Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE has been appointed as the next Chair of the Board of Trustees at Independent Age, the older people’s charity. She will take up the role in mid-October 2019, succeeding the current Chair, Justine Frain.
Baroness Neuberger is a writer and commentator on social issues and a well-known champion for older people. She is Senior Rabbi at West London Synagogue and a cross bench member of the House of Lords. Amongst her many public roles she was the Prime Minister’s Champion for Volunteering from 2007-09 and chaired the Commission on the Future of Volunteering from 2006-08.
Baroness Neuberger is Vice Chair of the Government’s independent review this year of the Mental Health Act. She is also a trustee of the Van Leer Foundation, Chair of the Van Lee Jerusalem Institute and a trustee of the Rayne Foundation, as well as a founding trustee of the Walter and Liesel Schwab Charitable Trust, in memory of her parents.
Commenting on her new role, Baroness Neuberger said: “I am so excited to be taking on this new role, I have hugely admired the work Independent Age has already done on combatting loneliness, as well as all its other activities. I hope to be able to contribute to more work on transforming older people’s lives.”
Justine Frain, Chair of Independent Age, said: “Independent Age has evolved into an organisation now helping over a million people a year, and with determined ambition to help older people remain independent and live life on their terms. Julia is passionate about supporting older people and I am delighted that she will be the next Chair.”
Chief Executive of Independent Age, Janet Morrison, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming Julia to Independent Age – her authority, passion and expertise will be invaluable to the charity at a time when we are ambitiously scaling up to deliver great impact for older people. It is a testament to how far we’ve come and how much we have already achieved that she had decided to join us on this exciting journey.”