Mark Till

Mark is an experienced business leader with extensive experience in financial services, general management, leading transformation, marketing and distribution, business strategy, commercial results delivery and people development and engagement.

Mark Till attended Saint George’s for his secondary education, which led to his passion for the school and Aletheia Academies Trust. As Chair, Mark now leads the Trustees of Aletheia in the mission of improving life chances for local children.

William Johnson

William has been a trustee since Aletheia Academies Trust was formed in 2014. Bill is Vice-Chair of Trustees as well as the Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee. 

Formerly, William was a Fire Safety Advisor for W J Fire Safety Limited and was a former Chair of Governors at Shorne C of E Primary School.

Anthony Smith

As well as being a trustee at Aletheia Academies Trust, Tony has been co-opted by the local governing board of Holy Trinity, Gravesend, and the latest development, Alkerden, to assist with its development.

After gaining a degree in English, Tony taught in various secondary schools, selective and non-selective, and gained long experience in senior leadership.  Following his retirement from secondary headship, he has worked as a consultant, supporting school improvement for national organisations, a Local Authority and individual schools and academies. He has broad experience in the governance of primary, secondary and special schools.

Ajay Sharman

Ajay is an experienced Network Lead for STEM Learning in London and the South East. Ajay has extensive experience working in the industries within the charitable sector, supporting CPD professional training for teachers and involving the industry in supporting young people through the STEM Ambassador programme. 

Ajay is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused on Biochemistry from the University of Kent. In addition to being the Chair of The Dartford Co-operative Learning Trust and a Member of Turner Schools.

Christopher Pearson

Chris was born and raised in South London. He graduated in English from the University of Birmingham. Chris has had a wide-ranging career in Human Resources, covering roles in the gas industry, electricity, Cancer Research Charity, local government, HM Treasury and higher education. His last role was as Director of HR at Queen Mary University of London. Chris has 20 years of extensive experience as a primary and secondary school governor.

Chris is happily married to a former teacher and has three adult sons and four grandchildren. He has always felt that all his life opportunities came through education, and he is very keen to contribute all he can to the Trust.

Gurvinder Sandher

Gurvinder is an Artistic Director of the Cohesion Plus and CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council. He has received recognition for his contribution towards the arts and communities of Kent in the form of an MBE, in addition to being awarded the prestigious award as part of Her Majesty the Queen's 2022 honours selection amidst the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Gurvinder has an extensive background in the arts himself and is a renowned Bhangra dancer, having performed all over the world since 1985 and still performing to this day. He is extremely passionate about diversity and inclusion within the arts sector and champions increased visibility for BAME artists and organisations.

Heather Overton

Heather Overton has vast experience within the education sector, having previously been headteacher of local Kent schools, as well as being a member of one of Aletheia Academies Trust School’s (Horton Kirby CofE Primary School) Local Governing Body. Heather has now moved to Dorset, where she currently resides as a councillor for the Iwerne Minister Parish Council; with a strong passion for Aletheia, Heather happily commutes to be a Trustee.

James Holt

James is Head of Business Development at Buxton Building Contractors Limited. Jim has over 35 years of experience working in construction and is responsible for Business Development and Marketing activities. Jim also attended Saint George's.

Marilyn Nadesan

Marilyn is the Headteacher of Jubilee Primary School. She has taught in a range of settings across Medway and Kent since 2001 and has held various leadership roles. She is a researcher at heart and always reads extensively before implementing any new initiative, so it is always based on sound evidence of success.

Her strength lies in school improvement, and she is always intent on providing CPD grounded in evidence-informed pedagogical practice, assuring staff have access to excellent professional development, thus shaping the present and future workforce. She is continuing her focus on how schools ensure they provide children with the cultural capital they need through high-quality provision.

Sarah Humphreys

Sarah has been a core partner of Deloitte UK since June 2012, which focuses on providing tax advice to privately owned groups, both in the UK and internationally. 

Since becoming a partner, Sarah has also focussed on the consumer sector, particularly the Eating and Drinking out Sector

Father Michael Payne

Michael is the Vicar of the parish of St Aidan in Gravesend. Before ordination, he worked in education as a teacher and lecturer. Now, he combines parish ministry with teaching at St Augustine’s.

Father Michael is also involved in ecumenical and interfaith projects in the Diocese of Rochester and is working to develop an Ignatian New Monastic community, Companions of Christ.

Stephen Ray

Stephen is an Associate Director at Macquarie and is a finance professional working in the waste and resource recovery sector. He develops and arranges the funding across the capital structure to support the delivery of projects, to reduce reliance on landfills and to promote a more sustainable use of resources.

Prior to working in the financial sector, Stephen worked for 15 years as a waste management professional and held broad experience in project/contract negotiation, delivery and ongoing management of operations from construction through to the mature operations phase.