The Accessible Hospitality Alliance (aha) has today announced the appointment of Charlotte Evans to its Advisory Board, strengthening a growing media collective whose insights and influence are helping to redefine accessibility and hospitality.
With more than 25 years’ experience in media, Evans brings a career shaped by trust, transformation, and a keen understanding of hospitality’s evolving narrative.
As Group Publishing Director of Condé Nast Johansens for more than 12 years, she led the brand’s strategic direction across print, digital and events, forging enduring relationships with hoteliers both in the UK and globally.
Evans is also an Ambassador for Hospitality Action, and an active advocate of accessibility and inclusivity in the industry. Her appointment marks not just the arrival of another experienced voice, it signals something deeper, media professionals now stepping forward to help shape the direction of accessible hospitality from within.
Charlotte Evans joins a growing core of media leaders on aha’s Advisory Board.
Among them is Mark Lewis, the long serving Editor and Publisher of The Caterer, whose decade plus at the helm defined much of the hospitality trade media landscape during that period. Under his stewardship The Caterer became a platform for purposeful editorial championing accessibility in a sector still finding its footing on that path. His campaigning approach brought visibility to accessibility issues long before it was commonplace to do so.
Also, among aha’s media voices is Mike Tunnicliffe, who held multiple global C-suite roles including Chief Growth & Marketing Officer for GroupM (now WPP Media), the world’s largest media investment business. Tunnicliffe’s ability to bridge global strategy and local relevance adds a vital marketing dimension to aha’s growing network of influence.
Together with Denis Sheehan, Managing Director of aha, and Publisher of Hospitality & Catering News for the past 15 years, this growing team forms a uniquely positioned alliance of media professionals, able to elevate the purpose of aha through aligned insight and reach.
In response to her appointment, Charlotte Evans said: “I am delighted to join respected colleagues including Mark Lewis and Stephen Maley on the Advisory Board for the Accessible Hospitality Alliance (aha). I’d also like to thank Denis Sheehan and Robin Sheppard for inviting me to be an Advisor. I’m excited to provide my insights and experience and support aha’s mission to remove barriers and make the hospitality industry accessible for all.”
But this appointment is not isolated. It is part of a pattern, a visible and deliberate strengthening of aha’s structure following its first major event, The aha Forum, which has already proven to be more than a one-day success story. Words spoken at that Forum turned into actions.
BM Caterers appoint an Access Champion.
BB Merchant Services went further, naming disability advocate Shelley Cowan to a new leadership role, following direct engagement at the Forum.
These are not symbolic gestures, they are operational decisions. They demonstrate that aha’s influence is being measured not in headlines, but in commitments made inside boardrooms.
Robin Sheppard, Chair of aha, welcomed Evans to the Advisory Board with characteristic clarity: “I am delighted that Charlotte has joined the aha Advisory Board. The experience and knowledge Charlotte brings is complementary to that of the other media professionals within our team. It is also complementary to the incredible depth of talent and experience we have on our advisory board from owners and operators of hospitality and catering organisations.”
What is becoming unmistakably clear: aha may have emerged quietly, but its growth has been anything but accidental.
The aha Advisory Board, now rich with operational and media expertise, reflects that growth in structure. But the true signal of aha’s momentum is not just in the names, it is the adoption of its purpose. Accessibility is no longer being discussed in the abstract. It is being embedded into leadership roles, operational policy, and supplier relationships across the sector.
As preparations for the second aha Forum begin, the convergence of media insight, commercial clarity and purpose-led leadership places aha in an exceptional position. The next Forum won’t simply repeat the first, it will raise the bar, guided by those who understand not only how to reach people, but how to invite them into dialogue that instils change through shared purpose.
In reflecting on the pace and precision of aha’s evolution, one voice may already have said it best. Amy Bowden, Business Development Manager at Genuine Dining, shared her takeaway from the first Forum saying: “I left with pages of notes, lots of ideas, new connections, and feeling inspired and motivated to support and be part of a movement, not a moment.”
Time will tell, but it seems increasingly likely that Amy Bowden read the room with meticulous precision.
