At our Annual General Meeting last night, Gareth Conyard was elected as Chair Designate of the SLA Board of Trustees, along with six new Trustees who will bring expertise in finance, administration, business development, fundraising and digital technology.
After attracting an extremely high calibre of applicants, we are so pleased to have appointed some exceptional new board members who have the knowledge and passion to guide and support the SLA through the challenging educational and charity landscape.
Here is a little more about the new Trustees who will be joining existing board members, Eleanor Crawshaw-Prince, Susan Stonard, Lynsey Pollard (Vice-Chair), and John Bradford, who was re-elected for a final year as Treasurer:
Gareth Conyard, Chair Designate, in his own words: I am the CEO of the Teacher Development Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting the effective professional development of school leaders and teachers. Prior to joining TDT in 2022, I was a senior civil servant at the Department for Education, a nineteen year career that saw me work on everything from early years to higher education (and a two year stint on development education at the then Department for International Development). I have experience of working as Trustee: at Education Support for six years, and chairing The Parent Village Board of Trustees for eighteen months. Libraries were such a formative part of my education - through school and beyond - providing a haven for reading, learning, and collaborating. The opportunity to work with the organisation advocating for this crucial resource - for children, schools, and society - is one I just couldn't pass up. I think deeply about the education system (my first book, Improving Education Policy Together, co-authored with Nansi Ellis, was published in 2024), and I believe that work, combined with my experience of leading an education charity as CEO and supporting other education organisations as a trustee, gives me something substantial to contribute to the School Library Association team.
Gareth will take over as Chair of the Board of Trustees after a period of handover with current Interim Chair, Sue Bastone.
Louis Arthur-Brown, Digital/IT: Louis Arthur-Brown is a Solutions Partner at Codestone Group Ltd, where he leads strategic go-to-market initiatives in cloud transformation, data & AI, and managed services. He joins the Board of Trustees at the School Library Association driven by a personal passion: his daughter’s love of reading inspired him to help ensure more children discover the joy of books. Louis values school libraries as vital hubs for literacy, curiosity and opportunity, places where every young person can access stories, ideas and possibilities. Drawing on his expertise in IT and digital transformation, he looks forward to helping the SLA amplify its impact, harness tech to enhance access and engagement, and support a future where every school library thrives.
Dr Sarah Daniels, Fundraising: Sarah is librarian for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, as well as the author of two books for teens (The Stranded and The Exiled published by Penguin Random House). Before becoming a writer, she worked in archaeology, heritage, and cultural sector fundraising. Her professional life is shaped by an interest in how stories help us understand the world and one another. She is passionate about advocating for school libraries as essential spaces for curiosity and belonging. As a trustee of the School Library Association, she hopes to contribute her experience in fundraising and the publishing world to strengthen the SLA’s profile and its work supporting school librarians.
Sarah Forbes, Finance: Sarah Forbes is an experienced educational publishing professional who has spent over fifteen years developing English language, social studies, literacy, and phonics resources for schools inthe UK and internationally. A former Commissioning Editor at Macmillan Education, she later led large-scale publishing and curriculum projects as Publisher for DK Learning and Phonic Books. Her work has focused on improving reading outcomes through evidence-based pedagogy, inclusive practice, and high-quality teacher support. Before moving into publishing, Sarah taught English for the British Council in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, where she trained teachers and supported outreach programmes promoting literacy and language learning. She is passionate about ensuring that every child has access to engaging, inclusive books and a thriving school library at the heart of their learning.
Philip Kavvadias, Business: Philip is a Mechanical Engineer with a Masters in Industrial Engineering. Currently he manages global sustainability programmes, involving diverse geographies, stakeholders and technologies, for one of the biggest brands in the world. But that is just one of his passions. The other one is making children fall in love with reading again. Philip’s books bring relentless humour, high-stakes adventure and non-stop action, and his school visits create masses of enthusiasm, captivating even the most reluctant of readers. In addition, Philip volunteers in various initiatives, supporting authors and illustrators across the UK. Philip is a great believer that school libraries are at the very forefront of any effort to bring children back to reading, and is looking forward to bringing new ideas and energy around making libraries’ role even more central.
Caroline Michel DBE, Arts and Literacy: Since 2007, Caroline has been both the CEO of literary and talent agency Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) and has served as Chair and previously Trustee of Hay Literary festival. She was formerly Chair of the BFI Trust, a Fellow of the RSA and Vice President of the London Library and Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces. She has served on boards as varied as the BFI, Somerset House, Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year and the Harpers’ Bazaar Short Story Competition. She has been a member of the Booker Prize Advisory Committee and the Chairman’s Circle, Southbank Centre and a member of the Arts and Media Honours Committee. She has been a particular champion of libraries and librarians, serving as a panel expert for Library Services at DCMS.
Ed Ripley, Business/Finance: Ed Ripley is a strategic sales and marketing leader in children’s book publishing, with a proven track record of driving profitable growth across retail, wholesale and online channels. He combines comprehensive market knowledge with data-driven insights and creative vision to develop and execute integrated sales and marketing strategies. A committed and passionate advocate of reading and books, Ed has also held a number of leadership roles in local charities.
As SLA members, we hope you are as excited about the potential for growth and development represented by these new Trustees as we are. We look forward to working together and heading into the National Year of Reading with strong governance in place.
Caroline Michel DBE summed up the passion of our new board perfectly: “The power of reading to transform lives begins from the moment we pick up a book or hear a story. There is no age limit to this, and it begins so young. Can there be anything more important than making sure every child has a treasure trove of stories to hand at school in their library?”
Many thanks to all the members who attended the 2025 AGM and contributed to the governance of the organisation.