Meet the Team

Philip Bell – Chief Executive Officer

I have lived in and around Bracknell and Wokingham all my life. I am passionate about my community and about assisting those charities, community groups and individuals who support it. I have enjoyed a varied career, though have primarily worked across health and social care settings, and from 2010 to 2013 was the director of a neighbouring area children’s charity. As such, I have developed skills that are transferable to my role at Involve.

Jackie Eddolls – Finance Manager

As I am passionate about working for an organisation whose ethos is to help better the lives of those in the local community, and as someone who has worked in the charity sector for some years, I consider myself to be in a privileged position as the finance manager at Involve.  My role is never dull as there are so many things to keep me challenged on a day to day basis. Every part of my job keeps me in touch with the local community and with all the fab things that are happening in our sector all the time.

Liz Penn – Wellbeing Services Manager

Having worked in various roles and sectors during my career, this is my first role with a charity organisation. Whilst working as a parish clerk I began to realise how important community is to us all and decided to follow another path. I feel privileged to work at Involve, previously within the Community Navigation team, and now as the Wellbeing Services Manager, and I enjoy working alongside such an experienced team, and helping to support our staff who provide vital health and wellbeing services which benefit local residents and their families. Over the years I have taken on various voluntary roles, the latest role as the Chair of a community bar! I am passionate about social media and run several community Facebook groups; I also enjoy literature, walking and entertaining.

Julie Bedborough – Wokingham Hub Coordinator

I have lived and worked in the Bracknell / Wokingham area all my life. Much of my working life has been working within Human Resources. This is the first time I have been lucky enough to work within the charity sector. I am very excited to be fronting the new Wokingham Charity and Community Hub in the heart of the Wokingham town centre. I have joined an incredibly dedicated and friendly team at Involve, and within the Hub itself. I am looking forward to using all of my people skills in this busy and varied role. Outside of work, I am a keen gardener and enjoy cooking, especially anything by chef James Martin!

Clarissa Webb – Administration & Marketing Officer

My first experience of the workplace was in a busy restaurant, so changing from such a fast paced and stressful environment to such a calm and friendly environment at Involve was such an amazing transition for me. In the past I had never really thought about working within the voluntary and community sector, but now that I do, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else!

It is so inspirational that everyone here genuinely cares about the work they do and I feel so lucky to have found a place here. I still enjoy cooking and baking though, so hopefully everyone here appreciates the occasional random cake!

Mike Allen – Trustee Recruitment & Governance

I’ve almost always worked in the voluntary and community sector, from when I volunteered during my first time at university back in the 1970s through to eventually becoming the CEO of a some medium-sized charities. I started with adventure play work, followed by youth work, community development, then joined some nationally well known organisations, usually working with Boards of trustees to help with governance and training.

It’s thus appropriate I’m now helping charities across the Thames Valley (as well as some further afield) to recruit, train and support trustees, looking to increase the diversity of people involved. As well as my role at Involve I’m a trustee of another charity and believe in a strong charity sector, because we are clearly better equipped to respond to local issues and needs in a flexible, inclusive way.

Suki Kaur – Funding Advisor

I am an experienced fundraising and development professional with over 20 years’ experience supporting voluntary and community organisations working across social justice, health, arts and culture, and community development.

I am passionate about helping organisations secure the resources they need to make a real difference. Over my career, I have successfully secured funding from Trusts and Foundations, statutory bodies, local authorities, corporate partners, and major donors, including multiple six-figure grants and contracts. My work has helped organisations grow, become more sustainable, and extend their reach to communities who need support most.

I specialise in, ensuring groups are ‘funder ready’ strategic fundraising, bid writing, and income diversification, combining strong research and writing skills with a collaborative, relationship-led approach. I enjoy working closely with teams, boards, and funders to develop clear, compelling cases for support that reflect an organisation’s values and impact. I’m delighted to have joined the team at Involve and look forward to supporting local non-profits to continue their valuable work and strengthen their impact.

Claire Page – Training Coordinator

I have had several roles working in an office and found I had finally found where I needed to be when working for a charity in 2007. I started working for Involve in 2015. My first time working in a charity I loved the fact I found it very rewarding helping others that were in need. I am very much a people person and like to feel that I can make a difference. My role at Involve is offering training for local charities which helps them to be well equipped to help those in need. This gives me great satisfaction.

In my personal life I am very active and always busy. With three children at home my days are never quiet. I always have new projects around the house and am constantly making more improvements in the home to make it a lovely place for myself and my children. I enjoy having regular get togethers’ with friends and family entertaining sharing a glass or two of wine.

Nicky Rolfe – Community Development Worker

Throughout my career, I have worked in a range of sectors, including health and social care, the travel industry, and now the charity sector. Although each role has been different, they have all shared one thing in common – my passion for connecting with people and supporting them in the best way I can.

Having lived in the Bracknell Forest area for most of my life, I am incredibly proud to now be working within the community I call home. Being able to support local people and make a positive difference is something I find both rewarding and meaningful. Outside of work, I love spending time with my friends and family, especially my children, who are my world. I also enjoy live music, meeting new people, building relationships, and being part of my local community.

Laura Quinlan – Friendship Ambassador

I have lived and worked in Bracknell Forest for most of my life and am passionate about our wonderful community and brilliant outdoor spaces. My working life has been a real mixture of business, education, and the charity sector. I love people and know just how important friendship is so I feel so privileged to be in a role here at Involve where I can help to bring people together, reducing social isolation for people of all ages.

Fiona Swan – Volunteer Services & Sector Development Manager

Working at Involve is my first role within the charitable sector following a career in retail and having volunteered myself I know how important that support is both to the charity but also to the individual volunteering. As a Bracknell resident I am passionate about being able to make a difference locally and my role at in Involve provides me with the opportunity to work alongside volunteers, community groups and charities to achieve this. The Involve team are an amazing group of individuals all working together to improve the lives for everyone in the local community. Outside of work I spend time on my allotment and enjoy walking and discovering more of my local area.

Caroline Pragnell – Green & Active Coordinator

I have held a variety of different roles during my working career, yet all have the common thread of working alongside people, communities and the environment. I feel very privileged and proud to be joining theInvolve team, who provide such vital services for our community. My passion is the environment and connecting people to it physically, emotionally and intellectually. My mission is to simply encourage people to join me in taking ownership for maintaining, sustaining and growing the green spaces that surround us. I’m really looking forward to getting out there and meeting new people and making new friends!

Sree Laxman – Community Development Worker

My background is in implementing and evaluating well-being strategies that use sport and physical activity to support individuals experiencing mental health challenges. At Involve, I’m excited to co-produce health and well-being programmes as part of the Thriving Communities Project, supporting residents across Bracknell. This role gives me the opportunity to connect directly with Bracknell’s diverse communities, understand what matters most to them, and help shape sustainable, meaningful well-being initiatives. Alongside this work, I’m currently pursuing a PhD focused on the long-term impact of community-based physical activity on mental health and quality of life. I’m passionate about bridging research and practice, ensuring that the programmes I help design are both evidence-based and deeply relevant to the people they serve.

Joe-David (JD) Okito – Community Development Worker

I am passionate about cultivating inclusive, bottom up, community driven change. Especially as a Bracknell local, this town is near to my heart. It is where I go for runs in Swinley Forest or South Hill Park. It is where I previously worked at the Nando’s in the Lexicon, where I go to gym at the Puregym, where I like to read and write my poems at the Village Hotel garden, where I play football every Sunday at the Bracknell Leisure Centre and where I attend and support my church, the Potter’s House Church, at the Brakenhale School. Doing life with the people of Bracknell motivates me to support my local community to reduce health inequalities, maximise wellness and increasing self-care and community resilience through community development.

Tammy Keen – Social Prescriber

I spent all of my childhood in Bracknell and thoroughly enjoyed it, spending a lot of my time at Jocks Lane and Jeans’ Pond with my friends. In my adult life, I spent most of it in various places around Berkshire and ventured to North Devon for 5 years, before being pulled back to where my roots lie and back home with my family and friends. Now I live in Wokingham, with my 5 year old boy and we have settled in a fantastic and supportive neighbourhood and school.

I have attended various colleges and Surrey University, I have also enjoyed over 25 years working in the NHS and for Thames Hospice, in many varying roles. I have a passion for supporting and enabling people to achieve their goals, and for them to have a good quality of life, as best they can. When I am not working, I love nothing more than spending time with the ones I love and cherish.

Janine Oakley – Social Prescriber

After working in care for several years and seeing how individuals struggled to access services in the community, I decided I would love to work in a position that would give me the opportunity to assist with getting people the help and support they needed. I was in my last position as an outreach worker for almost 6 years and I loved every minute of it, but I decided I needed to use the knowledge gained to spread the word to all in the community and not just one sector. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and working with like minded people.

Sally Franks – Community Navigator

After working in a local primary school as a teaching assistant for nearly 15 years I thought it was time for a change. I really enjoy helping people and making a difference to people’s live, and so I am glad that working at Involve is giving me that opportunity, as well as the chance to be part of a very friendly, supportive team. In my spare time I enjoy walking my dog, being in my garden pottering about and socializing with friends. I also help to run a beaver scout group and volunteer with the Link Visiting Scheme as a befriender.

Vickie Randall – Cancer Support Network Scheme Coordinator

I have worked in the charity sector for over 15 years and have management and fundraising experience with a range of causes including disability, medical, young people, bereavement and mental health. I have a marketing diploma and I’m an individual member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. I joined Involve to develop their new Cancer Scheme and through a strategic approach and research into local provision we were able to establish a model that offers holistic support to our local community affected by cancer.

I love my work and I’m passionate about making a difference to the people in our local community. The charity sector offers unique and rewarding experiences but above all, when someone says ‘Thank You’ it makes it all worth it! In my spare time I spend time with my family and friends. Having six children means there’s never a dull moment!

Lynne Regan – Thames Valley VCSE Alliance Berkshire Lead

I have over 20 years experience of working in the VCSE sector, managing an accredited CVS hosted Volunteer Centre, developing innovative services and leading on the strategic development of volunteering before joining a national charity to manage their UK volunteering programme and secure the Investing in Volunteers standard.

Having relocated I started working for the NHS, developing a new volunteer led palliative care service for a hospital Foundation Trust followed by three years in the CCG/ICS, providing workforce support for non-clinical primary care staff. I am excited to be working on this new collaborative project for the Thames Valley Health & Care footprint!