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Mary Foulkes appointed as Shelter’s Director of Equity, Inclusion and Culture

Posted 07 Apr 2022

Mary Foulkes has joined Shelter as Director of Equity Inclusion and Culture.

Mary brings a wealth of expertise from her directorial roles in Human Resources in NHS Foundation Trusts, third and private sectors. In these roles she successfully delivered large scale change and transformation programmes and drove forward major equality and diversity strategies. This included working with staff networks for protected characteristics to raise their profile, improving diversity at a senior level, and working to close the gender pay gap.

At Shelter, Mary will lead the teams overseeing the charity’s ambition to become an Anti-Racist organisation where equity and inclusion are an integral part of its mission to end the housing emergency. Mary will also lead Shelter’s volunteering, involvement, equality, inclusion and culture, learning and development, organisational development and internal communications functions.

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: “We have a clear vision of the kind of charity we want to be, and I am delighted that Mary has joined us to help make that a reality. Her passion for equality and equity echoes Shelter’s own values and is critical as we fight for real change.

“I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved at Shelter so far, but there’s still work to do. Mary’s extensive experience in driving positive change, will help reinforce our efforts to become a truly inclusive and antiracist organisation. I can’t wait to see what we do together.”

Mary Foulkes, Director of Equality, Inclusion & Culture, said: “The pandemic has really ‘brought home’ just how important having a safe and decent home is to all of us. Good housing is as vital as education or healthcare, so I am very proud to have joined Shelter’s fight for home.

“My ambition has always been to remove barriers that prevent people from achieving their potential, and Shelter’s own dedication to this is why I wanted the job. A lot of time has gone into laying the groundwork, I am excited to build on that as we work together to embed anti-racism and create an inclusive environment that champions equity for all our people.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About Shelter: Shelter exists to defend the right to a safe home and fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. Shelter believes that home is everything. Learn more at www.shelter.org.uk