Staff

Sarah Ridley - Director

Sarah has over 30 years’ experience of charitable grant giving in the UK and US.  From 2014 to 2021 she was responsible for The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s substantial grants programme, helping to encourage wider participation in physical activity.  Before that she was Executive Director of environmental charity the Tubney Charitable Trust.  Previously she worked in Washington DC where she distributed grants for national cultural projects on behalf of two US Presidents and developed access and outreach programmes for the Smithsonian Institution.  She has herself served on numerous boards, including Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Europe and the BBC Wildlife Fund.  She is currently a trustee of the Charles Dickens Museum and Carers Worldwide. She has been an independent adviser on philanthropy and has also written and presented on the subject for the Association of Charitable Foundations and Bayes Business School amongst others.

Rachael Crooks - Grants Administrator

Rachael joined PHF in 2018, and has over 15 years experience in the charity sector. In her early career she coordinated arts education programmes for excluded young people in inner city Birmingham, before going on to be part of the small team that set up the Clore Social Leadership Programme. Prior to joining PHF, Rachael worked for The Samaritans, managing the London Underground strand of their Rail Suicide Prevention Programme.