Volunteering England has appointed both the Samaritans and British Waterways' chief executives among its five new trustees.

Catherine Johnstone (pictured), chief executive of Samaritans and former Capacitybuilders chief, was member-voted onto the Volunteering England board during the organisation's AGM and was confirmed last week along with Guildford Volunteer Centre manager Matthew Plumridge and Liverpool Volunteer Centre chief executive Tessa Willow.

Robin Evans, chief executive of British Waterways, was appointed by the board last month together with Joel Loader, partner at film communication agency I-Motus. 

The appointments complete Volunteering England's board during a busy period for the organisation which is playing a key role in supplying volunteers for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It was also appointed as one of the final strategic partners for the Office for Civil Society, and is leading the charge in the UK's efforts for the European Year of Volunteering this year.

In announcing the vacancies in August, Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs, chairman of the board, advised that it was looking for additional expertise in business development, digital marketing and local commissioning.

Welcoming its new members, Kaur-Stubbs said: "They bring experience, commitment and expertise that will help the board of Volunteering England to steer and strengthen the organsiation through such a difficult economic climate. I'm looking forward to working with the refreshed board to enable more people to volunteer and to get the most out of volunteering."

Georgina Watts and Nwadi Okereke stood down from the Volunteering England board on 4 November.

Volunteering England promotes and sets the standards for volunteers in England.