We are delighted to announce that Sue Tibballs OBE will be joining Involve as our new Chief Executive on 20 April 2026.
Sue brings nearly three decades of leadership experience at the intersection of civil society, politics and social change. She has previously served as Chief Executive of the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and Women in Sport, and as Chair of both the Fawcett Society and 38 Degrees. Sue was awarded an OBE for services to sport in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list.
Across the world, democracy is under strain. Authoritarian movements are gaining ground, trust in government is at historic lows, and for many people the institutions that are supposed to represent them feel distant and unaccountable. For us, this makes our mission more important than ever: to put people at the heart of decision-making and to help build a democratic culture from the ground up.
Our mission of helping to renew UK democracy through public participation has never been more important, and Sue will bring tremendous ambition and skill to this cause.
Our Chair, Kevin Steele, said:
“I am delighted, along with the whole Board of Involve, that Sue Tibballs will be our new Chief Executive. Our mission of helping to renew UK democracy through public participation has never been more important, and Sue will bring tremendous ambition and skill to this cause.
Sue will be joining a confident, financially healthy and growing organisation which is widely recognised as best in class in the practice of participatory and deliberative democracy. This is due to the talent and collegiate spirit of our staff and trustees, nurtured by the exceptional leadership of Stephanie Draper as Interim Chief Executive over the last nine months, part of which was in joint leadership with the also superb Carly Walker-Dawson.”
Involve has shown that supporting people to have a say and to build their influence leads not just to better decision making but is critical to strengthening democracy itself.
Sue Tibballs OBE said:
“I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Involve. Over the last twenty years, Involve has shown that supporting people to have a say and to build their influence leads not just to better decision making but is critical to strengthening democracy itself.
I’m looking forward to bringing my experience as a campaigner and advocate to make the case for much wider use of such methods that put people at the heart of politics.”
We are excited to welcome Sue to Involve. We have grown in confidence and ambition as a team in the last year and are in an excellent position for the future.
Our Interim Chief Executive, Stephanie Draper, added:
“We are excited to welcome Sue to Involve. We have grown in confidence and ambition as a team in the last year and are in an excellent position for the future. I am really looking forward to working with Sue to build on that momentum and I am confident that she will take Involve into an exciting new chapter.”
Sue joins us following an interim co-leadership period during which Stephanie Draper and Carly Walker-Dawson have led the organisation since June 2025. We are very grateful for their leadership and dedication during this time.