The LGA's Senior Leadership Team works with the LGA Board to oversee the strategic operational objectives of the organisation.
Joanna Killian, Chief Executive
Joanna joined the Local Government Association (LGA) as Chief Executive in March 2024. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the public sector, including 15 years as a council chief executive at Surrey County Council (2018–2024) and Essex County Council (2006–2015), and a number of roles at the Audit Commission (2000–2005).
In June 2021, as part of the Government’s intervention of Liverpool City Council, Joanna was appointed by the Secretary of State as Local Government Improvement Commissioner, a role she finished in March 2024 as she joined the LGA.
Having served as vice-chair for two years prior, Joanna became the Chair of Association of County Chief Executives (ACCE) in April 2023. She also served as Chair of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) in 2011–2015.
Between 2015 and 2018, Joanna was Partner and Head of Local Government at KPMG, where she led relationships with local and regional government, advising clients on how they could transform their organisations, and work more innovatively with their customers and citizens.
Joanna was Chair of Trustees at St Mungo’s from 2021 to 2024, a large national charity with a mission to support people who experience street homelessness and eliminate rough sleeping, and a Trustee at Nesta from 2019 to 2021.
Helen Jenkins, Assistant Chief Executive
Helen has considerable experience and understanding of the LGA and the local government sector, having joined the LGA on secondment from a council in 2016, and has worked across a number of priority areas including our flagship leadership programmes, national graduate programmes and improvement support to the sector.
Andrea Newman, Director of Communications and Engagement
Andrea Newman joined the LGA as Director of Communications and Engagement in April 2025.
Andrea has extensive experience of communications across board-level, national and local government environments. Over six years, she developed the highly regarded communications function at Surrey County Council. She boasts experience of government communications in Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and at the Ministry of Defence.
Andrea also held the role of Deputy Director of Communications at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, offering strategic media advice and mitigating reputational risk, including leading the policing communications response to the 2011 London riots, the Leveson Inquiry, London Olympics, and G8 Summit.
Before joining local government, Andrea worked at global corporation KBR.
Eve Roodhouse, Director of Strategy and Policy
As Director of Strategy and Policy at the Local Government Association Eve is part of the Executive Leadership Team and leads on strategy, policy, research and communications. Working closely with the membership of the LGA, senior politicians and officers she shapes organisational priorities across her areas of responsibility and leads work to champion and be the voice of local government working to secure the powers, resources and support local government needs to deliver the best possible outcomes for communities. Her work spans a wide range of policy areas including Health and Care, Local Government Finance, Housing, Public Service Reform, Digital, Data and Technology and Inclusive Growth.
Previously Eve was at Leeds City Council where she spearheaded the delivery of the city’s Inclusive Growth Strategy introducing pioneering work in a range of areas including the Leeds Inclusive Anchors Network, the Social Progress Index and the delivery of their vision for innovation as the council’s Chief Officer, Culture and Economy. Before joining local government, Eve worked at NHS Digital for 15 years on the delivery of complex and large-scale IT change programmes including the first Prison Health IT system in England and the Child Protection Information Sharing Project – which included her working with the LGA.