Dame Carol Black to chair CHI Board of Trustees

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Dame Carol Black will be the next Chair of the Centre for Homelessness Impact. She was appointed after an open application process by the Board of Trustees, and will take up the role in September.

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She is a distinguished physician and academic, specialising in rheumatology, and between 2002 and 2006 was President of the Royal College of Physicians. She was Principal of Newham College, Cambridge from 2012 to 2019.

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Dame Carol has extensive experience of advising on national policy, and led an independent review of drugs for the previous UK Government, whose final report was published in 2021 and which recommended a harm-reduction approach across Whitehall departments and other organisations to improve drug prevention and treatment. 

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Her other independent reviews for the UK Government were of the health of the working-age population; on the impact on the economy and health outcomes of sickness absence among working-age adults; and of outcomes of addiction to drugs or alcohol, or obesity, for employment.

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She has a strong commitment to the ‘What Works’ approach and is also Chair of the Centre for Ageing Better, which tackles inequalities in ageing. Her other roles include that of Chair of the British Library.

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Dame Carol said: “I like complex gritty problems. Homelessness is such a problem. I very much like and respect the Centre for Homelessness Impact because of its evidence-based approach and its strong belief that it can make a difference.”

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Jo Bibby, a Trustee at CHI who led on the recruitment for the Chair, said: “Carol brings unparalleled experience in driving evidence-based decision making - whether in creating healthier workplaces; breaking cycles of drug harm; or enabling people to thrive in later life. As we support the sector to act on the root causes of homelessness, Carol’s leadership will ensure we continue to improve people’s lives across the UK.”

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Dame Carol replaces Andrew Hudson, who has been Chair of CHI’s Board of Trustees since 2019 and is stepping down after his second term comes to an end.

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Dr Ligia Teixeira, founding Chief Executive of CHI, said: “This is a critical time for homelessness and we are thrilled that Dame Carol, with her extensive experience of using evidence to influence policy change at national level, is committed to advancing this approach in homelessness.

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“We very much look forward to working with her - and learning from her - to catalyse a turn towards prevention of homelessness, rather than crisis responses, that we so desperately need.”

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