TRUSTEES

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Our Board of Trustees are an extraordinary group of volunteers who provide strategic leadership and governance. They meet regularly to discuss, decide and review our strategies and policies and receive reports and updates from our senior management team. They ensure that we comply with all of the required legal and regulatory requirements. Our trustees have a vast range of expertise to bring to the table from housing, to mental health, to academia. They also work to ensure that we’re doing all we can to end violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Good governance is about delivering the charity’s purpose as effectively as possible, and understanding the need the charity is meeting. It’s about demonstrating leadership, integrity, accountability and sound judgement. Our Trustee’s work is underpinned by the Nolan Principles of Public Life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES

  • Hold the organisation firmly to its guiding values and principles

  • Drive forward the impact of CWA with an entrepreneurial spirit

  • Are sensitive to the pressures of short term issues and yet take account of long term trends

  • Are knowledgeable about local and national issues, and also are aware of potential or wider influences

  • Are focused on the different and various needs of the service users whilst acting responsibility towards employees, partners and the community

Katie has a background in journalism, communications and public affairs.

She is currently the Wales Director for the Stroke Association and has spent more than ten years leading
on external affairs for various UK-wide charities with operations in Wales, including RNID and
St John’s Ambulance.

Katie was born in Cardiff and studied journalism and broadcasting at Cardiff University, going on to work
as a broadcast journalist for South Wales-based radio stations including Red Dragon FM and Real Radio.
She reported on high profile stories including the Clydach murders, Wales’ ban on smoking in public and
her team won a Sony award for their report on the 40th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.

Katie is also trustee for Pregnancy Sickness Support, a charity which supports women experiencing the
pregnancy complication hyperemesis gravidarum. Katie is a Welsh learner.
Katie ChappelleKATIE CHAPPELLECHAIR
Carol is a fully qualified counsellor/ psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and coach, working in private
practice. She works with many different types of mental distress and specialises in working with trauma,
in particular with survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Carol’s approach is focussed on not
pathologizing distress – asking not “what’s wrong with you?” but “what happened to you?”

In her previous career, Carol worked in many different roles as a senior manager in social housing, mainly
with housing associations in Scotland and England. Latterly, Carol was able to pursue her enthusiasm for empowering those who use housing services as Director of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Cymru. Her most recent role was as housing regulator with the Welsh Government where she sought to improve housing association sector performance across the board and, particularly, in the areas of
diversity, service user empowerment and governance.

Carol’s aim in life is to promote and support empowerment and improvement through genuine
collaboration, based round equality of status and contribution. As a feminist, Carol is strongly committed
to changing the elements of current prevailing cultures which are damaging to women.

For relaxation, Carol enjoys walking the legs off her two dogs, Hector and little Maisie in the beautiful
Welsh countryside around her home and does a lot of reading, mainly crime fiction.
CAROL KAYCAROL KAYVICE-CHAIR
Ffion (she/her) is the Head of Programmes at Stonewall Cymru and is responsible for working with a wide
variety of organisations to embed inclusion across their settings. She is also responsible for income
generation, financial planning and grant funding in Wales.

Ffion is a fluent Welsh speaker and a trustee for LGBTQymru, a charity that aims aim to create
opportunities that represent the diversity of LGBTQ+ communities in Wales

Ffion is a feminist and trans ally and believes equality is the foundation of any fair society where everyone
should be able to reach their full potential and diversity should be celebrated across Wales. She believes
in the importance of achieving equality and rights for all protected characteristics, including those for
women, disabled, LGBTQ+, POC and BAME people. Everyone should feel free to be who they are at all
times, feel supported when necessary and that diversity is celebrated as it is good for our economy, our
society and our culture.

Ffion has a background in buying and teaching and has lived and worked in the Middle East. In her spare
time, she enjoys beach walks with her children and dog.
FFION GRUNDYFFION GRUNDYWELSH LANGUAGE AND EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION LEAD
Ron is a retired housing professional and chartered town planner who worked in the social housing sector
in London and the South West for over 35 years. His main tasks included managing homelessness and
advice services, running council housing, doing policy work, supervising housing development and
negotiating affordable housing. During this time he was instrumental in getting funding for women’s
refuges and other hostels. Having been out-of-hours homeless officer, he also understands the
importance of women and children accessing support and suitable accommodation during times of crisis.

Since retirement he was a charity trustee for an Exeter domestic violence charity for over five years and
helped found a new charity in Devon to help young people with mental health issues access creative
therapies. Inspired by the need for equality and to build a fairer society, throughout his career he’s
worked with fellow professionals and carers to alleviate poor housing conditions, improve people’s
welfare and raise their self-esteem using his Coaching skills. Having moved to South Wales, he says it’s a
pleasure to have the opportunity to use his skills, knowledge and experience to help people through CWA.
RON MAYERSJOINT HEALTH & WELLBEING LEAD
Versha Sood is a multi-award winner and dementia care professional who feels passionately about
combating the stigma surrounding mental health, domestic violence and gender inequality. She has
facilitated and supported various activities for people of all ages to start discussions on important topics
such as: women in senior leadership and domestic violence and its impact on women and children.

Versha has volunteered for over 20 years now and has invested considerable time and effort into making a
difference across various aspects of society. Her work includes being a Dementia Friends Champion for
the Alzheimer’s Society for many years and she is also a volunteer with the Hindu Cultural Association in
Cardiff for almost 14 years. Alongside this she has also supported charities such as EMWWAA and the
British Red Cross.

Versha has sat on various national committees such as the ‘National Dementia Strategy consultation group’.
During the COVID pandemic she has contributed to ‘Wales Places of Worship Opening’ group and has
made contributions to other sensitive issues during this time such as ‘Funeral, Burials and Cremations’
meetings.

Versha currently sits on the ‘Housing Support National Advisory Board’ to support future-proof housing
for people with dementia and mental health issues.

She worked in health and social care for over 20 years and spent the majority of her career specialising in
dementia, mental health and family liaison. As well as Women’s Aid, Versha is a member of various
sub-committees and is also a community governor of a high school.
VERSHA SOODVERSHA SOODJOINT HEALTH & WELLBEING LEAD
Included in Wales Online's 15 Black Welsh Icons list 2021, multi-award winning Writer, Translator and Historian, Jessica Dunrod became the first Black children’s author born in Wales since releasing Outstanding and Your Hair is Your Crown in English and Welsh language which she wrote and translated into further languages to counteract negative stereotypes, to improve access to representative literature which can also facilitate the language learning process. Jessica later launched the Lily Translates AwDura Fund (Confra AwDura) and continues to advocate better representation in the new Welsh curricula and literature for children, while mentoring more underrepresented Welsh authors to access publishing opportunities.

Fluent in Spanish and Modern Greek Jessica is an inclusive language and international culture specialist with a BA and MA degree in Translation Studies obtained from Cardiff University where she served as co-chair of their Student Race Equality Steering group. Jessica is the Founder and Director of award-winning translation firms Ambassadora Translations & Language solutions and Lily Translates where she supports brands and firms with international commerce and communications. Jessica applied her extensive language skills to her position at the National Museum of Wales where she works full time as their Project Manager for Decolonising Collections and is engaged in a number of decolonising and historical heritage projects in her own time, working in collaboration with Caribbean Diplomatic missions and institutions in Wales. Jessica also serves as an Executive Board Member and Wales Community Connector at the St. Kitts & Nevis Young Professional Network UK (SKNPYNUK).
JESSICA DUNROD
Jas is Head of Human Resources at Confused.com and is responsible for both operational and strategic HR. Jas has been a HR professional for over 20 years predominately within the financial service industry.
Jas is passionate about the work carried out by the CWA and the importance of providing accessible support for women and children. She decided to become a trustee as this gave her an opportunity of using her skills and her personal experience to give back to the welsh community, joining the Board in 2023.
Jas was born in the Midlands moving to the Southeast for both study and work, finally settling in London for most of her professional career. In 2019, Jas moved to Wales to enjoy a work-life balance and has never looked back.
JAS BOLLA
Gemma is an experienced communications specialist. She currently works for a major high street bank, leading their strategy to support businesses across Wales to start up, thrive and grow. One of her key priorities is supporting those who typically face additional barriers to success in business, including women and those from an ethnic minority background. She has worked as a print and broadcast journalist, including for local newspapers and news organisations such as the Press Association and BBC Wales, where she researched and produced TV and radio news and current affairs programmes. She has also overseen a pilot project in hyperlocal media, and has worked in corporate PR. Gemma is host of a podcast series, Inspiring Women Wales, which tells the stories of the female founders of some great Welsh businesses. She runs regular events where women in business can find their community and network of peer support.GEMMA CASEY
Barbara (she/her) is Deputy Director of Size of Wales, a Welsh Climate Change charity that supports local and indigenous communities protect tropical forests and inspire climate action here in Wales. Barbara has over 17 years’ experience in the international development sector working on peace building, promoting human rights and gender equity. This has included supporting projects in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe to tackle gender-based violence, protect women human rights defenders, and increase women’s participation in climate action at local, national and international level. At Size of Wales, she manages their international programme and leads on Size of Wales’ policy and advocacy work, engaging with Welsh Government, public sector bodies, businesses, and community groups to promote ethical supply chains. Barbara also has extensive grant funding and is safeguarding lead. Barbara is passionate advocate for women and Indigenous Peoples’ rights which has seen her engage with decision makers at UK, EU and international level, to bring about change. Barbara has been a mentor in the Equal Power, Equal Voice programme for a number of years with the aim of promoting diversity of representation in public and political life in Wales. Barbara is also half German and a keen linguist.BARBARA DAVIES-QUY
Becky (she/her) is Policy and Research Officer for Care & Repair Cymru, supporting policy and leading on the public affairs and EDI work of a multi-agency movement for older people across Wales. Becky was born in Gloucester, and moved to Carmarthenshire to study a BA Hons in Primary Education with QTS in 2014. A qualified teacher, she spent two years leading her own university Students’ Union, before being elected as the National Union of Students President for Wales. In these roles, she worked on developing a cross-sector student mental health charter, oversaw the Welsh Government tertiary education transition, and created a ‘Women of Recognition’ award to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of women in academia. Since moving to Cardiff, Becky co-created the Reclaim These Streets vigil that was held in response to police violence, and has become more active in her local Labour Party. Becky has been a previous trustee of multiple organisations including NUS Charity and STOPP, a Swansea-based grassroots movement tackling period poverty in the city. At 28, Becky is one of the younger members of the Board, but is keen to bring her enthusiasm and prior Board experience to Cardiff Women’s Aid. In her spare time, she enjoys softball cricket, running and video games. She is a keen Welsh and BSL learner.BECKY RICKETTS
Katie Chappelle

KATIE CHAPPELLE

CHAIR

Katie has a background in journalism, communications and public affairs.

She is currently the Wales Director for the Stroke Association and has spent more than ten years leading on external affairs for various UK-wide charities with operations in Wales, including RNID and St John’s Ambulance.

Katie was born in Cardiff and studied journalism and broadcasting at Cardiff University, going on to work as a broadcast journalist for South Wales-based radio stations including Red Dragon FM and Real Radio. She reported on high profile stories including the Clydach murders, Wales’ ban on smoking in public and her team won a Sony award for their report on the 40th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.

Katie is also trustee for Pregnancy Sickness Support, a charity which supports women experiencing the pregnancy complication hyperemesis gravidarum. Katie is a Welsh learner.

CAROL KAY

CAROL KAY

VICE – CHAIR

Carol is a fully qualified counsellor/ psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and coach, working in private practice. She works with many different types of mental distress and specialises in working with trauma, in particular with survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Carol’s approach is focussed on not pathologizing distress – asking not “what’s wrong with you?” but “what happened to you?”

In her previous career, Carol worked in many different roles as a senior manager in social housing, mainly with housing associations in Scotland and England. Latterly, Carol was able to pursue her enthusiasm for empowering those who use housing services as Director of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Cymru. Her most recent role was as housing regulator with the Welsh Government where she sought to improve housing association sector performance across the board and, particularly, in the areas of diversity, service user empowerment and governance.

Carol’s aim in life is to promote and support empowerment and improvement through genuine collaboration, based round equality of status and contribution. As a feminist, Carol is strongly committed to changing the elements of current prevailing cultures which are damaging to women.

For relaxation, Carol enjoys walking the legs off her two dogs, Hector and little Maisie in the beautiful Welsh countryside around her home and does a lot of reading, mainly crime fiction.

FFION GRUNDY

FFION GRUNDY

WELSH LANGUAGE AND EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION LEAD

Ffion (she/her) is the Head of Programmes at Stonewall Cymru and is responsible for working with a wide variety of organisations to embed inclusion across their settings. She is also responsible for income generation, financial planning and grant funding in Wales.

Ffion is a fluent Welsh speaker and a trustee for LGBTQymru, a charity that aims aim to create opportunities that represent the diversity of LGBTQ+ communities in Wales.

Ffion is a feminist and trans ally and believes equality is the foundation of any fair society where everyone should be able to reach their full potential and diversity should be celebrated across Wales. She believes in the importance of achieving equality and rights for all protected characteristics, including those for women, disabled, LGBTQ+, POC and BAME people. Everyone should feel free to be who they are at all times, feel supported when necessary and that diversity is celebrated as it is good for our economy, our society and our culture.

Ffion has a background in buying and teaching and has lived and worked in the Middle East. In her spare time, she enjoys beach walks with her children and dog.

RON MAYERS

JOINT HEALTH & WELLBEING LEAD

Ron is a retired housing professional and chartered town planner who worked in the social housing sector in London and the South West for over 35 years. His main tasks included managing homelessness and advice services, running council housing, doing policy work, supervising housing development and negotiating affordable housing. During this time he was instrumental in getting funding for women’s refuges and other hostels. Having been out-of-hours homeless officer, he also understands the importance of women and children accessing support and suitable accommodation during times of crisis.

Since retirement he was a charity trustee for an Exeter domestic violence charity for over five years and helped found a new charity in Devon to help young people with mental health issues access creative therapies. Inspired by the need for equality and to build a fairer society, throughout his career he’s worked with fellow professionals and carers to alleviate poor housing conditions, improve people’s welfare and raise their self-esteem using his Coaching skills. Having moved to South Wales, he says it’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to use his skills, knowledge and experience to help people through CWA.

VERSHA SOOD

VERSHA SOOD

JOINT HEALTH & WELLBEING LEAD

Versha Sood is a multi-award winner and dementia care professional who feels passionately about combating the stigma surrounding mental health, domestic violence and gender inequality. She has facilitated and supported various activities for people of all ages to start discussions on important topics such as: women in senior leadership and domestic violence and its impact on women and children.

Versha has volunteered for over 20 years now and has invested considerable time and effort into making a difference across various aspects of society. Her work includes being a Dementia Friends Champion for the Alzheimer’s Society for many years and she is also a volunteer with the Hindu Cultural Association in Cardiff for almost 14 years. Alongside this she has also supported charities such as EMWWAA and the British Red Cross.

Versha has sat on various national committees such as the ‘National Dementia Strategy consultation group’. During the COVID pandemic she has contributed to ‘Wales Places of Worship Opening’ group and has made contributions to other sensitive issues during this time such as ‘Funeral, Burials and Cremations’ meetings. Versha currently sits on the ‘Housing Support National Advisory Board’ to support future-proof housing for people with dementia and mental health issues.

She worked in health and social care for over 20 years and spent the majority of her career specialising in dementia, mental health and family liaison. As well as Women’s Aid, Versha is a member of various sub-committees and is also a community governor of a high school.

JESSICA DUNROD

Included in Wales Online’s 15 Black Welsh Icons list 2021, multi-award winning Writer, Translator and Historian, Jessica Dunrod became the first Black children’s author born in Wales since releasing Outstanding and Your Hair is Your Crown in English and Welsh language which she wrote and translated into further languages to counteract negative stereotypes, to improve access to representative literature which can also facilitate the language learning process. Jessica later launched the Lily Translates AwDura Fund (Confra AwDura) and continues to advocate better representation in the new Welsh curricula and literature for children, while mentoring more underrepresented Welsh authors to access publishing opportunities.

Fluent in Spanish and Modern Greek Jessica is an inclusive language and international culture specialist with a BA and MA degree in Translation Studies obtained from Cardiff University where she served as co-chair of their Student Race Equality Steering group. Jessica is the Founder and Director of award-winning translation firms Ambassadora Translations & Language solutions and Lily Translates where she supports brands and firms with international commerce and communications. Jessica applied her extensive language skills to her position at the National Museum of Wales where she works full time as their Project Manager for Decolonising Collections and is engaged in a number of decolonising and historical heritage projects in her own time, working in collaboration with Caribbean Diplomatic missions and institutions in Wales. Jessica also serves as an Executive Board Member and Wales Community Connector at the St. Kitts & Nevis Young Professional Network UK (SKNPYNUK).

GEMMA CASEY

Gemma is an experienced communications specialist. She currently works for a major high street bank, leading their strategy to support businesses across Wales to start up, thrive and grow. One of her key priorities is supporting those who typically face additional barriers to success in business, including women and those from an ethnic minority background.

She has worked as a print and broadcast journalist, including for local newspapers and news organisations such as the Press Association and BBC Wales, where she researched and produced TV and radio news and current affairs programmes. She has also overseen a pilot project in hyperlocal media, and has worked in corporate PR.

Gemma is host of a podcast series, Inspiring Women Wales, which tells the stories of the female founders of some great Welsh businesses. She runs regular events where women in business can find their community and network of peer support.

JAS BOLLA

Jas is Head of Human Resources at Confused.com and is responsible for both operational and strategic HR. Jas has been a HR professional for over 20 years predominately within the financial service industry.

Jas is passionate about the work carried out by the CWA and the importance of providing accessible support for women and children. She decided to become a trustee as this gave her an opportunity of using her skills and her personal experience to give back to the welsh community, joining the Board in xx 2023.
Jas was born in the Midlands moving to the Southeast for both study and work, finally settling in London for most of her professional career. In 2019, Jas moved to Wales to enjoy a work-life balance and has never looked back.

BARBARA DAVIES-QUY

Barbara (she/her) is Deputy Director of Size of Wales, a Welsh Climate Change charity that supports local and indigenous communities protect tropical forests and inspire climate action here in Wales.

Barbara has over 17 years’ experience in the international development sector working on peace building, promoting human rights and gender equity. This has included supporting projects in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe to tackle gender-based violence, protect women human rights defenders, and increase women’s participation in climate action at local, national and international level.

At Size of Wales, she manages their international programme and leads on Size of Wales’ policy and advocacy work, engaging with Welsh Government, public sector bodies, businesses, and community groups to promote ethical supply chains. Barbara also has extensive grant funding and is safeguarding lead.

Barbara is passionate advocate for women and Indigenous Peoples’ rights which has seen her engage with decision makers at UK, EU and international level, to bring about change. Barbara has been a mentor in the Equal Power, Equal Voice programme for a number of years with the aim of promoting diversity of representation in public and political life in Wales.

Barbara is also half German and a keen linguist.

BECKY RICKETTS

Becky (she/her) is Policy and Research Officer for Care & Repair Cymru, supporting policy and leading on the public affairs and EDI work of a multi-agency movement for older people across Wales.

Becky was born in Gloucester, and moved to Carmarthenshire to study a BA Hons in Primary Education with QTS in 2014. A qualified teacher, she spent two years leading her own university Students’ Union, before being elected as the National Union of Students President for Wales. In these roles, she worked on developing a cross-sector student mental health charter, oversaw the Welsh Government tertiary education transition, and created a ‘Women of Recognition’ award to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of women in academia.

Since moving to Cardiff, Becky co-created the Reclaim These Streets vigil that was held in response to police violence, and has become more active in her local Labour Party. Becky has been a previous trustee of multiple organisations including NUS Charity and STOPP, a Swansea-based grassroots movement tackling period poverty in the city. At 28, Becky is one of the younger members of the Board, but is keen to bring her enthusiasm and prior Board experience to Cardiff Women’s Aid.

In her spare time, she enjoys softball cricket, running and video games. She is a keen Welsh and BSL learner.