I’m writing this piece in the city I grew up in – Johannesberg – not the one I now live in with my husband and grown up sons. We left this crazy city 24 years ago thinking that we’d have an interesting few years and then we’d be back. We’ve come back regularly but this time the change felt so much bigger. Driving through the area where we both grew up, we were struck by the enormity of the altered landscape. So much was the same, but so much had changed.

I grew up in a leafy suburb, sheltered from politics and poverty of 1960’s and 70’s South Africa. When I was 12, I announced that I wanted to go to boarding school. My brother had gone off a couple of years earlier, and inspired by Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers, my mind was made up. I had a very happy time surrounded by friends, playing sport and enjoying school.

During this time the Soweto Riots broke out. Not only did they impact on the country and on our being able to make the journey back to school after weekends and holidays, but they impacted on my understanding of the world around me. Many of my teenage questions were unsatisfactorily answered.

It marked the beginning of my involvement in educating children who lived in the townships around Johannesburg and fighting for the rights and dignity of the black women (mostly) and men who worked as domestic workers in our homes. The injustices of growing up in Apartheid South Africa could not go unnoticed then, and continue to drive me today, to be active in trying to make the world just that bit better.

I spent 20 years in marketing, much of it working for Richardson Vicks (now P&G) and Bristol Myers Squibb. Arriving in London in the early 1990’s was a huge, life-affirming move.  It was also the beginning of my next chapter. I helped with social action projects at the synagogue we’d just joined, and found my way onto the Council and then the Board. It was the beginning of my journey as a Trustee and Chair of a number of amazing organisations including my current roles as Chair of the New Israel Fund and Vice Chair of Citizens UK. Someone once counselled me that trustee boards are messy. They were right, but it’s good messy and, done thoughtfully and collaboratively, it’s highly recommended.

It’s why the concept of Circle Sq. appealed to me so much. I loved the idea that it’s perfectly OK to think about moving on from a career or pursuit that we’re immersed in at 50 or 60 or 70, and critically, that we should do it together with others. Early on I worked with Nick and Noam to get Circle Sq’s communications and events of off the ground. Today, we have an outstanding team who do this work and I am able to continue to support and be part of this unique concept as Chair of the Board of Circle Sq.