, Tesco, Tottenham Hotspur Football club, UK Trade and Investment and The Royal Society. 

Shalene is a member of The Chartered Governance Institute.

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Andrew leads on finances and procurement for the Trust.

He joined the Trust in September 2024 having led the finance function of GLF schools for nearly 4 years.

Prior to that his career has taken him from EY’s audit then management consultancy practice, to leading finance teams at, the BBC, Clear Channel (the billboard company) and Hitachi’s EMEA IT consultancy practice.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (ICAEW).

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Cassie joined the Trust as CEO in April 2020, bringing 16 years of school leadership experience. She was previously Headteacher at Charles Dickens Primary School, where she played a key role in leading the London South Teaching Schools Alliance (now the London South Teaching School Hub) and establishing the Charles Dickens EEF Research School.

A National Leader of Education and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Cassie has extensive experience of leading organisations collaboratively. As CEO, her focus is the sustainable delivery of the Trust’s mission to transform the lives of children and young people and strengthen local communities, through excellent schools, investment in staff and meaningful partnerships. Cassie was awarded an OBE for services to Education in 2020.