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Board of Trustees
Trustees play a vital role in ensuring that we: meet our purpose; are compliant, act in our best interests, manage our resources responsibly, act with reasonable care and skill; and are accountable.
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Dr Rita Harris
I chose to become a trustee at Homelink because I believe it contributes to keeping people living well in their communities, both carers and those cared for. By providing stimulating, individualised and safe care it enhances the well-being of those cared for whilst offering respite to carers, enabling them to remain well themselves, reducing the risk of ill health for both.
Shortly before the pandemic my widowed father who was in the last stages of Alzheimer’s disease died. My sisters and I had been caring for him for some time and services such as those offered by Homelink were invaluable.
I have worked in the NHS for over 40 years, as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Family Therapist, Organisational Consultant and Systemic Leadership and Management Trainer. In more recent years I was an Executive Director of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and then Non-Executive Director of Kingston Hospital. Whilst at Kingston I led the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda in the Trust, championing a compassionate and respectful culture and played a pivotal role in the psychological recovery of the organisation during the Covid pandemic. I was also “Dementia Champion” for the Trust and supported the development of several dementia friendly initiatives. Working in partnership with The Anna Freud Centre, I was one of the key figures in developing the integrated multi-agency services that are the basis of ‘Thrive’ – a new model for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). I then managed the national implementation of ‘Thrive’, which is now nationally recognised as a model of good practice. From the mid 1980’s, I was involved in developing partnership services with local authorities, the voluntary sector and young people themselves, providing mental health services in schools and social work teams. I remain passionate about developing high quality services in partnership with other agencies, carers and service users.
I am a parent and now a grandparent and live in Richmond with my husband. I love growing things and spend much of my free time gardening. When not in the garden or enjoying the delights of a toddler I can be found cycling or hiking.
Treasurer
John Lord
I am now retired, playing golf and learning to glide. I worked for GlaxoSmithKline at Brentford for 25 years, mainly as a Finance Director in the Corporate Finance area. I have done many different finance roles over the years so I will bring a lot of Financial experience to Homelink.
Trustee
Dr Lesley Seddon
I have worked as a General practitioner in the area for 30 years. I have also worked as a Trust Surgeon at West Middlesex University Hospital for a similar time. Through my work in these areas, I have gained a wide knowledge and experience of the problems of Ageing and Dementia. Over the years I have observed the trauma and stress that the families of elderly infirm and people suffering from dementia experience. Treating patients on a daily basis with these problems gives me a great insight into their needs and the difficulties. I was invited many years ago to become a trustee of Homelink. The aspect of being a respite centre for the carers to have their loved one cared for was the most important factor in wanting to be involved.
Trustee
Steve Monaghan
I was drawn to being a Homelink trustee through being a volunteer driver. I'm impressed by the warmth and care dispensed by the staff and volunteers and I believe that Homelink gives great value for money. I retired from a career as a military and airline pilot during which I spent most of my latter years in management positions thus gaining experience in budgeting, project planning and formulation of procedures; skills which I hope are of use to Homelink. I now spend my time on family, reading, golf, motorcycling and learning languages but, most importantly, supporting our wonderful local charity.
Trustee
Carolyn McCombe
From the moment I walked through the door I knew that I wanted to be part of Homelink. The warmth and cheerfulness of the staff and volunteers and the quality of the services provided both for the clients and their carers is an inspiration. I then met the Trustees and was equally impressed by their professionalism and passion for Homelink. My background is in law. I originally qualified as a solicitor, but have spent the past 30 years working as the Chief Executive of a barristers’ Chambers which has involved me in all aspects of the barristers’ practices and the operation of the business.
Trustee
Roubina de Winton
I have lived in Whitton for nearly 20 years and have worshiped at St Augustine of Canterbury church where I learned about Homelink and the wonderful work it does in our community. Since then, I always wanted to be part of Homelink and offer my time and skills to it. I took the opportunity to apply to become a trustee when I retired at the end of 2020 having first worked for 28 years at PwC holding a variety of positions including Audit and Compliance manager and latterly at Pfizer for 10 years as Compliance senior manager.
I love travelling and spending time with my family and friends.
Trustee
Archdeacon Richard Frank
Richard grew up in London and then Birmingham and studied engineering at university. He served as Youth & Children’s Worker for a Birmingham parish church before training for ordination at Ridley Hall and then enjoyed five years serving in a Chelmsford Diocese parish in East London. Richard became Vicar of All Souls near Twickenham in 2005 and served as Area Dean for Hounslow. He became Archdeacon of Middlesex in March 2020, a role which involves supporting some 90 churches and nearly 200 clergy across this part of the Diocese of London, working directly for the Bishop of Kensington. Richard is married to Catherine and they have two older teenage children and a well-loved dog “Rolo”. Richard is a bit of a computer geek, loves photography and aspires to running.
Trustee
Lesley Low
I lost my superstar Dad to dementia in 2022. The Mackenzie Centre in Inverness provided invaluable respite care to our family and that was the inspiration for me to try and find a way to give something back to the community that I live in: I am delighted to have found Homelink.
I'm very lucky to have had a long and varied commercial career and hope that I've learnt enough along the way to be able to support the incredible Homelink team, not just to survive, but to thrive as a charitable business. Working for John Lewis, I live in St Margarets with my husband Andy and our (typically stubborn!) Irish Terrier Rafa. I'm a school Governor and precious spare time generally includes a bit of yoga, a jog in the park, watching pretty much any sport (bar cricket?), reading and writing - maybe that novel will finally get finished one day!
Trustee
Matt Jones
Supporting my elderly mother and my sister who's her carer, I have some understanding of the challenging journey older people and their families often travel.
Once I met the team at Homelink, and learned about the wonderful work that they do to make that journey more joyful, I wanted to see if I could help support such a vital service to our local community. I have background in management consulting, having worked in the health and social care sectors, with the CQC and with NHS and Council commissioners and providers.
I look forward to serving as a trustee and working with the Homelink team to make a meaningful difference for those needing respite support locally.
Trustee
Julie Baker
When I took early retirement last year, one of the personal goals I set myself was to support a charity in my local community. Having lost relatives to dementia, and seen the impact on their carers, this was a cause close to my heart. I was immediately struck by the uniqueness of Homelink's offer, and wanted to get involved. As a former Managing Director with experience in consumer goods, professional services and hospitality, and with functional expertise in marketing, sales and operations, my career had always centred around putting the guest/consumer/customer at the heart of our promise, so I felt it was a good fit with Homelink.
I have lived in Twickenham for more than 25 years with my husband Andrew, our 2 (now grown-up) children and our Border Terrier, Muttley. Together we love travelling and experiencing new cultures. I also enjoy running, yoga, swimming and improving my French! And now that I'm retired it's wonderful to have more time to catch up with family and friends.
Trustee
Reverend Helen Calner
I was born and grew up in Sweden, coming from a small town in the southern parts. Little did I know then that my passion for exploring life and faith would take me around the globe via the route from being a drama teacher, to becoming a Lutheran deacon and then to be a priest in Church of England. Especially when I always thought I would become a musician. God and life have a certain way of surprising you.
I came to St Augustine’s parish from central London, where I have spent the last decade doing ministry in both the Swedish Lutheran Church, as well as St Hilda’s Church in Ashford and St Philip’s Church in Earls Court. I feel very blessed to be in Whitton and serving the community and especially Homelink where there is a positive and generous atmosphere that speaks to me and makes me feel at home and welcomed. I also sense an openness to explore ways to care for our fellow neighbour, in which I hope I will bring new energy and joy. For me it is to make the love of God known.
And, if by any chance I was put on a desert island, there are three things I can’t be without: coffee, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and, of course, my 2 cats (they go in the same carrier, so they definitely count as one).