UK Charity hires Arti Agrawal as Director of Inclusion, Diversity & Involvement

Anthony Nolan, a UK health charity, has announced the appointment of Arti Agrawal as its new Director of Inclusion, Diversity and Involvement. 

Agrawal, a physicist and engineer, joins Anthony Nolan from her dual roles at the University of Technology Sydney, Director of the Women in Engineering and IT (WIEIT) and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and IT. Prior to this, she worked at IEEE Photonics Society, and co-chaired the Gay Women’s Network in London. She was also on the Board of Directors at the Optical Society of America, where she oversaw comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion reform.

Agrawal’s priority will be to support Anthony Nolan in creating sustainable change through making a visible commitment to diversity and inclusion, confirmed the charity. The organisation recognises the importance of working in collaboration with others, both externally and internally, in order to address the health inequalities that exist within society. “Empathy and collaboration will help Anthony Nolan realise its vision of saving and improving the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant, regardless of ethnicity,” added the charity.

DIVERSITY COMMITMENT

Anthony Nolan recognises a pressing need for perspectives in decision-making and the workforce being representative of the charity’s patients, donors and supporters. This new, strategic, role will be pivotal as it embarks on this work to deliver real, tangible change in matters related to inclusion and diversity. The charity commits to monitoring progress and performance in this area, confirmed the organisation.

 “We are delighted to welcome Arti,” stated Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan. “This is an extremely important role and I’m very eager to see what Arti’s expertise can bring to further this vital work within the organisation. The work we do at Anthony Nolan is fundamentally about people. In our role as both a health charity and an employer, we know there is more that we need to do to address these issues through our work. With our staff and volunteers, our ambition is to create an inclusive environment, where different perspectives are valued and celebrated, and everyone can bring their whole self to Anthony Nolan.”

Commenting on the appointment, Agrawal said: “I am very excited to join Anthony Nolan and contribute to the common cause of saving lives. That is central to my work at Anthony Nolan through Inclusion and Diversity. Increasing the diversity of donors has a direct impact on saving lives; especially those from Asian and Black or minority ethnic background. Inclusion is key in making our services accessible to our patients and their families; and ensuring ethnicity, disability, religion or sexual orientation is not a barrier to patients receiving the care they deserve or our staff achieving their career aspirations.”