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OUR PRESIDENT
Ian Tilling, M.B.E.
Ian Tilling is a founding member of the Casa Ioana Association and has been the organisation’s president since it was established in 1995. Ian’s career since 1992 has been in the not-for-profit sector with a strong emphasis on social exclusion and vulnerable groups. He was project director with the Joanne Trust before launching Casa Ioana. The Trust was responsible for creating an NGO resource centre in Bucharest where organisations were given a place and practical assistance to develop their projects. Before joining the not-for-profit sector, Ian was a police officer in the UK for 23 years.
During 1999 and 2001, Ian was the team leader managing two Romanian Social Development Fund grant scheme projects to develop highly innovative community-based services for homeless people focusing on the empowerment of the project’s beneficiaries and a programme that encouraged homeless people to go back to work and sustain independent living.
Ian continued as team leader during 2002 and 2003 when he managed two EU/Phare grant scheme projects to deliver easy access to social support services, job training workshops and pathways into employment for homeless people through a Day Centre facility, and developing another accommodation facility offering social services to homeless women and single parent families.
At the end of 2003, Ian left the day-to-day management of Casa Ioana to manage an EU Phare Technical Assistance project that delivered training need’s assessment workshops, analysis and two training programmes delivering seminars to more than 600 public social assistance personnel and grant scheme beneficiary personnel throughout the country.
On returning to Casa Ioana in 2005, Ian developed Casa Ioana’s best practice, working instruments and information collection system and during 2007, wrote Casa Ioana’s organisation manual.
Much of Casa Ioana’s success can be attributed to Ian’s passion for the organisation and his determination to develop quality services that empower homeless people to sustain independent living. Ian’s knowledge and experience makes him an ideal person to take Casa Ioana forward as we further develop our services and begin campaigning on behalf of homeless people.
Ian has hosted the visits to Casa Ioana of a number of important visitors including HRH The Prince of Wales, King Mihai and Queen Ana of Romania, Andrew Vorkink (vice-president of the World Bank), ‘le Abbot Pierre’ of France, Dr Xavier Emmanuelli, founder of Samu-social and a large number of foreign ambassadors to Romania.
In 2000, Ian received the “MBE” in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for social community work in Romania and in 2002, received the “Order of Faithful Service” in the rank of officer from the Romanian President for developing professional social assistance services in Romania.
Ian is married, has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, and is a popular and well-respected member of the community.
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