Equity And Social Justice Advocate Gets Top Charity Job
Katherine Low Settlement's new Chief Exec is announced
Left: incoming CEO Sarah Gibb. Right: outgoing CEO Aaron Barbour. Pictures: KLS
September 26, 2023
The next Katherine Low Settlement Chief Executive has been named, following the news that Aaron Barbour is off to pastures new after a ten-year stint in the top role.
Sarah Gibb comes from the settlement charity Time and Talents Association, in South East London, which aims to reduce loneliness and build stronger, less divided communities.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping into the role of Chief Executive at Katherine Low Settlement. Guided by its exceptional reputation as a Battersea anchor institution, I am committed to leading KLS through the 2024 centenary milestone and beyond,” she said ahead of taking up her new role this week (25 September). “I look forward to getting to know and collaborating with the KLS community to uphold our identity, fostering community, promoting empowerment, combating poverty, and reducing isolation.”
Outgoing CEO Aaron Barbour said, “After 10 glorious years it’s time for me to move on and have some new adventures. It’s been an absolutely honour leading KLS.”
Aaron will stay on for a managed handover, before KLS finally bids him farewell at the AGM and party on Wednesday 4 October.
The Katherine Low Settlement, which marks its centenary next year, is a charity founded as part of the Settlement Movement by American-born philanthropist Katherine Mackay Low, who moved to London and devoted her life to the care of the less fortunate. Following her death in 1923 her friends decided to create a memorial to Katherine which would also further the kind of service to which she had devoted her life.
The Settlement Movement was a reformist social group that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the UK and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together, in both physical proximity and social interconnectedness by establishing ‘settlement houses’ in poor urban areas.
Chair of the KLS Trustees, said, “It was clear from the outset that Sarah is in tune with the heart of KLS and she brings a wealth of relevant experience to the charity and to our community, as she leads us into the future.”
Sarah initial spent 20 years of her career in the civil service and private sector, which she followed with 18 years of leadership in the third sector. Described by KLS as “a passionate advocate for equity and social justice”, she has worked as a charity volunteer and trustee and is currently a refugee mentor with HostNation, a charity supporting refugees.
KLS explains that it is “committed to building stronger communities and enabling people to challenge themselves and find ways out of isolation through our varied community projects”. There are various ways you can support that work via donating, volunteering, partnering up or even using the building for room hire. Go to the KLS web site to find out more.
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