Who We Are

Drawing on over 25 years-experience from an award-winning career in journalism, film and Television, Ingrid’s passion, energy and unique insight for unravelling complex issues to reach the heart of a story, helped her to develop the Mary Initiative. A faith based diplomacy programme in 2009, and launched the Dignity Diaries at the United Nations in New York in 2014.  An international programme exploring the role and relevance of dignity in today’s world, exploring its importance as a pillar of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the impact of its absence - particularly on the lives of women and girls.  In 2019 Le Menach Foundation led a 2-year project and team of 9 organisations across 7 countries exploring refugee integration through dignity, health and employability.
 
Ingrid is a former board member of iDE, (International Development Enterprise), empowering entrepreneurs to end poverty, transforming 40 million lives over 4 decades across Africa, Asia and Central America.  A board member of the Council of Christians and Jews; the UK’s oldest interfaith organisation; Adviser to the Curriculum for Cohesion in the UK, and Head of Policy for conflict resolution at UK Think Tank, the Human City institute in Birmingham.  Working on peace initiatives in Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan, Malaysia, El Salvador/Guatemala, Oman the US and the UK, Ingrid was made an Ambassador of Peace in 1999.  Her work is deeply embedded in the transformational values of dignity, equity and compassion.

Trustees 
      

David is a passionate explorer of people and places, driven by the desire to see the positive potential of individuals fulfilled and natural environments preserved. After being awarded Deputy Lieutenant in 2004 for outstanding services to the country, his love of Africa led him in 2008 to found Action Africa in Namibia, an organisation focusing on capacity building and leadership skills in African communities.

David holds a number of posts including CEO of the Rank Foundation, focusing on a broad range of projects concerning social disadvantage and need in the UK.  He is Trustee and founder member of the Community Foundation for Lancashire and member of the UK Foundations Forum, representing the UK’s 50 largest grant making bodies as well as Trustee of the Arthur Rank Centre, representing the rural church as part of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 

Alan’s deeply held belief that justice be available to all, led him to become an independent lawyer in the advocacy sector. A barrister with the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, an organisation created to combat poverty, educational underachievement and social injustice, Alan is regularly involved in working to influence government policymakers, assist those finding themselves in difficult legal circumstances and appearing on the Human Rights TV channel.  Alan is also Director of McKenzie Friends and adviser to a number of non-governmental organisations on matters of law and policy and has written a number of books on Poll Tax and the law.            

Joanne’s courageous community spirit motivated her to serve as Family Services and Disaster Officer for a number of years with the American Red Cross.  Involved in numerous local and national operations, including Hurricane Katrina, Joanne also served as Disaster Action Team Leader at Ground Zero during 9/ll and as a former Programme Development officer delivering programmes on International Humanitarian Law. As Founder and President of Raven Pictures, a successful US film distribution and music publishing company, Joanne combined her creative and business skills to focus on the Non-profit sector, by founding and becoming CEO of Montage Initiative in 2009, an organisation working to create sustainable livelihoods  for women in the developing world.  

Charlotte Latham
Charlotte is a marketing and communications strategy specialist from the pharmecutical sector who worked closely with healthcare professionals and government institutions. Bringing her energy and uniqe perspective of creativity and clarity to marketing, Charlotte has for a number years been donating her time and expertise to a number of charity and non-profit organisations before making the transition full time to the third sector. 

Advisors
 

Caroline’s fascination with how the world communicates across cultures reveals itself through her photography and portraiture. As a former diplomat posted in conflict zones around the world she bore witness to the life she encountered in conflict zones around the world. An accomplished artist, writer and ‘digital raconteur’, Caroline spent 15 years at the Foreign Office developing a professionalism in strategic communication – her remits included Sri Lanka, Iraq and Pakistan. In 2008 Caroline founded a conflict communications non-profit.  She is also co-creator of CAST, a unique cross cultural training organisation, and Askance, a Cambridge based publishing house.  She is a regular contributor to Diplomat Magazine, Dawn Newspaper and the World Bank website and author of “Better Basra”, a book about her time in Iraq.  Caroline’s reaction to the injustices around her manifests itself through a number of advisory roles she undertakes and the personal projects she creates.

Providing practical, caring and spiritual support to those around him as an ordained Marist priest, Edmund packed up his skills and great sense of humour, for the island of Oceania in South Asia, where he tirelessly served the community for almost 50 years as a missionary. Since returning to London and the famous French Marist church, Notre Dame de France off Leicester Square, Edmund has continued his commitment to serve by working with the church’s local French speaking community and at Notre Dame’s dedicated centre for refugees.