Governance
Council of Management
Every member of our Council is passionate about the fight for a better world, and believes that War on Want can make real lasting change with the help and support of our members.
The Council of Management is democratically elected annually by War on Want's members, and has overall responsibility for the direction of War on Want's work. Anyone can become a member of War on Want by joining here.
The current War on Want Council of Management is:
Alia Al-Ghussain
Alia has worked in campaigns and communications for a number of organisations, including Amnesty International, Greenpeace UK and War on Want. She has worked on a broad range of issues such as corporate accountability, human rights, climate justice and militarism and security issues. Alia has also been active in Palestine solidarity work for a number of years.
Amber Williams
Amber is a trade union activist who worked in education for 15 years, later gaining a BSc Psychology degree. She co-founded The Nina Franklin Fund in 2020 to provide material solidarity to educators and young people on the ground in Palestine. Amber was recently appointed President of the National Education Union (NEU) Bristol District alongside her role as International Solidarity Officer, which sees her work closely with Care4Calais and union partners in Sudan.
Esther Giles
Esther is an economist by education, and a qualified public finance accountant (CPFA) by profession. She spent most of her career working as a Finance Director in the National Health Service. Esther now supports a number of community and grassroots charities and organisations as treasurer, and is a member and activist in Unite the Union. Esther also works as a gardener and designer, promoting sustainable and organic methods.
Mark Luetchford
Mark joined War on Want in 1987 and has acted as a trustee for much of that time. He started his career at War on Want as a volunteer, and went on to work for Oxfam and the Soil Association. After a period working in the civil service and local government, Mark now works for the NHS as a Communications Manager. Mark is a long-term supporter of the rights of the people of Western Sahara, and is Chair of the Western Sahara Campaign.
Mike Cushman
Mike is an activist in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign in support of Palestinian rights, and is Membership Secretary and Co-Founder of Jewish Voice for Labour. He helped lead the campaign in support of the liberation movements in Portugal’s former African colonies. Mike has been an active trade unionist in the University and College Union and its predecessors for four decades. Following 20 years working in Adult Community Education, Mike moved to the London School of Economics (LSE) where he worked as a researcher and teacher.
Norina O’Hare
Norina is the former Head of Policy and Equality at the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). Norina is a lifelong trade unionist, with 26 years' experience at PCS of working on strategic change, decision making and governance; as well as in promoting equality, social justice and human rights, and championing workers' rights and collective bargaining.
Rajiv Menon KC
Rajiv is a barrister with over 30 years’ experience at Garden Court Chambers and specialises in criminal defence, Inquests and Inquiries. He has a particular interest in cases involving human rights violations, miscarriages of justice, political protest and the abuse of power by the state. His roots are in the anti-racist movement, having previously worked for the campaigning organisation, Newham Monitoring Project, in east London, providing legal advice and practical support to victims of racist attacks and police harassment.
Sam Mason
Sam is a long-time trade unionist and activist across a range of labour rights, human rights, and social justice areas. She is currently working at the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) as a Policy Officer covering sustainability and climate change, and is the main representative on the global Trade Unions for Energy Democracy initiative. Sam previously worked with Amnesty International, is an anti-war and peace campaigner, a member of the New Lucas Plan project, and helps co-ordinate her local Waltham Forest Climate Justice Coalition.
Shaben Begum
Shaben has extensive experience of working as a leader in the third sector in Scotland and is a skilled campaigner on the rights of disabled people. She has successfully influenced legislation in the Scottish Parliament and has held membership of several Ministerial groups, sharing expertise on independent advocacy, issues of equality, diversity, human rights and making systems accessible and easy to use for everyone. Shaben is the Vice Chair of Long Covid Scotland, a grassroots organisation led by people with lived experience of long Covid.
Steve Davies
Dr Steve Davies is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) at Cardiff University. He was previously a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences (SOCSI), where he taught and researched on globalisation, public services and trade unions. Steve was a Trade Union Officer with predecessor unions of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), where he worked closely with War on Want, and authored a pamphlet on aid as a trade union issue.
Wilf Sullivan
Wilf Sullivan is the former TUC Race Equality Officer and one of the country’s leading black trade unionists. Wilf retired from the TUC in March 2023 following decades of working within the labour movement in particular organising black workers. He has helped organise black workers in both industrial unions and public sector unions, helping lead the fight against low pay for marginalized and disadvantaged workers. A dedicated anti-racist and internationalist, Wilf has been involved in the fight against fascism from the 1970’s to the present day, including serving on the central Committee of Rock Against Racism, and supporting grassroots community anti-racist campaigns, as well as championing those on the frontlines of injustice globally.
Our finances
War on Want is a very lean organisation, and we pledge to use every penny we are given to its maximum effect in bringing about a better world for all people.
Our annual report and accounts are publicly available documents, and contain full details of our income, expenditure and balance sheet year on year.