Trustees

Amanda Thomas

Chair of Trustees

Amanda has had a successful career as a freelance writer for 20 years. In that time she has taught in prisons and written for TV as well as for the big screen.  Her writing has taken her to many places including the USA and Bahrain and Italy. 

She started her career writing short stories for women’s magazines although nowadays she is more involved in writing scripts both for business and for the entertainment industry and writing biographies for many different clients.  She also gives talks about the opportunities offered in freelance writing.

Waltraud Pospischill

Vice-Chair of Trustees

Val was born in Austria and came to the UK in 1982. She trained under R. D. Laing and lived as a research student in a Philadelphia Association therapeutic community, combining being near to her partner with doing a practical for her MA. Since that time Val has taken up numerous voluntary posts, which she hopes will improve social provisions, mainly for the most disadvantaged people. She is a keen artist, poet and writer – with experience working alongside the Koestler Trust in their initiatives. Val is also a South West ambassador for Outside In

Dr Renuka Thakore

Renuka is Founder of the Global Sustainable Futures: Progress through Partnerships and received the Global Sustainability Award in 2022. Recognised  as a global leader who has engaged and connected with academics, businesses, and individuals, she loves to dig into real-world problems and solve them by applying systems thinking and trans-disciplinarity. Her personal and professional journey over the last 35 years has taught her the key lies within every individual and organisation and how they are empowered through their external and internal support system. 

Tevfick Souleiman

Tev qualified as solicitor in 1997, and has previously run his own law firm. He is also a fully qualified careers guidance officer. Tev works with the Forward Trust, leading their  Enterprise Support Team, with experience of managing complex cases and various careers guidance contracts and has a special interest in supporting ex-offenders and those with mental health issues. Achieving first class customer support and satisfaction is Tev’s main motivation and he is able to use his own lived experience to design a range of support options.