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Goodbye and welcome

It’s a time of change at Breaking Barriers as we say farewell to James Newell and welcome Alba Chiara Lamberti as the Chair of our Board of Trustees.

Author:

Ciara Devlin, CEO
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It’s a time of change at Breaking Barriers as we say farewell to James Newell, the Chair of our Board of Trustees. During the past six years, James has helped us to navigate significant challenges, including the pandemic, our expansion into four new locations, the cost-of-living crisis, and the quick response needed for the Ukraine and Afghanistan resettlement programmes.

His focus on the health and sustainability of Breaking Barriers was instrumental in allowing us to substantially increase our income and grow at a time when the charity sector was facing a shortfall in funding.

And he warmly welcomed me to Breaking Barriers from my first day and has continued to provide great support ever since. Most recently, as we carried out Breaking Barriers first restructure to build our financial security and put in place a strong foundation for future growth.

I have mixed feelings as I step down as Chair of Breaking Barriers after six fulfilling years. The slight sadness, however, is far outweighed by excitement and optimism for the future. I'll watch enthusiastically from the side-lines as Alba and Ciara take the charity to new heights, serving more people. I leave profoundly enriched by the stories of so many amazing people and will remain an active supporter forever.

James Newell

I’m sad to say goodbye to James’ deep knowledge and passion for Breaking Barriers, but I’m also excited to introduce you to our new Chair – Alba Chiara Lamberti.

Alba is a non-profit leader with 22 years of executive experience in global, award-winning think tanks, and comes with a wealth of experience serving as a Trustee on several charitable Boards.

This includes five years as a Board member and Chair of the Governance Committee at Accountability Lab, four years as a member of the Advisory Board of Women in International Security (WIIS) Italy, and three years as a Trustee and Senior Adviser to the President of the PM Sports Foundation in Ghana.

Alba also has a strong track record in scaling organisations for impact and spearheading change management. This will be essential as Breaking Barriers drives towards our ambitious 2030 goal.

She also brings extensive experience in strategic, operational, and governance matters, including engaging high-level Trustees and driving Board performance as the Deputy Director / Chief Operating Officer at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) for the past six years.

I am thrilled to be joining Breaking Barriers as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, taking over from the brilliant James Newell. Breaking Barriers’ mission to enable refugees build a new life in the UK by supporting their employment journey feels even more urgent in the current political climate. I am honoured to be able to contribute to their ambition of fostering and protecting a more inclusive society.

Alba Chiara Lamberti

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to James, and a warm and excited hello and welcome to Alba.

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