Fond farewells to our former CLGF staff 

This year has been a year of changes in the CLGF team.  

In January, we said goodbye to Susan Handley, who retired after 11 years as CLGF’s  Communications Manager. Throughout her tenure, Susan worked closely with members, partners and our regional teams around the Commonwealth to promote local government; to share good practice; and to help raise the voice of local government in key Commonwealth and international policy forums. She worked consistently to expand CLGF’s social media presence and to strengthen our network bonds, especially through the Conferences. 

Letila Naqasima, who has been a lynchpin at the heart of the CLGF Pacific Office in Suva, also retired in March 2026. For over 15 years, Letila has been dedicated to supporting and connecting local government members and partners in the Pacific region.  

We would like to put on record our sincere gratitude to both Susan and Letila for their invaluable contributions, and wish them both well for a long, happy and well-deserved retirement. 

Warm welcomes to our new team members 

We are also delighted to announce the onboarding of two new staff members at the CLGF London office:  

• April (Thao) Pham - Communications Officer 

Alongside a Master’s in Communications, Marketing and PR, April has a strong background in communications and advocacy work with GIZ, the Foundation of Youth Empowerment and Save the Children in Vietnam. At CLGF, she will focus on elevating our communications and engagement with members and partners, and exploring new ways in which we can empower the voice of local government across the Commonwealth.  

• Pesila Govinden - Project Officer 

Pesila will support the delivery of CLGF’s EU-funded projects and programmes, and help leverage new resources to strengthen and grow our offer to members. As a Research Chemist/Scientist by training, Pesila brings to CLGF valuable and diverse experience in project management. She previously managed the sustainability projects at GCB Cocoa (UK & Ivory Coast), and also worked at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), where she contributed to bid development and donor-funded project management, including EU-funded initiatives.  

You should be hearing from April and Pesila very soon as they step into their new roles. We are thrilled to welcome them to our team.