Caroline Armitage has been appointed as the new Chair of Christian disability charity Livability.

She takes over from interim Chair Chris Carr and comes to the role with substantial experience working in the third sector.

Armitage has previously been involved with the YMCA and is current chief executive of the Royal Blind Society and the Eyeless Trust. She is also a trustee of the environmental charity, the Steyning Downland Scheme.

She is an active Christian who is motivated by her faith to support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.

She describes herself as an "enabler" who cites problem solving and the ability to analyse situations clearly and quickly as some of her key strengths.

She also advocates that charities should not be afraid of change and reshaping their activities to remain effective and relevant.

"I am delighted to take on the opportunity of leading Livability. What drew me to the organisation is the real passion and unrelenting dedication that everyone at Livability, at all levels, has for looking after the less able," she said.

"This is a very rare quality and I am really excited by the idea of helping the charity go from strength to strength.

"I am passionate about supporting disabled and vulnerable people in the UK in achieving higher levels of choice, and independence. In a difficult social and economic environment, we need to be ever more vigilant to ensure that disabled people are not forgotten and left behind.

"I am also really keen to show what a modern, 21st century Christian charity like Livability can achieve and how our ethos can help us make a real, practical difference to vulnerable people's welfare. "

Dave Webber Livability Chief Executive, said: ''I am delighted to welcome Caroline as Livability's new Chair. She brings to the organisation a track-record of high achievement in both the voluntary and private sectors and a real commitment to the charity's work in supporting and empowering disabled people.

"With Caroline leading the organisation, we can look forward to continuing to innovate and deliver the best possible services and support to disabled people in the UK.''