Our Trustees

David Reid (The Chairperson) has a 40 years plus love affair with Peckham, both as a resident and  working in the area for over 15 years years at Peckham Voluntary Sector Forum a  neighbourhood organisation set up to support the area’s diverse communities. He is a keen campaigner on race equality  and justice issues; challenging those situations where  Individuals and institutions prevent people from a particular race and ethnicity from obtaining their basic needs and rights and or accessing opportunities to improve their lives.  He currently works for Community Southwark as their support officer for Black and Minority Ethnic led charities operating in Southwark. Outside his professional role and duties as chair of The Settlement,  David who was born in Jamaica, has a big passion for Jamaican heritage and culture which includes being a serious collector of reggae music produced on vinyl records, dated from the late1960’s through to the middle 1980’s.

Jeff Burnige is a former chairman of MILLWALL Football Club, regularly goes to matches still at The Den, and comes from a Southwark family. He also chairs the Millwall for All Trust and enjoys working towards community cohesion – which explains his presence on the Board of The Peckham Settlement. His membership of The Peckham Settlement Executive Committee goes back years.

Paddy Cribb, chairman of The Peckham Settlement from 1982 to 2006. Paddy  was the legal director of Freemans, the catalogue mail order company, which contributed to the social framework of Southwark and Lambeth as many of its staff lived there.

Michael Fowke a solicitor, was for many years a partner in a large commercial firm based in the City of London. For the past 15 years, he has been a member of The Peckham Settlement’s Executive Committee and has also worked as an adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau. Michael was Chair of the Settlement up to July 2017 and guided it into this new grant-making incarnation. Michael was elected to the position of President at The Peckham Settlement’s AGM in 2022.

Chris Haydon founded and has run Peckham-based local media charity, Community TV Trust [CTVT] for over twenty years. He makes documentaries and films with and delivers media training especially to young people and the disability sector. Chris was Chair of the Settlement from 2017-2020. From 2019 to 2022 it funded LET’S TALK, a CTVT project investigating knife crime by taking professionals to listen to local young people.

Linda Smith is a local resident living close to the heart of Peckham. She retired as a Secretary in the Inner London Magistrates’ Courts Service. She is active in the church she attends and in the community. Linda had supported The Peckham Settlement as a Volunteer over a period of time before becoming a Trustee.

Tracey Francis joined Peckham Settlement in May 2020 and is a local resident. Since 2005 she has been involved with film and art based community projects and is co-founder of the Women in Film SE15 project and is a volunteer at The Green Community Centre in Nunhead.

Alex Wells is a relative newcomer to the area, having moved here in 2016, but has since put down many local roots, volunteering with Peckham Festival, Nunhead Knocks and South London Cares. In his day job he supports charities and community groups in the borough with Community Southwark, having previously worked at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Small Charities Coalition.

 Deirdre Cole has lived in Peckham since 2016. Deirdre works for London Marathon Charitable Trust and brings extensive grant making experience to her role with Peckham Settlement. She is committed to supporting grassroots and community organisations that can bring about real and lasting social change, empower people and communities and challenge inequalities.

 Joel Attar joined the Peckham Settlement as a trustee in 2021. He was raised in Peckham & Nunhead, has spent 30+ years on and off living in SE15 and now raises two children of his own here. Joel works for UnLtd – the foundation for social entrepreneurs, which enables him to bring a useful mix of grant making operations and strategy to his community.