Structure and governance

Julia Lalla-Maharajh OBE - Chair

Julia brings experience from the corporate, not for profit and voluntary sectors. She is Founder and former CEO of Orchid Project, an NGO for a world free from female genital cutting. She is a former VSO volunteer in Cambodia and Ethiopia.  

Member of the Governance Committee.

Susan Hickey

Chartered accountant, Group Finance and Investment Director at igloo Regeneration, and former Chief Financial Officer at Peabody.

Audit and Risk Committee member.

Christopher Muwanguzi

Trustee of the Uganda Board for Child’s i Foundation, and recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award at the International AIDS conference in Durban, 2000, for his contribution to the fight against AIDS. 

Audit and Risk Committee member.

Janet Muir

Director of Finance with over twenty years working in the not for profit sector in international development and education. Member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Corporate Governance Institute.

Maryam Abisola Adefarati

Chief Financial Officer with Microsoft Africa Regional Cluster. Co-owner of a foundation that is supporting the community in the areas of health, education and poverty alleviation. 

Monalisa Sibongile Zwambila

Award-winning business executive widely regarded as one of South Africa’s top independent agency leaders. Founder and CEO of Riverbed South Africa.

Vincent Mohau Motholo

Vincent Mohau Motholo is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa). He is the Chief Financial Officer at the University of Cape Town and serves as a Non- Executive Chairman of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Belay Addise

Regional Manager at the Global Partnership for Education covering East and Southern Africa. Board Member of the Horn Center for Democracy.

Geoff Skingsley

Non-Executive Board Member of Médecins Sans Frontières Foundation. On the Global Leadership Council of the Said Business School in Oxford, UK; and member of the CBI's London Council.

Governance Committee member.

Mashaer Bashir-Ali 

Mashaer has advised senior leadership and boards on legal, regulatory, and governance matters at global financial companies like Swiss Re and Aviva, and established a BAME network at Canada Life to promote equality and diversity. Additionally, she has volunteered with refugee youth to support their assimilation into British society.

Donné Cameron

Co-CEO

Donné is an international development expert with 25 years of leadership experience at Habitat for Humanity and VSO. Her commitment to people-centered development began when she volunteered in her home country of South Africa, supporting marginalised communities during the country’s transition to a unified and democratic nation. 

She has held various leadership roles, shaping the future of these organisations by setting strategic visions and building high-performing teams. Donné holds degrees in law from the University of Cape Town and in Organisational Leadership from Eastern University, Philadelphia. She joined VSO in 2012 and has been an Executive Director since 2015.

Kathryn Gordon

Co-CEO

Kathryn is a strategic leader with 30 years of experience across private, family-owned, and non-profit organisations, including 15 years with VSO. She is passionate about merging purpose, people, and digital innovation to create large-scale impact. Her introduction to volunteering for development came through the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland, where she witnessed the power of collective action for social change. 

Kathryn holds an Institute of Directors Diploma in Company Direction and an MIT Data Leadership Certificate. Since joining VSO in 2009, she has served as Director of People and Organisation Development and has been an Executive Director since 2015. She also serves on the global board of Humentum.

Clare Sisson

Finance Director

Clare Sisson joined VSO in 2022 as the Head of Finance Operations moving into the Finance Director role in 2023.  

An auditor by profession, Clare has worked both in the not-for-profit and private sectors with a focus on developing strong internal controls and coherent financial reporting.