16

Apr
2018

Sahir House Welcomes New Chief Executive

Sahir House has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Tessa Willow. Tessa has many years’ experience working in the voluntary sector and is no stranger to Sahir House, having provided advice and support to the organisation over many years.

She has held a variety of paid, volunteer and trustee roles in local and national charities and community organisations, including 15 years as CEO of Volunteer Centre Liverpool, a member of the boards of NCVO and Volunteering England, engagement and inclusion roles in health and social care, service development and project management roles in mental health charities and many years’ experience of volunteering and campaigning with women’s organisations, LGBT+ groups and mental health services.

Tessa commented: “I am delighted to be joining Sahir House, an incredible local charity that I have known for 20 years.  I am following in some very impressive footsteps and look forward to working collaboratively with the staff, trustees, volunteers and members of Sahir House, as well as funders, partners and stakeholders.  I am pleased to bring my previous experience as CEO of a local charity, several trustee roles and my recent experience in engagement work at Macmillan Cancer Support to this award winning and dedicated organisation.”

Sahir House has been offering HIV support, information and training across Merseyside since 1985. It offers a wide range of services to people living with or affected by HIV; HIV related training; up to date HIV information; prevention and testing; and opportunities to volunteer.

The organisation has recently improved governance, recruited new trustees, gained ISO9001 registration and won the 2017 GSK IMPACT Award, as one of the best small health charities in the UK.

Jed Pearson, Chair of the board of Trustees commented: “The Board of trustees are looking forward to working with Tessa on the next phase of Sahir Houses development, building on our strong foundations to develop support and advice services that improve the quality of life for our clients. Tessa has substantial experience as both an executive and non-executive director in the charitable sector.”

Tessa will begin her role as the new Chief Executive in May 2018.

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