Lisa Hollins confirmed as co-chair of VCS Emergencies Partnership
A photograph of Lisa Hollins. Credit: Kate Stanworth/BRC.
Lisa Hollins, British Red Cross executive director UK, has been confirmed as co-chair of the VCS Emergencies Partnership.
Hollins has been acting co-chair since November 2023, when she took over on an interim basis from former co-chair and CEO of the British Red Cross, Mike Adamson. The Emergencies Partnership and Red Cross say they’re pleased the role continues British Red Cross’ commitment to the partnership, which sees Hollins working alongside fellow co-chair Maddy Desforges OBE, CEO of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).
Lisa leads Red Cross services that responded to more than a thousand individual emergencies in the UK in 2023, including humanitarian support during storms and flooding, the biggest provider of support to refugees in the UK and health and care services for over 80,000 people. Lisa also leads Red Cross community resilience-building programmes which, among other things, have helped over five million people learn how to save a life and prepare for climate emergencies.
With 30 years’ experience running emergency services for the NHS, including 10 years as a hospital director, Lisa was national director of innovation for NHS England, before joining the Red Cross in April 2022. Lisa says: “Responding to crises relies on all of us working in partnership to meet the needs of our communities. I am looking forward to working with communities and organisations across the country to learn from each other to prepare for and respond to the breadth of emergencies that impact people each year.”
Maddy Desforges OBE, CEO of NAVCA and Emergencies Partnership co-chair, says: “I am delighted Lisa will be the formal co-chair of the partnership. Lisa brings significant experience and leadership to bear, to raise the profile of the work the partnership does and engage widely. It is a sign of British Red Cross’s commitment to the importance of the partnership in its wider work.”
Emergencies Partnership director Robyn Knox MBE says: “The support of Lisa and the British Red Cross has been and continues to be really important to all our partners and the Emergencies Partnership team. Lisa brings a great deal of experience and a powerful commitment to provide generous and curious leadership, to listen, create space and help steer our thriving partnership and sector to be better connected, better informed about risks and people’s vulnerabilities, and all in all to build resilience in a more person-centred way. We look forward to working with Lisa on the next stage of our journey.”
The Emergencies Partnership is a network connecting and building trust between voluntary, community and public sector organisations so they work better together in preparation for and response to emergencies.
Since forming in 2018, as a result of lessons learned from big emergencies the year before including the London and Manchester Arena terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower Fire, the partnership has grown from a small group of founding partners to a diverse network of more than 300 community, voluntary and public sector partners across the country who connect, coordinate and build trusted relationships before, during and after emergencies.
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For more information please contact info@vcsep.org.uk