Our Trustees

Our board of trustees is responsible for the charity’s strategic governance and comprises 12 people who live or work in Richmond.

They oversee all aspects of the charity including our almshouses, community and welfare grants and are also responsible for the charity’s historical endowed assets made up of our property and investments.

Trustee positions are voluntary, but travel expenses can be reimbursed. The board meets once every two months in Richmond. There are also regular meetings of the sub-committees: Finance Committee, Property Committee, Welfare Committee, Risk Management Committee and the Safeguarding Group.

Trustee positions are held for a maximum of three terms of four years each. When vacancies arise, they are usually openly advertised locally. For further information, please contact Juliet Ames-Lewis on 020 8948 4188.

Mike Townsin

Richmond Charities Trustee - Mike Townsin

Mike Townsin’s career spanned 40 years in advertising, from trainee to Managing Director of the London office of Young and Rubicam, at that time the world’s second largest advertising agency. After 20 years at Y&R he became Chairman and CEO of GGK, the UK office of a Swiss multinational advertising agency, and latterly was Regional Director/Senior Vice President of Grey Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, one of the world’s largest multinational advertising agencies, now part of WPP.

Mike has lived in Richmond for 50 years. From 2006 – 2016 he was a Governor of the Old Vicarage School in Richmond, 5 years of which was as Chairman. Mike has trained as a Cruse bereavement counsellor. In 2023 he was appointed Chair of Governors of the Holy Trinity CE Primary School, Richmond. Mike was appointed to the Board of The Richmond Charities in 2018 and is also a member of the Welfare Committee, the Finance Committee and the Almshouse News Editorial Committee.