Our trustees
Our 10 trustees have a broad mix of skills which draw on their experiences in the voluntary and commercial sectors. Up to three of our trustees are appointed by, and are employees or officers of, Nationwide. The other seven are appointed by the board following a recruitment process which carefully matches recruits with any skills gaps.
Terrie Alafat
Terrie was previously the chief executive of Chartered Institute of Housing. Prior to that, she worked at the Department of Communities and Local Government, where she became director of housing. Terrie is a trustee at Crisis.
Saphié Ashtiany (Chair)
Saphié is the principal of a small consultancy specialising in equality law, working predominantly with institutional and charitable bodies. She is a visiting professorial fellow at Queen Mary University of London, researching equality law. Saphié holds other trusteeships, including at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust and Equal Rights Trust.
Antonia Bance
Antonia has spent her career in charity campaigning and communications. Currently working as the TUC’s head of campaigns and communications, she was previously SafeLives’ director of policy and communications and has also worked for the housing charity Shelter, where she was head of campaigns.
Sara Bennison
Sara is leader of Nationwide’s Propositions and Engagement Community. Previously Sara has worked at Barclays Personal and Corporate Bank and had held senior roles at BT and for major advertising agencies in the UK and Asia. Sara is also a trustee of The Prince’s Countryside Fund.
Gill Leng
Gill is a national health and homelessness advisor at the Department of Health and Social Care and previous worked for Public Health England and NHS England in similar roles. She previously ran a housing, homelessness and health consultancy and worked with local government.
Judith McNeill
Judith is chief executive of the KPMG Foundation, which helps young people from disadvantaged UK communities to achieve their potential. Previously she was Comic Relief’s grants director, and director of philanthropy at The Mercers’ Company, as well as having held senior roles at Macmillan Cancer Support and WaterAid. Judith is a trustee of the Coutts Foundation.
Sarah Mitchell (Vice Chair)
Sarah is chief executive of Cycling UK, the national charity supporting people to enjoy the benefits of cycling. Previously she was the chief executive of Carers’ Network and before that she was head of private renting and housing development at Crisis. She was a trustee of Camden Federation of Private Tenants and is a trustee of Novus Homeshare.
Usha Prashar
Usha has been an independent member of the House of Lords since 1999. Among her leadership roles, she has served as a non-executive director of Channel 4, Unite, ITV and Nationwide Building Society. Usha currently advises Nationwide Building Society on diversity and inclusion and is honorary president of the National Literacy Trust alongside her role on the Nationwide Foundation’s board of trustees.
Ian Williams
Ian is the director of Financial Controls and Operations at Nationwide Building Society. Ian is a qualified accountant, and previously worked for Friends Life, Aviva and PWC in senior roles. Ian is the leader of a church in the Cotswolds, and the trustee of a children’s home in Kenya.
Anya Martin
Anya is the senior research and policy analyst at Pro Bono Economics, where she is working on the Law Family Commission on Civil Society. She also runs PricedOut, a campaign for affordable housing.
Anya attends board meetings of the Nationwide Foundation as an observer, rather than a trustee.