Articles
Meet the Meath Team
Senior Management Team
Lee Bennett
CEO
Lee has over 20 years’ experience of working in the charity sector and before joining The Meath as CEO in 2022 was CEO of The Garwood Foundation. Lee is pleased to be able to apply his experience of delivering upon the strategic aims of trustees, whilst ensuring continuity of the very best possible services.
Lee is proud to lead an organisation that recognises ability and which provides such breadth of high-quality support to its community.
Lizzie Homes
Executive PA to the CEO
Tracy Toth
Head of Residential Services
• Tracy has worked in the social care sector for 20 years having progressed from Support Worker to Head of Residential Services. She has worked with various levels of learning disability, complex medical needs, and the Elderly throughout her career.
• Tracy has gained a vast amount of knowledge, skill and qualifications to empower, lead and mentor staff within their role.
• A member of The Meath Senior Leadership Team.
T: 01483 415095
Lisa O'Brien
Head of Health and Wellbeing
• Lisa has worked within the neurosciences field since she qualified in 1993 and has a special interest in epilepsy, neuro-disability, brain injury and rehabilitation.
• Before joining The Meath as Head of Health & Wellbeing in December 2023 she worked as Epilepsy Nurse Consultant and Registered Nurse Manager for CQC at Young Epilepsy.
• A member of the Senior Leadership Team
Andrew Bagley FFA FIPA ATT
Head of Finance
• Andrew worked as a senior manager for a local firm of accountants for 23 years before joining The Meath as Head of Finance.
• Andrew has a wealth of experience working closely with clients to develop their accounts function, dealing with all aspects from initial review to implementation, report writing, training and support.
• A Member of the Senior Leadership Team
T: 01483 415095
Vanessa Mulholland
Head of HR
Vanessa holds a Level 5 CIPD qualification and has a broad range of experience as Head of People/Head of HR role within hospitality and construction industries. With over 10 years’ experience in volume recruitment, Vanessa is able to apply her experience of leading key recruitment campaigns in the corporate sector here at The Meath.
Lucy Miguda
Head of Fundraising
• Having joined in 2019, Lucy brings to The Meath a wealth of experience, having worked in the Third Sector for over 20 years, after many years of corporate experience.
• Lucy is a firm believer in working in partnership, developing and nurturing stakeholder relationships which are key to achieving sustainable income and ensuring a positive experience for supporters.
• A member of the Senior Leadership Team
T: 01483 411071
Helen Jackson
Head of Marketing
• Having joined in 2016 Helen feels privileged to promote the wonderful work of the charity.
• Before joining The Meath, Helen worked in the theatre and education sectors.
• She enjoys working collaboratively with the people we support and colleagues to create content which showcases the enabling culture we are all proud of at The Meath.
• A member of the Senior Leadership Team
T: 01483 411071
Registered Managers
Tania Evans
Senior Registered Manager
Carole Brockwell
Senior Registered Manager
Katy Budd
Registered Manager
Jordan Thompson
Dual Service Manager
Dan Wills
Quality Assurance & Compliance Manager
Dan joins us as our new quality & compliance manager and brings a wealth of knowledge from his 10+ years in health & social care. Having worked in a variety of roles and settings, he was most recently operations director for a large private healthcare company. Holding an MSc in Healthcare Management, Dan is an active member of the Institute of Healthcare Managers, and his areas of interest include service improvement and resident advocacy.
Trustees
Graham Healy
Chair of Trustees
Graham is a Chartered Accountant, who retired in 2015 as a partner of Smith & Williamson in Guildford, after more than 30 years. He has over 20 years experience as a Trustee of various Surrey-based charities, and is also involved with several local charities in Wonersh, where he has lived since 1992.
Helen Pernelet
Helen is a qualified solicitor, and Doctor of Governance. Her professional career in the private sector has spanned the legal profession, investment banking and strategic consulting.
Helen has been an active trustee of several charities, including serving as chair of the Epilepsy Society from 2013-2016.
Helen is currently a public governor of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Karen Thurston
After a 25 year career in banking & consultancy, Karen has spent 15+ years both employed and working to support two local hospices, a disability advisory service and a community enterprise.
Chris Alder
Chris feels privileged as a Trustee, to apply his experience from the corporate sector, and his expertise in IT, to further the organisational objectives of The Meath.
Nick Fenton
Nick is a Chartered Surveyor, based in the West End of London. Nick’s eldest daughter was a resident of The Meath for 12 years. Nick has served as a trustee for other charities and was one of the original trustees of the charity which built the first Ronald McDonald House in the UK at Guys Hospital.
Katie Randerson
Katie has extensive corporate experience in healthcare communications. Currently working with Sight for Surrey, Katie has held senior roles at The National Trust, WWF, Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity, and Kingston University.
Katie’s nephew is a Meath resident.
Sally Wilson
A Chartered Accountant, Sally pursued a career as a senior finance professional for 20 years before moving into the voluntary sector in 2004.
With experience both as a trustee and as chair of Boards in the sector, the primary focus of her voluntary work has been aimed at young people, their education and/or special needs.
Sally is herself epileptic and one of her daughters has complex epilepsy and profound special needs.
Mihail Calinescu
Mihail is a Managing Director at BlackRock and a member of the Diversified Strategies team within the Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions Group, where he leads research on emerging markets.
Mihail suffered from epilepsy himself and underwent 7 years of treatment for post-traumatic non-convulsive epilepsy and overcame the associated learning difficulties at school.
Dr Anthony Gibbon
Dr Anthony Gibbon is a retired General Practitioner with over 40 years of experience. His extensive career has equipped him with a deep understanding of healthcare and the social needs of individuals and communities.
Dr Gibbon is passionate about supporting individuals to lead fulfilling lives and has actively contributed to the Meath’s Health and Social Care Committee over the past year.