Forces In Mind Trust Welcomes AFF Chief Executive To Its Grants And Commissioning Committee

Forces in Mind Trust is delighted to welcome Sara Baade as the newest member of its Grants and Commissioning Committee…

The Grants and Commissioning Committee has authority delegated from the Board of Directors to award grants for applications and work commissioned by the Trust. FiMT’s endowment funds evidence generation which the Trust then uses to influence policy makers and service deliverers in its mission of enabling ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life.

Sara is the Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation (AFF), the independent charity improving the quality of life for Army families around the world. Before joining the AFF at the end of 2015, she focused on management and strategic policy, specialising in vocational skills growth and development having worked as a senior civil servant for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and as a Director at charity UK Skills. She also previously worked in investment banking for Goldman Sachs.

Sara has five-year-old twins and lives in London. Her late husband, Matthew Wall, served with the 9/12th Royal Lancers.

Ray Lock CBE, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust, says: “We are delighted to welcome Sara to the FiMT Grants and Commissioning Committee as a lay adviser. This Committee is the engine room of our work, funding and monitoring projects to improve the lives and outcomes of ex-Service personnel and their families.

"We look to augment the skills and experience of our Directors with that of lay advisers. Sara’s experience both within military charities and skills development will provide an important voice on the Committee, where her position at the robustly networked Army Families Federation will also offer insights from across the Armed Forces Community.”

Sara Baade, Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation, says: “I am thrilled to be joining the FiMT’s Grants and Commissioning Committee and am eager to bring my first-hand knowledge and experience of Army family life to the committee. I am passionate about ensuring that Army families, whether they be Regular, Reserve or families who are transitioning out of the Army, have a voice and this role will further improve my understanding of the issues soldiers and their families face.”