Listening Books has a dedicated team of staff, trustees and volunteers who work hard to provide the best possible service to members. If you are interested in being a part of the Listening Books team, please visit www.listening-books.org.uk/work-for-us to view any current opportunities.
If you would like to volunteer, click here for more details.
In addition to serving as CEO of Listening Books, Bill has served in a number of advisory roles across the Public and Third sectors. He has also served as a Trustee to several charities.
Bill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 2005 and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), and of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM). His qualifications include an MSc. in Strategic Planning (with Distinction), from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University. He was a Finalist at the Director of the Year Awards in 2013 (London and the South East) in the Public and Third Sector category.
Email BillLouise joined Listening Books in April 2004 on a six-month contract to cover maternity leave. Initially, she worked full time in the library and then moved on to divide her time equally between the library and our sponsored membership programme.
Louise now manages the library and looks after the charities marketing and PR. In her spare time Louise looks after her two young children, and tries to fit in as much reading/listening as she can.
Email LouiseRobert joined the charity in September 2009, having previously worked for King’s College London - as both administrative and research assistant - and as a volunteer in the education & student team at Amnesty International.
Robert now manages Listening Books’ fundraising and admin operations. Robert loves to read, particularly non-fiction, whenever time allows.
Email RobertAmy joined Listening Books in August 2014 as an Acting Copyright Co-ordinator to cover maternity leave. Prior to joining Listening Books she studied Film and Literature at Warwick University and worked for a camera hire company and as an administrator for ITV. In her spare time she enjoys writing, reading and volunteering at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Email AmyClaire joined Listening Books in August 2018 as the Membership and Recruitment Administrator and moved to her current role in 2022. Prior to this, she worked in roles supporting volunteers at other charities and she enjoys working in the charity sector. She spends most of her free time with her family and also enjoys reading, watching TV and getting outside when possible.
Email ClaireAfter graduating in 2005, Claire worked as Publicity Officer and Administrative Assistant for Bexley Academy of Music and Performing Arts. She joined Listening Books in May 2008 as a membership services assistant.
Email ClaireJeremy joined Listening Books in 2003 and enjoys helping our members. He previously worked in an adventure playground and as a chef.
Email JeremyJenny joined Listening Books in February 2013 as a bookkeeper from a marketing agency in Central London. She loves Sci-fi books, especially anything to do with Star Trek. Jenny also really enjoys doing voluntary work in her spare time.
Email JennyBethan joined Listening Books in August 2024 as the Membership and Recruitment Administrator. Her previous experience is in the mental health sector. She believes that reading and listening to audiobooks can offer a range of wellbeing benefits. Bethan’s favourite genres are thrillers, romance, and memoirs.
Email BethanMartin has been accountant at Listening Books since 1998. A Chartered Accountant and Finance graduate from the University of Wales, he manages the accounts of several not-for-profit companies. He also studied engineering and philosophy at university and counts reading amongst his most enjoyable pursuits.
Gillie Howarth is former Head of English at Westminster Under School where she is now responsible for the school’s Public Benefit and Outreach programme. She is a passionate believer in the capacity of books to open up new worlds for young and old alike. One of her first initiatives at Listening Books was to develop the children’s library and she is a keen advocate of the charity’s educational programme, Sound Learning, which gives young people who have difficulties accessing or decoding print the opportunity to excel alongside their peers. ‘Listening to stories goes far back into prehistory and is the original way knowledge passed down through generations. Far from being a second best option, listening captures the distinctive atmosphere of a book in a way reading may fail to do. After all, which of us would prefer to read a play rather than see it? Once you have listened to a great book, you feel the same way’.
Julia is a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, and The Guardian’s children’s books editor. She is a judge of the Branford Boase first novel prize and was a judge for the Whitbread Children’s Book prize in 2001. She won the Eleanor Farjeon Award in 2000 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to children’s books. In addition to numerous anthologies, her books include 'Treasure Island: The Woman’s Hour Guide to Children’s Reading' (BBC Books, 1987), 'A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels' (Continuum, 2002), 'Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of Children’s Writers' (National Portrait Gallery, 2002) and, with Nicholas Tucker, 'The Rough Guide to Teenage Books' (Rough Guides, October 2003).
David has worked as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy manager for the London borough of Lambeth. He worked with the senior leadership team in schools and their ICT managed service provider to implement Lambeth’s ICT strategy. Previous to this he was the ICT curriculum advisor for Redbridge. He was a secondary national strategy consultant for ICT prior to that. He has 14 years’ teaching experience. He is also an ICT mark assessor. David has completed the graduate certificate in education leadership, management and consultancy at the Institute of Education in London and has a BA degree and higher diploma in education from University College, Cork. He is currently teaching and working as a consultant.
Nick Forster is Regional Manager, EMEA, Global Libraries & Education at OverDrive. His knowledge of the publishing sector and of the commercial audiobook market are an invaluable addition to the board.
Charlotte qualified as a Chartered Accountant more than 25 years ago and during that time has worked in tax, audit and accounting. In 2018, together with a school friend, she launched a start up company in the space industry with the mission of providing the fastest satellite network to transmit financial data from Chicago to London. Charlotte is actively involved in promoting the principles of responsible investment, supporting the fight against the abusive use of tax rules through her current role as Tax Director at a Canadian pension fund investor. In her spare time, she is a keen reader and member of both the Anthony Powell Society and the PG Wodehouse Society. Charlotte has a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Warwick, is member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a member of the Institute of Directors where she is working towards the Certificate of Company Direction qualification.
Sayra, a long-standing member of Listening Books, has personally benefited from its services due to her autism. A solicitor-advocate with over a decade of experience in media law, governance, and regulatory affairs, she is passionate about accessibility and the role of audiobooks in breaking down barriers to reading.
She has influenced major legislative reforms and works closely with senior leadership to shape policy and advocate for the public interest. Previously, she was a litigation lawyer at the BBC, handling complex disputes, and an associate at Slaughter and May, specialising in high-value disputes and commercial strategy. She has also served as a company secretary and director for multiple not-for-profit organisations, overseeing financial compliance, strategic planning, and operations.
As a Trustee of Listening Books, Sayra leverages her governance, advocacy, and leadership expertise to advance the charity’s mission, ensuring more people can access the books they love.
Helen joined Listening Books as a trustee in March 2025. She is passionate about adult and children's literacy, and firmly believes in the power of audio to promote human connection and understanding.
Her experience in education charities spans start-ups and long-established institutions, and she has held a variety of marketing, outreach and engagement roles. Formerly a manager of the global children’s audio and literary journal Write the World Review, Helen was especially proud of her work on a one-off 'Ukraine Special Dispatch', which gave a voice to young Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Helen holds a degree in History and Modern Languages from the University of Cambridge. While a student, she wrote for a variety of cultural publications and spent six months working as an editorial assistant in Paris. She now manages communications and campaigns for the independent policy and research organisation Learning and Work Institute, securing press coverage in The Times, the Guardian and the Financial Times.