Trustees

Page in progress

John Raine

I am a founding trustee of Malvern Welcomes – a wonderful organisation of which I have been very proud to support.  Since 2000 I have also been serving as an elected member of Malvern Hills District Council (representing West Malvern ward).  Additionally, I served for eight years as the elected County Councillor for my local area and indeed, for the past twenty years, as an elected trustee of the Malvern Hills Conservators, where I played a leading role in up-dating the organisation’s governance arrangements.  In 2020, I formally retired from my post as Professor of Criminal Justice & Local Governance at Birmingham University, but I have continued to act part-time as a personal tutor.  My wife and I have lived in West Malvern since 1979; it being where our three children have grown up, and where, for some twenty years to date, I have enjoyed being organist at St James’ Church.

David Kitcat

I moved to Malvern more than ten years ago with my family and am very happy to be living in this community. I grew up in South Africa. While I was there, I worked as a volunteer with the Black Sash, a practical anti-Apartheid civil rights organisation. For me, apart from being the country where my grandfathers were born, Britain always represented a place of refuge and safety for the world’s persecuted. That spirit of openness and tolerance clearly needs to be fostered from generation to generation, and I am happy to belong to a charity which represents this British value.

Laila Kasem

I am a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Marketing at the University of Worcester, where I led a portfolio of business Master’s programmes for several years. My research focuses on strategy, entrepreneurship and ethnic minority business support. I co‑lead a regional research project in partnership with Worcestershire institutions, generating insights that inform both policy and practice.

Beyond academia, I previously served as a Non‑Executive Board Member in a refugee-focused organisation contributing to organisational strategy, strengthening governance processes and supporting initiatives focused on refugee economic integration. I also recently co-founded a research agency dedicated to generating insights on Syrians inside and outside Syria, building a knowledge base to support informed decision‑making. Across all my roles, I combine strategic thinking, research expertise and a commitment to inclusivity, perspectives I also bring to my role as a Trustee at Malvern Welcomes.

Tony Vere

Suzanne Savage