A former partner at Bristol-headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon has been appointed as chair of trustees at one of the country’s oldest charities.
Sandra Forbes, pictured, has taken up the role at St John’s Foundation in Bath, which celebrated its 850th anniversary last year.
A distinguished banking and corporate lawyer with a proven track record in senior leadership positions, Sandra spent 18 years as a partner at Burges Salmon, where in 2006 she became its first-ever female department head.
Her senior leadership roles have included General Counsel and company secretary at both travel group National Express (now Mobico) and Bath-headquartered advanced manufacturing group Rotork.
She also spent eight years as a governor at UWE Bristol, where she also served as deputy chair of governors, and she has been a board director at Bath’s Holburne Museum for just over five years, including chairing its nomination committee.
St John’s Foundation, the 11th oldest charity in England and the oldest in Bath, said Sandra would bring a fresh perspective to help guide the charity into the future and through the second half of its current strategy.
Alongside providing almshouses on two sites in Bath and supporting children and families, St John’s Foundation has a key focus on narrowing the academic attainment gap in Bath and North East Somerset for children aged between 7 and 11 at the end of Key Stage 2.
The charity’s ‘Best Start in Life’ initiative works closely with primary schools, early years organisations and partners to provide targeted support that ensures every child under 12 has the opportunity to grow up healthy, happy and well educated.
Early data from the charity indicates encouraging improvements in literacy levels in primary school-age children along with improving speech and language development in children before they go to school.
Having lived in Bath for more than 25 years, Sandra has developed a profound understanding of the challenges facing the city’s communities and the inequalities that persist, St John’s Foundation said.
Sandra added: “I feel privileged to become chair of a charity with such a long and rich history, yet one that remains firmly focused on supporting its community both now and into the future.
“Having celebrated our 850th anniversary in 2024, we aim to build on the successes of the past five years and expand our vital support to all of St John’s beneficiaries across the region.
“I look forward to playing my part in this next stage of the journey and contributing to its continued success.”
The charity not only supports older adults in the community by providing accommodation in its 94 almshouse apartments, it also delivers outreach services while working to foster an age-friendly community in collaboration with organisations such as Age UK.
Another key strand of work is to support individuals and families that have reached a point of crisis through its Crisis Programme.
St John’s Foundation interim CEO Catharine Brown, pictured above, said Sandra brought not only a wealth of professional experience but also a forward-thinking perspective to her new role.
“This will be invaluable to the charity as we push forward with our important work to support all our beneficiaries, while also nurturing the people, partners and culture at St John’s,” she added.
St John’s Foundation’s almshouses are at Chapel Court in Bath city centre and Combe Park, next to the Royal United Hospital.
