Meet the team

About Amanda: Amanda has a wealth of experience both in the NHS and charity sector, with a track record of delivering improvements in care, performance and finances. Joining the team in October 2021, she brings with her a strong clinical and business development background – with an MBA from Brighton University.

From Amanda: “I am passionate about safe and compassionate care that is accessible to all and particularly for the most vulnerable in our society.”

About John: John is a qualified management accountant and has served as Finance Director or CFO for many years in NHS hospital trusts and universities. John has two grown-up children and lives in Brighton, where he produces cider from apples grown in the garden.

From John: “Having supported local food bank and homelessness charities as a volunteer, I’m enjoying the opportunity to bring my professional skills and experience to the running of this important local charity.”

About Lisa: Since qualifying as a nurse in the early 1990s, Lisa has worked across a variety of specialities and healthcare providers. Her original speciality was acute care, working on the Burns Unit before undertaking a course in Intensive Care course. Around periods of living abroad and starting a family, she worked in the unit at Brighton before moving into cancer care. Lisa worked initially on the medical day case unit (now Amberley) at Worthing hospital, before moving to the County in Brighton to work in research, then as an Acute oncology nurse specialist and then Cancer Matron.

On completing an MSc in Acute Clinical Practice, Lisa moved to work at the Royal Marsden as a nurse consultant in Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatments. She then worked as Lead Nurse for Cancer, palliative and End of Life Care, before becoming Divisional Director of nursing  for the new cancer division following the merger with Brighton & Sussex University hospitals NHS Trust. Her focus in her role will be to focus  on quality, safety, governance, education and research for our services, as well as the development of the senior leadership structure for our clinical teams as we move forward with the merger.

Lisa is currently undertaking a part-time PhD through King’s College London and she loves exploring Europe with my husband by motorbike and would one day like to do a longer trip from Canada to South America!

From Lisa: “I am passionate about ensuring we provide safe, effective, high quality and personalised care to our patients and their families & carers. I see this as a really exciting opportunity to work together and build on the excellent care and support our teams already provide.”

About Becki: Becki’s worked in the charity sector for over 25 years for a number of well-known brands including Sightsavers, WWF, the Prince’s Trust and the Alzheimer’s Society. She joined St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House in March 2020 and is now responsible for commercial funding, including the domiciliary care agency; commissioned work from statutory and government sources; and all other income generation streams for Southern Hospice Group, following a merger with Martlets hospice in Hove . Outside of work Becki spends her time cooking, sewing and being a taxi service to her teenage son. She lives in Hassocks with her husband, son, dog and cat.

From Becki: ‘Having spent many years working in overseas development, this role at the hospices is the first time in my career that I have had the honour and privilege to support the community that myself and my family live in.

About Jane: Jane is a consultant in palliative medicine and has worked in palliative care for 18 years in community, hospice inpatient and hospital posts in the UK and overseas both as a GP and as a palliative care specialist. She works closely with the Head of Service to provide clinical and strategic leadership for the hospice, clinical insight into discussions at the executive team level and is the organisation’s Caldicott Guardian. Jane continues to be involved in direct patient care, training, education, research and governance alongside this role. She lives in Hove and is a very keen Charleston dancer and sea dipper.

From Jane: “I am passionate about working within multi-professional teams to deliver effective holistic and equitable care in a sustainable way for both patients, their loved ones and our own staff. I believe palliative care is everyone’s business.”

About Katie: Katie joined St Barnabas Hospices in 2021 and has worked in the charity sector for 20 years. Her team is responsible for all hospice communications and managing relationships across corporates, individuals, trusts, and foundations. The team also runs and develops our legacy and in memory programme, an incredibly important source of income for all our hospices, accounting for a quarter of our overall income.

Katie says: “One of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet lots of people who are connected to our organisation in some way, either as a supporter, a patient, or a family member. I often find myself talking with someone in our community who has benefitted from using one of our hospices and I feel honoured to be a part of an organisation that has such a positive impact on patients and family’s lives.”

About Kathleen: Kathleen’s role covers the executive lead of our Estates and Facilities and Health and Safety portfolio, with an overview on our capital works programmes, and the lead on all business planning for the charities.  Kathleen has a wealth of knowledge in the health sector, having a career spanning 25 years in the NHS.

From Kathleen: ‘I’m excited to work with such brilliant teams at St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House, where I can bring my professional experience into an organisation that I’m passionate about’

About Rachel: Having previously worked in retail and financial services marketing, Rachel moved into the charity sector and has been in public fundraising roles for the last 12 years. As Director of Public Fundraising and Retail, Rachel manages the fundraising teams responsible for generating donations from members of the general public, through our retail shops, and also manages our supporter care, donations processing, and database teams. In her spare time Rachel is a reluctant runner and ran her first half marathon to raise money for Chestnut Tree House. At home she is kept company by her orange cat Billy, who enjoys following her around the house demanding treats and making an appearance on virtual meetings when she is working from home.

From Rachel: “We moved to Worthing when I was 10 years old, and I have grown up knowing about the incredible work the hospices do.  I am regularly in awe of the unwavering support of our local community.  Hearing about and seeing for myself the wonderful ways people raise money for us never fails to remind me of what an amazing organisation we are, and I am proud to work somewhere that makes such a difference to those in the area I live in.”

About Clare: Clare joined St Barnabas in June 2023 and is a Chartered Member of CIPD and has over 20 years HR experience in a range of private and public sector organisations. Her role covers the delivery of the HR operations portfolio which includes HR and payroll administration, recruitment and employee relations management. Clare is enthusiastic in her approach and considers her key strengths are in developing strong working relationships with people to influence positive results for managers and their teams.

From Clare: “I am incredibly proud to work for St Barnabas Hospices, and with colleagues from across whole the organisation who demonstrate on a daily basis their passion and commitment to what they do.”

Joined: 2010
Appointed Chair: 2021

Area of expertise: Healthcare

About Mike: Mike was a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in West Sussex for 24 years, retiring from clinical practice in 2014, where he then went on to be a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Western Sussex Hospitals and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and as Deputy Chair for Western Sussex Hospitals.

From Mike: “I am excited to be taking on the role as Chair of Trustees for an organisation that provides the highest quality of care to individuals and their families when it is most needed.”

Mike’s LinkedIn 

Information coming soon!

Area of expertise: Finance and the charity sector

About Ros: Ros is a previous Finance Director for Chestnut Tree House and St Barnabas House. With a previous career in teaching. She’s retained links with both hospices and recently has assisted in Finance when there have been changes in the management team.

Ros has also been treasurer for the charity Together for Short Lives for over 10 years, and retains a keen interest in the children’s hospice sector.

Outside of charity work, Ros enjoys walking, travelling, yoga, gardening and, of course, watching the grandchildren grow up.

From Ros: “Given my experience of the charity, I want to see St Barnabas continue to succeed and I hope that, as a trustee, I will be able to make a positive contribution to its valuable work in delivering excellent care for the local community. “

Information coming soon!

Area of expertise: Financial services

About Jill: Now retired, Jill has a wealth of experience in the private sector in senior management roles. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing and a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Jill’s LinkedIn

Areas of expertise: business, finance and HR

About Tony: As a previous Director of ECE Architecture, Tony has experience with all areas of managing a multifaceted organisation as well as large-scale construction projects.

From Tony: “Having, through the architectural practice, worked with and supported both St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House, I’m delighted to be able to have the opportunity to be fully involved and help with both these tremendous organisations.”

Tony’s LinkedIn

Information coming soon!

Areas of expertise: Healthcare

About Tony: Tony, previous Trustee of the Roy Kinnear Trust, was a paediatric plastic and reconstructive surgeon for 28 years, retiring from clinical practice in 2007. He has also made several trips to the Pacific Islands with the Australian Government Interplast Programme.

From Tony:  “I feel that having been an NHS doctor, dealing with children and the terminally ill, I can contribute to the continuing high standards in all aspects of care provided by both St Barnabas House and Chestnut Tree House”.

Areas of expertise: Law

About David: Prior to his retirement from full-time working in May 2020 David Rennie worked for 24 years as a Criminal Law Barrister, both defending and prosecuting cases in the Crown Court.  In 2001 he was appointed as a Circuit Judge and presided over serious criminal trials in Sussex and at the Old Bailey for the next 19 years.

David’s LinkedIn 

Areas of expertise: Technology and IT

About Ian: Ian is a chartered Electronic Engineer with an MBA from Imperial College London. He has many years’ experience building teams and motivating experts to innovate, using the latest technology and processes to deliver new solutions.

From Ian: “I have learnt the importance of dignity throughout life and leapt at the opportunity to be part of a team that ensures that this continues for the seriously or terminally ill. I believe in the value of ensuring everyone has access to the highest levels of care and respect at their hardest time in life.  I have been lucky to have a long and varied career. I would like to think that along the way I have learnt some valuable lessons that can add value to the team at St Barnabas Hospice and Chestnut Tree House to deliver outcomes that people really need.”

Ian’s LinkedIn 

Areas of expertise: Children’s care and safeguarding

About Ruth: Ruth has worked in the NHS for 45 years as both a Registered General and Children’s Trained Nurse. Recently she has provided nursing advice for capital projects, and also worked as a specialist advisor for the CQC.

Area of expertise: Quality & Governance

Dan has worked across the NHS, private healthcare and charities since 2010, holding senior positions most recently as the Director of integrated governance, quality and patient safety for an acute hospital.

Dan is looking forward to joining St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House to help deliver high quality and effective services which meet the needs of the local population. Dan is passionate about continuous quality improvement, safety and patient experience.