Heather Buckingham is Social Change Advisor at Trussell, a charity whose aim is to ensure no one in the UK needs a food bank to survive. Over the past six years, Heather has played a key part in Trussell’s efforts to build support for – and action towards – a food bank free future. She was previously Director of Policy and Research at Church Urban Fund, where she helped shape and lead programmes on financial inclusion, social cohesion and community development.

Passionate about building a more just and compassionate society in ways that are guided by incisive data as well as people’s real-life experiences, Heather’s career has spanned academia and the charity sector. She completed a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy in 2010 and subsequently held Research Fellow posts at the University of Birmingham and at the University of Southampton. Her research focused on the role of civil society in responding to social issues such as homelessness, poverty and mental health.

Heather is an Honorary Visiting Fellow at Bayes Business School and a Visiting Lecturer at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, where she teaches charity leadership and management. She combines her professional expertise with personal insights drawn from community life in contrasting parts of the UK, including in Aston, Birmingham, where she was a volunteer and trustee at her local food bank.