meet the risc team
RISC has grown to become a large organisation with many people working for it in different capacities. As the organisation is a charity we have a board of trustees who are the directors of the charity. We have a management collective, as well as other paid staff for various roles.
trustees
Trustees meet every two months six times a year.
 | Malla Hovi Bio coming soon. |
 | obiageli onyekpe I have volunteered with RISC in the varied areas including assisting with office administration, supporting the education team, working in the World Shop, roof garden, youth work, events and as a trustee. RISC is an invaluable centre that I enjoy being part of, and I believe the work they do contribute greatly to bring society together locally and globally |
Hammad KaziHammad is an applied economist who was previously a Trustee until 2021 before rejoining recently. He works in the development sector as a management consultant to governments, advising them on health reforms. He enjoys cooking, running, and playing Lego with his son. | |
| Shaheen Rashid For more than 20 years I have been working within the Reading voluntary sector, being introduced to RISC, and Fairtrade, in 2020. It is a privilege to work alongside a truly amazing team, within this compassionate, charitable organisation |
| karen rizk Bio coming soon. |
 | summreen Summreen is a sustainability professional mainly working in the public and third sector. She has worked with RISC in the past few years on Fair Trade and Renewable Energy projects. She takes a keen interest in social justice and environmental campaigning and is a regular attendee of events at RISC, as well as a visitor in the Global Cafe and World Shop. Reading wouldn’t be the same without RISC and all that it contributes to the local community. |
collective
RISC is managed by a collective of individuals in a flattened hierarchy. In other words, rather than one single person at the top the we have a group of people who ‘collectively’ meet regularly to manage the organisation.
 | fiona grant community facilities co-ordinator I am responsible for the day to day management of the community meeting space including health and safety. I Joined RISC as a volunteer in 1992, was shop co-ordinator until 2001 when I moved to my current post. |
| zainab khan events co-ordinator Bio coming soon. |
 | martin mikhail centre co-ordinator Martin has been with RISC since the beginning and is involved in almost every aspect of the charity. From meeting with funders to building maintenance, Martin has an overview of whatever is going on at any one time! |
 | annemieke palmer finance co-ordinator I have worked for RISC as the Finance Coordinator since 2003. Life at RISC is never dull as we always have lots of projects on the go, I also deal with all the different income streams from the World Shop, Global Cafe, Room Hire and flats. We have quite a number of people on the payroll and managing the Year End accounts also takes up some time. |
 | dave richards publications and roof garden co-ordinator Dave has been working at RISC since 1989. He produces exhibitions and teaching resources on a range of issues including trade justice, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. He also coordinates RISC’s work on food and gardens. |
| silvia rizzoli world shop co-ordinator Silvia has been managing the shop since 2014. |
volunteers
As well as our staff we have many volunteers (over 1,000 volunteers have been involved since 1995!), without whom the organisation couldn’t function.