Contact announces appointment of Anna Bird as new CEO

3 mins read

Thursday 2 March 2023

Tags: New CEO

Anna Bird, Contact's new CEO

We’re delighted to announce the appointment of our new CEO, Anna Bird.

Anna, an experienced leader in the not-for-profit sector, will replace outgoing CEO Amanda Batten, who has led Contact for the last nine years. Amanda will be stepping down at the end of March.

Anna has been very influential in the sector through her campaigning work on behalf of disabled people. She is currently the CEO of the European Movement, which she joined in September 2020. As CEO, she has grown support for the Movement and was responsible for designing and implementing their new strategy.

Previously, Anna led political influencing campaigns at Scope, the Fawcett Society and Mind. At Scope, Anna led the development of the organisation’s strategy, impact framework, and a roadmap for the rollout of new research and policy work. Prior to SCOPE, she was Acting and then Deputy Chief Executive for Fawcett Society.

Chris Carr, Chair of the Trustees, commented; “We are really excited to have Anna join us as CEO. Her wealth of sector experience, knowledge of the political landscape and strategic expertise make her an ideal leader to build on the work of Amanda and the team. We are confident about the future. And we believe Contact will have even greater impact for the benefit of families with disabled children under Anna’s leadership.  

“On behalf of the Trustees, I want to thank Amanda for her dedication, passion and work over the past nine years. She has led Contact through a period of growth and development, and she will be greatly missed. I’d also like to thank Jenny Jones, our Interim CEO, for her leadership until Anna joins us.”

Amanda Batten, CEO of Contact, added: “Anna is someone I’ve known and respected for a long time through our work in the sector. I couldn’t be happier that she has accepted this role. I am excited to see how Contact develops under her leadership.”

“I’m really excited to join Contact, a charity I have worked with for a number of years while at Scope and Mind. I have huge respect for the work they do to support families with disabled children.

“Many families are really struggling right now, because of the triple whammy of cost of living crisis, Covid isolation and long term underfunding of public services, and Contact’s support is more needed than ever, offering a genuine lifeline for many families with disabled children.

“Contact has an important role to play in creating social change for families who need it most. I’m looking forward to working with the brilliant team and parent carers who make up the Contact family, to grow the charity’s reach and impact at this critical time.”

Anna Bird, Contact’s newly appointed CEO