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Our people

We are a team of passionate people working together to restore young people’s hope for their future. Find out more about what this means to our leadership team, staff and trustees.

Our people

Florence Knoll

Florence Kroll

Lead Trustee for Safeguarding and member of Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee

Florence is the Director of Children’s Services at the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In her route to this role, she has been a Probation Officer, Youth Justice Social Worker, managed the Youth OffendingTeam at Southwark, held senior roles in Youth Crime Reduction in Hackney and run the Early Help and Preventive Service in Kent. 

'The Children's Society is an amazing organisation that puts children at the heart of everything they do. It is aspirational and ambitious to make a real difference for children’s lives. It has an energy that inspires you get involved. It is inclusive and genuinely considers diversity and how we can together contribute to transforming lives.'

David Ramsden

David Ramsden

Trustee and member of our Finance and Investment Committee

David Ramsden has been Chief Executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust since December 2016. From 2006 to 2016 David was CEO of BBC Children in Need as it raised over £400 million and diversified its income base with new programming and commercial partnerships. 

‘Every child deserves a childhood where they can be safe, happy and given the chance to reach their potential.  The Children’s Society is a special and positive organisation as it brings people with skill, experience and passion together to make a difference for children and young people who really need our help and support.’

Alyson Coates

Trustee

Following a professional career in biotechnology, management consulting and healthcare investment banking, Alyson has 20 years of non-executive board experience on major organisations in the NHS, higher education and financial regulation, and as a trustee of various health charities.

 ‘I was attracted to join The Children’s Society both by the urgency of its mission and the inspiring values that drive its work. Those values of bravery, ambition, support and trust encapsulate what is required to meet the challenge of reversing the decline in childrens’ welfare and have built a truly impressive, passionate organisation’ 

In essence hope is the belief that good things will happen , it is the uncompromising mission of The Children's Society to make good things happen for all young people in our society. The transformative power of effective intervention and support to the lives of young people is clear. The Children's Society puts the interests and the voices of young people at the heart of everything it does, and the impact of work delivered with that philosophy is extraordinary.