A chance for you to meet our Trustees and put faces to names.

Meet James,

James Kearns is the current Chair of our Board of Trustees for Community Action Norfolk and has been a member of our Board since 2014. He is the Chief Executive of the BUILD Charity (a Norfolk based independent registered charity providing social, leisure and learning for anyone, with any disability, aged 18 or over in Norfolk) and has been in that role since 2004. He has worked in Norfolk’s voluntary sector since 1999 and volunteered locally in a variety of roles since 1981. In a voluntary capacity he founded (2007) and now manages the Kearns Foundation (a grant making and support charity that also runs a Log Cabin and Campsite in North Norfolk) and is a Trustee of Red House Youth Trust (a grant maker and residential centre provider).

His first Trustee role was in the Scout Association, part of which involved building and developing the Eaton Vale Activity Centre near Norwich. Since then he has held numerous roles, mainly supporting the development of communities and young people.

“The responsibilities associated with being a trustee help me focus on getting the job done, understand how my decisions impact on others, and have given me the opportunity to work alongside others who inspire, teach and moderate me.” James Kearns- Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Random facts:

• James recently extended his passion for horse-racing and now has shares in 7 national hunt horses with major trainers
• After a major piece of ankle surgery in 2021 James decided that the first mountain he would tackle post-op should be the first one he climbed as a schoolboy, Ingleborough – one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
• After a planned career in broadcast journalism failed he found himself doing some casual freelancing for BBC Local Radio and ended up with a government minister as his very first interview.