Board of Trustees (Directors) 

Lies Tiedemann (Chair)

Lies has been closely involved in establishing Grandma’s Soup Against Loneliness in the UK and brings a strong personal commitment to its mission of reducing loneliness through intergenerational connection. As Chair, she provides strategic leadership and ensures the charity remains focused on delivering public benefit.

Lies has a background in commercial and retail strategy, having spent six years at Ahold Delhaize in the Netherlands across category management, store format development, and sustainable retail, and is currently Value Optimisation Manager at Marks & Spencer in London. She previously spent four months researching the feasibility of establishing Grandma’s Soup in the UK, drawing on her knowledge of the Dutch model. 

Andrea Wigfield

Andrea is a leading researcher on loneliness and social isolation, specialising in the wider social and health determinants and implications of loneliness through research, programme evaluation, and evidence-based policy and practice. She is founding Director of the Centre for Loneliness Studies (2017–present) at the University of Sheffield, and a Director of the Campaign to End Loneliness. Over her career she has led approximately 100 research projects, secured nearly £3 million in research funding, and published over 50 books, chapters, articles, and reports.

Andrea’s work is guided by academic rigour and a commitment to research that translates directly into policy and practice change, often through co-production with the people and communities her research concerns. She brings to the Board exceptional expertise in loneliness research and evaluation, strong networks across the academic, public, and voluntary sectors, and direct experience of assessing what works in loneliness interventions, which will be invaluable in shaping and evidencing Grandma’s Soup’s impact measurement approach.

Cees van Dam

Cees is Professor at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, where he has taught for over 18 years, and Professor of European Tort Law at Maastricht University. He also holds a professorship in International Business and Human Rights at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Earlier in his career he worked at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London and at the Dutch Ministry of Justice, and has spent over 30 years practising as an academic, judge, arbitrator, and legal adviser to companies and governments across Europe.

Cees brings to the Board deep expertise in law and governance, as well as extensive experience of board-level oversight through his current roles as chair of supervisory boards in the Netherlands. He holds an LLB from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a PhD (cum laude) from Utrecht University.

Maya Viswa

Maya is a conflict resolution and negotiation professional specialising in peacebuilding, cultural intelligence, and intentional leadership. She is Co-Director at Hoffman Viswa Peace Partners, where she leads global peacebuilding and dialogue initiatives across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, supporting institutions and communities to engage across difference. She is also founder of RareFluence, a London-based consultancy and social club focused on authentic leadership, creativity, and connection.

Maya’s background spans legal practice, public policy, non-profit work, and media, with a particular focus on advocacy, human rights, and restorative justice across the UK, US, and MENA regions. She brings to the Board expertise in community engagement, intercultural dialogue, and building trust across diverse groups – skills directly relevant to Grandma’s Soup’s mission of fostering genuine connection between generations and communities.

Commercial activities

Grandma’s Soup operates solely as a charitable organisation.

We do not operate a UK commercial company.

Any commercial soup production and retail activity takes place in the Netherlands and is managed independently from the UK organisation.

Grandma’s Soup focuses exclusively on:

• Community cooking days

• Intergenerational events

• Volunteer coordination

• Reducing loneliness among older people

No UK charitable funds are used for overseas activity.

In addition, we are actively seeking:

• Charitable grants

• Corporate partnerships and sponsorship

• Individual donations

• Community fundraising support

Diversifying our funding ensures we can sustainably deliver intergenerational activities, expand our reach, and continue tackling loneliness among older people across the UK.