Anna Corry Expand Anna is an experienced commercial finance leader. She is currently Vice President, Digital Finance for the LEGO Group, having previously spent over 25 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 leadership and organisation development.
Barbara Firth Expand Barbara has a background in health and social services organisations as a practitioner, manager and educator. For the last thirty years she has been an independent trainer and consultant with a focus on safeguarding and the development of policy and practice in child welfare. Barbara’s work has included the design and delivery of training courses for a wide range of managers and practitioners; audits; service evaluations and supervision and consultancy for senior managers in Health Services and Children’s Services. She also undertakes Serious Case Reviews and has helped to develop new approaches for reviewing cases of serious child and adult harm. At a local level Barbara is active in the voluntary sector and is a founder member of Aylesbury Women’s Aid.
Bushra Ahmed Expand Bushra is an experienced board trustee, business woman and community activist, with a wide cross-sector network, as well as over 20 years of experience in community engagement. Currently she holds positions as Director at the Sheila Mckeknie Foundation, the Survivors Advisory Forum for the National Emergencies Trust and the Victim Care Improvement Forum at the Met Police, as well as being a Civic Futures Leader at the GLA. Bushra is the founder of West Croydon Voice, set up after her family business was destroyed in the 2011 Riots, to fight for the victims rights to compensation. She is a public speaker, mentor and strategic consultant, and uses her lived experience to advise on issues around diversity, inclusion and cultural awareness.
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 as a Senior Executive Coach. 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.
Joanna Dennis: treasurer 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.
Lin Hinnigan - Chair of Trustees Expand Lin Hinnigan was previously Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board and has had a successful track record of strategic leadership as a director and Chief Executive of a number of public bodies and within the Civil Service. She has led organisations responsible for the regulation of social work, the development of the school curriculum, assessment and qualifications, and the oversight of teacher training and development. Having initially trained and worked as an educational psychologist, Hinnigan has a proven passion and track record for supporting children and young people to improve their life chances. Hinnigan takes up the role at Home-Start UK alongside her existing Chairing roles at Make A Wish - a charity supporting critically-ill children and Working Chance - which supports women involved in the criminal justice system back into employment.
Naomi Dickson Expand Naomi Dickson became Chief Executive of Jewish Women’s Aid in 2014. Since becoming CEO, Naomi has supported the organisation through significant growth. In addition to ensuring a high professional standard in augmented frontline services for Jewish women experiencing domestic abuse, she oversaw the expansion of the charity’s offer through the launch of the specialist Dina Sexual Violence Support Service in 2019. The charity also has a newly enhanced education programme in schools and on campus, promoting consent and healthy relationships. Naomi has been involved in Jewish Women’s Aid for 18 years, initially as a volunteer, and she is proud of creating JWA's training programme to raise awareness in the Jewish community and empower rabbis and communal professionals to better identify and support women and children who are affected by domestic abuse. She is also proud that Jewish Women’s Aid is held in high regard across the Jewish community and domestic abuse sector. Naomi was a trustee of Women's Aid Federation of England for three years until 2021, a founder of the Faiths Against Domestic Abuse Coalition, and a Fellow of the Cambridge Senior Faith Leadership Programme. Naomi was privileged to be named on the BBC’s global list of 100 inspiring and influential women in 2020.
Pearly Siffel Expand Pearly is a global strategy executive with over 16 years’ experience in professional services and financial services across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, North America, and the UK. She is accomplished in opening up new markets, developing high-performing teams and driving organisational transformation to unleash growth. Pearly is personally committed to helping underprivileged people improve their mental and physical well-being. For several years, she was a Committee Member and volunteer with Dress for Success in Australia and the US, helping women thrive in work and life. Additionally, for the last 20 months she’s provided strategic guidance and coaching for The Children’s Society in the UK, which supports abused children to build their confidence and well-being.
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.
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.
Ray Ayivor Expand Ray is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds two Masters degrees in Change Management and Finance. He also holds a Diploma in Charity Accounting from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Ray has been actively involved in charity and social action work in Africa and the UK for over 25 years. His UK experience includes working for charities that have delivered services in the areas of adult and social care, international water and sanitation, mental health and youth and social action. Having developed a keen interest in the role of the family setting in the development of the wider society, Ray comes to Home-Start UK looking to make a meaningful contribution to ensuring that children have the best starts in life and grow into adults who are actively engaged in the building of a stable and beneficial society.
Sheena Bolland Expand Sheena has over 30 years’ experience working in social care, both in the voluntary and statutory sectors. Her work has been recognised by government organisations and she has been a member on several advisory committees. She is currently Head of Service for Public Health nursing working for Medway Community Health in Kent. Having worked alongside Home-start for many years, Sheena was delighted to take up the post of a trustee of Home-start Medway when the opportunity arose approximately ten years ago. For the last three years, she has served as Chair. During this time, the Project has been successful in securing funding by expanding and diversifying service delivery. As a member of the national Board, Sheena brings direct experience of local Projects and a current working knowledge of issues being faced by children and families in the current climate. Sheena has a degree and Masters from the University of Kent and post graduate diplomas in child and adolescent mental health from the Tavistock and Portman Trust.
Sophie Castell Expand Sophie is currently Director of Customer and Brand Engagement at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, leading marketing and communications for the organisation. She started her career as a research scientist and holds a PhD in biochemistry. Since then, her career has spanned innovation, fundraising, marketing and branding. She has worked for major international companies (including Coca-Cola and Unilever), start-ups, and run her own marketing consultancy practice. Sophie is passionate about social justice and inclusion and ensuring that everyone has the best chance to enjoy a thriving, flourishing life. Outside her executive career, Sophie has served as a NED on a PCT and as a trustee on a number of charity boards, including the National Autistic Society, the Priory of St John/St John Ambulance and the Enterprise Cooperative Trust. She has also served as the governor of a local special school. Sophie lives in north London with her son and when she is not working to change the world, you will find her singing – anywhere, anytime and anyplace!