Grapevine’s Board of Trustees play a vital role in our organisation—bringing their lived experiences, professional expertise, passion and ideas to help shape, sustain and grow our work.
Jed Francique – Board Co-Chair
Jed works for the NHS East London Foundation Trust as the Borough Director for City and Hackney Adult Services, covering mental health services and learning disability services. He is part of a local Health and Wellbeing Board and other partnerships in the area, as well as co-chair of the Mental Health Integration Committee. Jed previously held senior roles in local and regional government and in a voluntary and community sector organisation.
Jed is our Board Co-Chair and says he loves the organisation and what it stands for. Passionate about equity and social justice, he came across Grapevine while working as an Associate Director of Operations in Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Partnership Trust, covering physical health, learning disability and mental health services for children and families—and later, all-age mental health services.
Jessica Cordingly – Board Co-Chair
Jess is an experienced social change leader, specialising in setting up and supporting disruptive ideas for change. She has experience in change management, organisational pivots, facilitation and coaching and particularly enjoys strategy, governance and participatory decision making.
Jess joined Grapevine’s Board after nearly a decade of admiring the values, ethos and impact of our organisation from afar. She hopes to build on the energy and resilience in the team to help prepare for the next 25 years.
Douglas Howat – Treasurer
An experienced strategic leader in higher education, Douglas is a Chartered Psychologist and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Douglas’s academic and research interests lie mainly in social psychology and in particular, the application of social identity principles to sport, leadership, and prejudice and discrimination.
Douglas has lived and worked in Coventry for almost three decades, joining Coventry University as a lecturer in psychology. Progressing through a range of roles, Douglas is currently Dean of Students, responsible for the student experience across the University group.
In addition to over 20 years’ experience as a school governor, Douglas is currently an associate Non-executive Director on the Board of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Nukey Proctor
Nukey Proctor is a digital and technology services leader with 20 years of experience in the UK public and private sectors. She currently serves as a Senior Project Director at ‘Methods – an Alten Company’, where she heads their Technical Direction department.
Outside of her profession, Nukey has played an active role in civic life. She served as Vice‑Chair of the West Midlands Liberal Democrats, was a trustee of Warwickshire Pride, a School Board Governor and on the Keresley Parish Council for four years. It was during this time that she connected with Grapevine, drawn to the charity’s mission and values of engaging with people, systems and communities to drive social change.
Si Chun Lam
Si Chun is a strategic leader in research and intelligence, currently leading the Research, Intelligence and Inclusive Growth team at the West Midlands Combined Authority. With a strong track record in improving how public services use data and insight, Si Chun is skilled at bringing people and ideas together to support better decisions and fairer outcomes—helping to create a society that works for everyone, leaving nobody behind.
Before joining Grapevine’s Board of Trustees, Si Chun was impressed by our commitment to “the often unseen but vital work of nurturing and sustaining trusted relationships between ordinary people and the institutions that shape their lives.” He feels privileged to collaborate with a group of forward-thinking, engaged trustees while learning from our work first-hand.
Joanne Finney
Joanne began her career in the NHS as a volunteer before progressing to a trainee Health Care Assistant and later becoming a Nutrition Guardian—a role created specifically to make the most of her skills and passion. She describes the work as busy and sometimes chaotic, but also deeply rewarding, and values being part of a fantastic and supportive team. Alongside her NHS work, Joanne has dedicated fifteen years to volunteering with St John’s Ambulance Service, giving her time and care to support her community.
Grapevine supported Joanne to apply for a paid role in health care after experiencing a cycle of job changes and redundancies. She says guidance, support and feedback she received from the Accelerate project helped her regain the focus and confidence that would ultimately lead to the job she holds today. Joanne values the opportunity to bring her lived experience to the Board to help others see things from different perspectives while contributing her passion to Grapevine’s mission.
James Harrison
James works for the Civil Service, focusing on local growth funding. Before that, he worked on homelessness, rough sleeping and community investment, and previously spent time in local government in Coventry where he first got involved with Grapevine.
His experiences working and volunteering alongside people facing isolation, poverty and disadvantage have shaped his belief in Grapevine’s approach—empowering people and communities to take hold of their own power. He has been a trustee since 2018, focusing on the organisation’s strategy, governance and pay policy.
Further reading
Other sections to explore next:
- How we help people thrive
- Who we are (including our story)
- What we do
- Our strategy and evidence
- What people say about us.
