Elisabeth Tooms took early retirement in 2005 from Allen & Overy, a law firm based in the City of London, which has grown to become a major global practice and served for several years as Chair of the Oxford Group.

After reading law at Oxford, Elisabeth worked full-time with IofC for several years, in particular travelling for a year with a musical review, Time to Choose. The review visited Zimbabwe (at the time Rhodesia) at the time of the civil war and also South Africa, aiming to share a message of hope and reconciliation. During that period, she also directed and toured with Columba, a play with music about the life of the Celtic saint.

Elisabeth later trained in Library and Information Management and spent nearly 20 years at A & O where she eventually became Head of Global Library Services, responsible for over 70 staff. She is also a founder member of Renewal Arts, an international network of artists of all disciplines and was its first ‘international co-ordinator’ and been part of a team which has organised six week-long Forums during IofC’s summer conferences in Caux, Switzerland. She is also on the Board of the Christian Arts Trust and works as a free-lance theatre director, stage manager and lighting designer.

Recently widowed, she lives near Horsham, Sussex and has a horse and two cats.