Lisa Wainwright trained as a Physical Education teacher at the University of Warwick, where she was also elected Sabbatical Sports Officer and FISU student representative. She then went on to gain an MA in Learning and Teaching and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science for her services to the sports sector by the University of Bedfordshire.
Lisa has held a number of senior roles at Sport England - initiating the work on the safeguarding standards, club-mark and volunteering - before moving to become CEO at Volleyball England in 2008 and then British Basketball in 2016, before taking on her current role as CEO at the Sport and Recreation Alliance in 2019.
Internationally, Lisa has held roles on the European Volleyball (CEV) Credentials Panel and at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as their Technical Director and on their World Ethics Panel. She was also a member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Governance Commission, as well as being a Director of the British Olympic Association.
Lisa has held a number of Non-Executive roles, including at Swim England [Vice Chair and Interim Group Chair of the Group Board 2013-2017] and the Institute of Swimming [Chair 2014 - 2017]. She was a trustee of the Samworth Brothers Sports Opportunity Fund [2012 – 2023] and has been a Director of the Wallace Group of Universities, working to support the development of sport in Zambia for the last 10 years.
Lisa graduated from the UK Sport CEO Executive Leadership Programme, and in 2018 became an Ambassador for Women on Boards UK. In 2019 she was ranked number 8 in the Top 100 Executive LGBT+ Allies by FT OUTStanding. Lisa is Vice Chair of Governors at Northampton School for Girls, is a member of the Sports Broadcast Committee and a judge for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award. Lisa was shortlisted for The Times Sports Women of the Year – Gamechanger Award (2023) for her work in securing the UK’s Secretariat for and host of the International Working Group on Women in Sport. She has two young daughters aged 11 and 12, and in 2022 was awarded an MBE for Services to Sport.
Martin Lindsey – Chief Operating Officer, recently joined the Alliance as Director of Policy, Governance and Finance having spent the last 19 years working for National Governing Bodies including Business Director and Company Secretary for Volleyball England, Busines Director for British Basketball and Governance Manager for England Netball. Martin has significant experience in successfully leading and managing Governance, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Facilities, Marketing, Membership Services and Competitions at a Senior Management level. Martin holds an MBA in International Sports Management from Loughborough University and was a Trustee for the Volleyball England Foundation.
Leigh is our Director of Policy and Research and leads work on areas including sports betting integrity, broadcasting, tax and fiscal policy and European policy.
Cameron leads on the direction of the marketing and communications, member events, and governance teams, helping to showcase the work of the Sport and Recreation Alliance across the sector.
