Julie Bentley is a British

voluntary sector In relation to public services, the voluntary sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by non-governmental, not for profit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector (in contrast to the public sector and the private sec ...

leader and Chief Executive of

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

. Julie was Chief Executive of

Action for Children Action for Children (formerly National Children's Home) is a United Kingdom, UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children and young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 4 ...

from August 2018 to February 2020. She had served in similar roles at

Girlguiding Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association in the United Kingdom, previously named The Girl Guides Association, which was formed in 1910. It is the original Girl Guides organisation in the world and, in 1928, became a founding m ...

, 2012–2018 the

Family Planning Association The Family Planning Association (FPA) was a UK registered charity working to enable people to make informed choices about sex and to enjoy sexual health. It was the national affiliate for the International Planned Parenthood Federation in th ...

and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. In February 2020 Bentley resigned as Chief Executive of Action for Children for personal reasons. She joined Samaritans as the charity's new CEO in November 2020, telling The Guardian newspaper that she sees the charity's mission to listen without judgement as "an extraordinarily powerful thing". While Chief Executive of Girlguiding she oversaw a complete governance review, developed the organisation's first five year strategy, and changed their

Promise A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

so that members commit to ‘develop my beliefs’ rather than ‘love my God’. The organisation also launched a series of badges to support girls in the modern world including one promoting body confidence and another teaching girls about mental wellbeing. The charity also launched the Girls Matter campaign in order to get people in power to listen to girls’ views. "Everything we do helps make girls and young women more aware, more confident and gives them a voice" she said of the charity, in an interview with the Financial Times. During her term, the charity has enjoyed a revival with increased public understanding of their work to support girls and young women into adulthood.

Background

Bentley is a former chief executive of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and the Family Planning Association. She was also Director of Corporate Services for ARP (Alcohol Recovery Project) and Assistant Director of Charterhouse – in Southwark. Her early jobs included being a postwoman and a youth worker in South London. Julie was previously a Trustee and Vice Chair of the housing and homelessness charity Shelter and was formerly a trustee of young people’s helpline Get Connected (now The Mix). During her tenure at FPA she was part of the government independent advisory groups for teenage pregnancy and sexual health. In 2009 Julie and her partner cycled from

Land's End to John o' Groats Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the length of the island of Great Britain between two List of extreme points of the United Kingdom#Extreme points within the UK, extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional di ...

to raise funds for the Family Planning Association and Seham Village Appeal a charity Julie is patron of. In an interview with Empowering Women, Bentley explained, “I have deliberately committed my career to the charity sector as it’s where I believe real change can happen. It’s also a fantastic environment for developing potential.” In 2014 she was named Third Sector's Most Admired Chief Executive at the Third Sector Awards and was included in the top ten of the Britain's most influential women in the BBC ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' Power List. Also in 2014 Julie was a castaway on

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

. in 2019 she was named one of the most influential CEOs in the charity sector and in the same year was awarded 'Outstanding Individual Achievement' by Charity Times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Julie Living people Girlguiding officials Year of birth missing (living people)