Grace Walker

Director of Development and Partnerships: After seeing first-hand the work of Aegis Trust in Rwanda, Grace co-founded White Rose Shops (White Rose Trading CIC) to support Aegis on graduating with a BA in Business from Nottingham Trent University in 2009. Starting with £2,000, this is now a charity shop chain of 18 stores with a £3m turnover, employing over 150 employees and volunteers recycling over 300 tonnes of textiles annually. Its handpicked product range trends with young people as an alternative to fast fashion on the high street and contributes to preserving our environment and resources. Grace built a team, drawing in expertise from corporate retailers such as Arcadia to further the develop the concept of hybrid between charity and corporate retail. She became the Business Director in 2016 and as the business scaled, Commercial Director in 2021 with a focus on donation acquisition. In 2022, she was appointed Director of Development and Partnerships responsible for fund development and assisting the wider strategy of social enterprise within the Aegis Peace Fund and continues to remain on the Board of White Rose Trading CIC. She also serves on Nottingham Trent University’s Board of Governors.