Karen Foster Expand Karen has worked across public and private sectors in education, children’s services and health. Karen’s career started in teaching and her developing interest in child psychology led to her qualification and work as an educational psychologist in Kent and Buckinghamshire. She returned to teaching as Headteacher and successfully turned around a failing school. Karen then moved into the private sector working in management consulting with clients from central, regional and local government working on projects with a focus on children, young people and their families. A change of sectors into health saw her developing her interest in organisational development working in various business development roles including the role of Deputy Director Business, Planning and Commercial Development for the Chief Knowledge Officer in Public Health England. Karen is currently working as Director of Business Transformation with HESA.
Joanna Dennis Expand Joanna is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has held a practising certificate since 1998. She won a national award, Finance Director of the Year, Growing Business in 2005. She is a highly experienced and versatile finance director with extensive board experience in both the private and public sectors, particularly in organisations embracing change. She co-founded a drinks company and managed finance, investment and risk and international exposure of a range of products which remain widely available and more recently co-founded and built a bookkeeping franchise, now in the top 35% (by volume) of all franchises in the UK.
Elizabeth Hill-Smith Expand Liz is an experienced management consultant, coach and facilitator having worked with blue chip companies and most Government departments. Liz's speciality has been in designing and leading development programmes to drive change and build leadership and management capabilities. Liz currently works for KPMG delivering learning, organisation development and change solutions for the UK Civil Service Liz has also worked in the voluntary sector - primarily as a school Governor, and Chair of Governors for a junior school for three years. Liz has been a volunteer for Surrey Family Links delivering parenting skills workshops, is a mentor for Surrey Cares Trust and volunteers to support families in her local Home-Start scheme. Liz has an MA in Engineering from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cranfield, is an APECS (Association of Professional Coaches and Supervisors) qualified executive Coach, and a Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting.
Anne Shevas Expand Anne was born in Leicester and worked as a reporter for the Leicester Mercury before becoming a government press officer. For more than 20 years she worked in senior communications positions at the heart of government; at 10 Downing Street for two Prime Ministers: John Major in the post-Thatcher era; and Tony Blair, as Chief Press Officer and Prime Minister's Spokesman; and in the Scottish Office before and after devolution and the creation of the new Scottish Parliament. Latterly, she worked as Head of Media Relations for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Prof. Karen Graham Expand Karen is Director of multi-award winning daycare and work-based learning provision. She is currently working nationally as consultant to numerous agencies and partners across the children’s sector. With experience in early years, teaching and Higher Education, Karen’s work spans: work-based learning, parenting and family work, early years care and education. Karen has been a regular contributor to Welsh Government Boards and to national agenda. She is: an Emeritus Professor of Childhood and Family Studies at Glyndwr University, Wrexham, the World Forum Foundation National Representative for Wales, member of the World Forum Foundation Children’s Rights Group and an invited member of the World Forum Foundation International Advisory and Action Committee.
Sue Bishop Expand Sue is a member of the Chartered Institute for Public Relations and has thirty five years' experience in national journalism, public relations and charity management. Her career includes roles as an investigative on-screen correspondent for TV's Newsnight, Watchdog and Dispatches. Sue then gained a decade's experience in senior management, strategic communications, fundraising and campaigning during her time as Head of Media for Christian Aid and Director of Communications for ActionAid UK. She has been a trustee of the International Broadcasting Trust. Sue is now Director of External Relations for the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, representing head teachers of the UK's leading independent schools and working with the state sector on campaigns to improve schooling for all pupils.
Margot Madin FCA: honorary treasurer Expand Margot is a partner at UHY Hacker Young LLP in Nottingham and London, and has been a trustee and the Honorary Treasurer of Home-Start UK since June 2013. With a degree in librarianship, Margot was previously a chartered librarian in academic libraries. Looking for a new challenge, she trained with KPMG in Leicester and Derby, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1992, then spent a year in industry before joining a small practice in Nottingham as manager, then partner. In 2005 she moved to the Amateur Swimming Association in Loughborough as Finance Manager, returning to practice at UHY Hacker Young LLP fourteen months later and becoming a partner in 2008. With extensive experience in audit, tax and business advice, Margot is a charity and not for profit sector specialist, and audits a number of local and national charities. She is a Sustrans supporter, life member of Garden Organic, a member of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, and was a trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust until 2015.
Prof. Philip Sugarman: vice-chair of trustees Expand Philip Sugarman is Vice-Chair of Home-Start UK, a retired hospital Chief Executive and previous NHS forensic psychiatrist with expertise in risk management and specialist service development. As medical director and CEO of St Andrew's Healthcare, he moved into senior healthcare management, and the rapid commercial expansion of a charity sector provider into the UK's largest secure care group and its only major independent teaching hospital. His academic record covers collaborations with King's College London, Oxford University and McKinsey's, amongst others, with award-winning dissertations, publications and books on offenders, secure care, performance indicators, outcomes and care governance. In 2014 he was elected President for Psychiatry at the Royal Society of Medicine.
Felicity Clarkson CBE: chair of trustees Expand Felicity trained at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations as a clinical psychologist and spent several years working with disturbed young offenders in the Prison Service, before moving into senior policy roles in the Home Office. She was introduced to Home-Start while working on policies relating to juvenile crime and families and became a trustee of Home-Start, Richmond-on-Thames, shortly after she retired in 2006. She was chair of trustees from 2008 - 2016. She joined the English National Committee (ENC) in 2012, and was active with others in establishing a consortium of Home-Start schemes in London. On becoming chair of the ENC in 2015, she became a trustee of Home-Start UK.
Susi Farnworth Expand Susi has been working in the charity sector for 15 years, in Youth, Community, Volunteering and Early Years roles. Most recently, Susi has been working at the National Deaf Children's Society, developing their partnership working and leading the support service for the local deaf children's societies that are affiliated to the national organisation. Susi was also an active school governor of a local primary school for 6 years. Susi's experience in these areas led her to see how vital it is that parents with young children are well supported and the preventative impact this can have for these children in later life. Susi has also seen the huge benefits of volunteering for the volunteer themselves. Susi is a parent to two young children aged under 3. Susi has a degree in Psychology from the Bristol University and a Masters in Health Psychology from University College London.
Anna Corry Expand Anna is an experienced commercial finance leader. She is currently Head of Finance for Global LEGO Retail, having previously spent over 20 years in various commercial finance roles, including over 15 years at Procter & Gamble. Anna has an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and has served on their Professional Standards Board since 2013. Anna’s key strengths are in strategic/business development, process improvement and organisation development.