Staff & Trustees
HOPE UK’s Current Trustees & Staff Members
Rosanna Armstrong, CHAIR
Two of Rosie's proudest achievements have been while raising money for HOPE UK, when she walked 40 miles in 12 hours as part of the Keswick to Barrow challenge in the Lake District, and when she participated in The Great Ethiopia Run - a 10 km high altitude run in Addis Ababa. The Great Ethiopia Run was a precursor to an incredible 10 days spent visiting HOPE projects in Southern Ethiopia and seeing first hand the impact that clean water and the accompanying support that HOPE gives can make. It was after these challenges that she was delighted to become a trustee in 2010 and became Chair of Trustees in December 2020. As a former Media Relations Manager for a FTSE 100 company, she provides advice and counsel on HOPE UK's communications. She lives in London with her husband and daughters.
Clarissa Poulson, Trustee & Company Secretary
Clarissa has been a trustee and Company Secretary since 2007. She is responsible for ensuring statutory compliance and for over ten years managed Hope’s finances and reporting. As Director of an international development consultancy, Clarissa heads work on monitoring, evaluation and learning of programmes funded by donor Governments, foundations and NGOs, so she also brings valuable professional experience to the Board. Clarissa is involved with HOPE UK because she has seen the difference that safe, clean water supplies make to rural communities and particularly to women: all of us can do something to address global social injustice. When her mind is not overseas, Clarissa enjoys singing, her garden, playing an active part in her local church and of course her wonderful (large!) family.
Chris Haywood, Trustee & Safeguarding lead
Chris has been involved in fundraising and supporting HOPE UK for many years as a result of personal friends encouraging him and his wife to get involved in their mad fundraising schemes to contribute to the valuable development work that HOPE UK supports in Ethiopia. After many years of such association, Chris became a trustee in 2011 and subsequently Chairman in 2012, handing over the role to Rosanna in December 2020. In January 2023, Chris became HOPE UK’s Safeguarding Lead. “I am involved with HOPE UK because I believe its development-focused objectives and am convinced of its effectiveness having witnessed the impact of the work first hand in Ethiopia in 2008.” A Podiatrist by profession and an experienced NHS Manager over a period of 23 years, Chris is now a Vicar in the Church of England. In his free time he can be found indulging his combined passions of photography and walking.
Simeon Paton, Trustee & Treasurer
Simeon Paton has been a trustee since 2019, having supported HOPE UK for a number of years. Simeon first got involved in 2015 when he visited HOPE Ethiopia whilst working for GlobalGiving - one of HOPE UK’s partners. Having been so impressed by the passion and dedication of the Ethiopian staff, as well as seeing the transformational impact HOPE is having on people's lives, he jumped at the opportunity to be a trustee for HOPE UK and subsequently has taken on the role of Treasurer, managing finances and financial reporting. Simeon works in international development, helping organisations better measure their impact through digital information management systems. In his spare time Simeon loves to run, swim, bike and any other excuse to spend time outside in the Cambridgeshire countryside near where he lives.
Billen Kebede Tesissa, trustee
Billen became a Trustee in 2023 after learning about HOPE from a friend. An Ethiopian who moved to the UK in 2013, Billen’s academic background includes rural development studies and family science, with a specialism in gender and women's development. She has experience working and researching in various fields related to HOPE's focus areas, such as women's empowerment, self-help groups, income-generating activities, and more. "As an Ethiopian, I can offer a diverse perspective and help address any cultural and contextual challenges that may arise within the HOPE UK trustee team.” Billen is actively involved in family and youth development in her church community in Birmingham, where she lives with her husband and two children.
daniel newport, trustee
Daniel has been involved with HOPE UK since 2008, when he first engaged with fundraising for clean water projects and visited HOPE projects in Derashe, Ethiopia. Ten years later, Daniel returned to visit more recent projects in Bonke, Ethiopia to research the positive impacts of HOPE’s work on the health of local populations. Having seen first hand the incredible transformation in people’s lives that clean water makes, Daniel is delighted to be part of HOPE’s amazing work as a trustee. Daniel is currently a doctor working in Coventry. Daniel relishes any opportunity to travel and can often be found lost deep within a book or two.
Julie Cole, Fundraiser
Julie started working for HOPE UK in November 2013 as a part-time fundraiser/administrator. The focus of Julie's fundraising for HOPE UK is varied - meeting with individuals, schools, churches and companies as well as liaising with trusts and foundations. She also supports HOPE volunteers in their fundraising efforts as well. Julie was familiar with HOPE's work for many years through friends, but it was after her first trip to Africa in 2012 that she started to search for a way to personally address issues of poverty in the developing world. Julie's desire is to inform and connect people to HOPE's work so that they also might make a meaningful difference in the lives of people in Ethiopia. Julie lives in Bristol with her husband and two daughters.
