Gareth Conyard 

Chair of Trustees

Gareth is 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, he was a senior civil servant at the Department for Education, a 19-year career that saw him work on everything from early years to higher education (and a two-year stint on development education at the then Department for International Development).  Gareth has experience of working as trustee at Education Support for six years, and chairing The Parent Village board of trustees for 18 months.  His first book, Improving Education Policy Together, co-authored with Nansi Ellis, was published in 2024.

Louis Arthur-Brown

Trustee

Louis Arthur-Brown is a Solutions Partner at Codestone Group Ltd, where he leads strategic go-to-market initiatives in cloud transformation, data and 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. 

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John Bradford 

Treasurer

John’s career is in finance, holding senior leadership positions with TSB and being responsible for setting its strategic direction when it split from Lloyds Bank. Business transformation, profit and loss accountability, and budget control were all key parts of his responsibility. At TSB he was a Material Risk Taker under FCA regulation which helps his understanding of the key responsibilities and requirements of being a trustee with a charity. He has been a school governor and as chair of finance has an understanding of how challenging school finances can be.

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Ellie Crawshaw-Prince

Trustee

Ellie Crawshaw-Prince is a dedicated advocate for promoting literacy. She is passionate about eradicating educational inequality through the power of books. With 13 years of experience in primary education in the UK, she is currently employed as the Lead Practitioner for Early Reading across a six-school partnership in Southampton, specialising in phonics and early literacy skills, and has previous experience as a Principal of a primary school. Aside from loving to read and being a self-confessed ‘bookworm’, she enjoys forest walks, theatre, live music, travelling – and spoiling her house rabbit, Elphaba!

Dr Sarah Daniels 

Trustee

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 (UK) and Sourcebooks Fire (US). 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 

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Amanda Deaville 

Secretary

Amanda has been the Honorary Secretary of SLA and a Trustee since 2019. She is retired after 13 years as the Deputy Manager of Cumbria SLS, working with schools at all levels of education. Previously she was IB librarian at the International School of Basel, Switzerland; has done charity work delivering distance education in developing countries; and has been an information specialist for management consultants involved in EU law and regulations.

Philip Kavvadias

Trustee

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. 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 

Trustee

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 is also 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. She has been a particular champion of libraries and librarians, serving as a panel expert for Library Services at DCMS. 

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Lynsey Pollard

Vice-Chair

Lynsey Pollard is an experienced communications professional and former aid worker, who responded to humanitarian emergencies in Congo, Haiti, and the Philippines. She has a strong background in managing complex programs, leading large teams for charities including Samaritans and Save the Children  and delivering impactful campaigns. Her lifelong love of reading and passion for social justice inspired her to found Little Box of Books, an inclusive children’s book organisation. Through high-profile corporate partnerships with the English Football League, Avanti West Coast, and KPMG, she has campaigned for greater representation in the stories available to children, championing equality, diversity and inclusion in school libraries and home book collections in the UK and internationally.

Ed Ripley 

Trustee

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.