Judy Robinson obituary

Judith Robinson’s first job was as a Church of England community worker in Leigh, Lancashire, where she set up a lively bookshop in the town centre Photograph: none

My friend Judy Robinson, who has died suddenly aged 73 after a brain haemorrhage, was a powerful advocate for the voluntary sector and its contribution to the welfare state, as general secretary of Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation from 1991 to 2002, and then leading Involve, its Yorkshire equivalent, until 2016.

She was chair of Navca (the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action), supporting voluntary and community services, from 2020 to 2023.