JESSIE MAY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Family Engagement and Bereavement Team
- Family Engagement Officer
Alice joins us with over 20 years of live event experience having worked on both corporate events and touring live music around the world. Most recently she re-trained as a funeral arranger where her attention to detail helped families say their best goodbyes. This new role will see Alice bringing Jessie May families together and creating memorable events while building on the amazing work the Jessie May nurses do. I am really excited to be taking on this new role and the benefits it will bring to the families we support.
Job Titles:
- Children 's Nurse
- Director of Care
With 35 years' experience as a Children's and Adult Nurse, Andrea has joined the Jessie May Team with an enhanced professional portfolio, having worked in Clinical and Strategic Leadership positions within a range of acute and community settings.
Having trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital as a Children's Nurse, Andrea has previously worked at Bristol Children's Hospital focusing upon oncology care, complex medical needs and teenage years, before moving into community Public Health Nurse settings within areas of great diversity, health inequality and deprivation.
Andrea has worked as a Professional and Strategic Lead within Children's services for several years across Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and Gloucester county areas and is passionate in representing and working with children, young people, parents and carers to direct the future of palliative care at local and national level.
Jessie May has always been close to her heart from the moment she attended a fund-raising event many years ago and heard about the amazing work that the Jessie May team do to support children, young people, and families through the best of times and the most difficult of times. Always with an eye on the Jessie May support experience, she is now delighted to become a member of the Jessie May family and is looking forward to meeting everyone.
Andrea's ambition is to improve, develop and extend our care experience together in partnership.
Before she joined Jessie May, Bryony studied childcare at college and went on to work in a couple of nurseries; one of them being an on-site hospital nursery. She then started working for Jessie May in 2017.
As one of the Jessie May nurses, Bryony provides regular respite visits for the children and families that we support.
Job Titles:
- Head of Operations
- Member of the Operations and Finance Team
Caryn has over 20 years experience in the non-profit sector in a variety of roles in different organisations including, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Alzheimer's Society and Knowle West Media Centre.
Caryn is a school governor at a South Bristol primary school, and a trustee for an arts organisation. She enjoys reading, visits to the theatre, travel and spending time with her partner, children and poodle.
She is delighted to be a part of the Jessie May team, and is looking forward to playing a role in supporting the nurses in the valuable and fantastic work they do supporting children, young people and their families.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Officer
"I blame my good ol' Somerset roots for having a real love for all things outdoors. You can usually find me up on a hill or in the sea, often with family, friends and a dog or two in tow. I love nothing more than setting myself a challenge and encouraging others to give it a go too!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Care Team
- Nursing Lead
Clare has over 25 years' experience gained through senior management positions in the non-profit sector. Following her degree in Marketing and Economics from Surrey University she started her career at a small local charity in Gloucestershire as a Marketing Assistant. It was whilst working here that she gained a passion for fundraising and has since supported both local and national organisations to grow their income.
For 10 great years she worked for British Heart Foundation, and led a large team of fundraisers across the UK to raise funds from mass participation events. In the last 5 years of her career she has chosen to operate in organisations that require a refreshed approach, either to overall organisational approach or specifically to support fundraising.
As a foster carer herself she understands the importance of caring for the most vulnerable of children and is passionate about ensuring that at Jessie May we can provide support for children and families in their own homes.
"To be able to work for Jessie May is quite a privilege and I am immensely proud of the work that we do supporting children and families, especially at a time when they need us the most."
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Daniel has over twenty years' experience working for charities supporting children, families, disability and equality. Before joining Jessie May as CEO in 2022, he led both the disability charity ‘Paul's Place' and LGBTQ+ charity ‘Switchboard.' Throughout his career Daniel has made it his mission to make a difference to the lives of others. He believes in working with others collaboratively and in partnership to get things done and improve ways of doing things.
Outside of work, Daniel lives in Bristol with his partner and two rescue dogs and is a Trustee of Curzon Cinema and Clevedon Community Centre for the Arts and a ‘want-to-be' runner.
"It is a privilege to be leading this amazing charity. Everyday, working with an amazing team of people, I am reminded just how much caring and the act of kindness can mean to others, even at the most difficult of times. I am passionate that as a children's hospice, everything that we do is shaped by Jessie May children and families. We were started by a family, for children and families, and today children and families remain at the heart of everything we do."
Before joining the core team at Jessie May, Gemma worked as a carer for ‘Lifetime'; she was there for 9 years. It was during her time at Lifetime that she decided to undertake a nursing degree. During the third year of her nursing degree, she came to Jessie May on placement and loved every minute of it. She joined the extended team soon after qualifying, with the intention of going to the hospital to work shortly after. In 2017, whilst on the extended team, she got offered a full time position on the Core Team, which she accepted.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Communications Officer
I am a creative communicator with a passion for design, art and toasted sandwiches.
Jayne joined Jessie May in 2007 and is one of the first points of contact to telephone callers and visitors to the main office in Kingswood.
She has worked in the Corporate, Public Health and Third Sectors in the UK and New Zealand and has a strong administration background. She heads up the administration team who support the Jessie May Nurses in the preparation and planning of service delivery to the families we support.
"I enjoy attending both family and fundraising events and I am proud to be part of the team."
Job Titles:
- Individual Giving Manager
Kath is a tea drinking, Welsh rugby loving, bookworm based in South Wales.
She started her career in direct marketing at Golley Slater Group, working with commercial clients such as Aviva and Scottish Power and third sector clients such as Unicef, Oxfam and Tŷ Hafan.
12 years later Kath made the move to the third sector taking a post at Tŷ Hafan, the children's hospice for South Wales in the fundraising team. During her five-year tenure Kath managed the delivery of exceptional Supporter Care, the Challenge Events portfolio, gifts in wills, fundraising campaigns and appeals, and the Community Fundraising programme.
With a steadfast passion for children's hospice care Kath works for Jessie May as Individual Giving Manager, committed to growing the supporter base, delivering income growth and ensuring the supporters are cared for in the best way possible.
"When working with Unicef I learnt about the UNCRC. Every child has the right to a childhood. This is no less the case when a child has a life limiting condition or terminal illness. I am passionate about children's hospice care championing this right with the child and the family."
A wife, mum and doggy mum from Bristol, I love nothing more than time with family and friends, whether that be at the beach, a festival, a walk with the dogs or a night out.
I was a self-employed weight loss consultant for 10 years, alongside fundraising in a volunteer capacity. I love a challenge so the role at Jessie May quickly caught my eye as my passion is definitely in the charity sector and fundraising is an area I feel very confident in and love to be a part of. I am a people person and like nothing more than seeing people succeed at challenges they set themselves - especially when they didn't think they could do it!
I am so proud to be a part of the Jessie May family, seeing the impact they have on the families they support and seeing how much the families love the team, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The role I do means I get to meet so many amazing people which is perfect, and no day is the same - one day its bungee jumping and the next it could be a skydive with a few marathons in between, there is so much to do and so many ways people can support Jessie May, I am excited to see what the future holds.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Fundraising Committee
It's a great honour to be part of the Jessie May Board and be able to support such an incredible and essential service.
I am an ESG Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown; a financial services firm based in Bristol. I connected with Jessie May during the pandemic when my husband and I were looking to lend our support to a charity during that difficult period. Since then I've been in awe of the life-changing work the Jessie May team does and it's led me to want to be more closely involved.
My work revolves around understanding what makes businesses tick, and distilling it into accessible content for everyday investors. I have a genuine passion for communication and the ever-pressing need to connect with your audience is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I hope to leverage my background in communications and finance to help move Jessie May forward and support the great work they do.
This is an exciting time of change for Jessie May and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I hope my enthusiasm will add to the positive momentum and ensure we can grow and develop in a way that meaningfully supports the families that need us.
Job Titles:
- Head of Fundraising
- Member of the Fundraising and Communications Team
Lorraine has worked in the charity sector for over 18 years, and has been fundraising for 10 of those. Over these years she has worked in a variety of fundraising roles for Penny Brohn Cancer Care, Westonbirt Arboretum and the Royal Osteoporosis Society and has specialised in fundraising from Trusts and Foundations.
Lorraine joined Jessie May as trusts and foundations fundraiser in March 2020 before becoming head of fundraising in 2024.
"I joined Jessie May because I knew I could make a real difference to the lives of children with life-limiting conditions. I love that the work I do, raising money, provides Jessie May nurses to support the children and their families - they do an amazing job. I'm really excited to lead the fundraising team and do our very best for the children and families who need us.
Mary has been a Jessie May Nurse since 2017, and prior to this, worked on the children's unit at Great Western Hospital in Swindon as a staff nurse for 20 years.
She has worked as part of the Jessie May Swindon Team since its launch in 2016, and has been a huge part in developing the service into what it is today. As a Jessie May Nurse she completes respite visits, as well as assessments and paperwork to enable us to provide these safely. She also supports families with meetings, applications and advice where possible, as well as signposting to other services. The role also includes bereavement support for families and end of life planning where appropriate.
Mary-Anne has been with Jessie May since 2015, starting as Office Administrator and moving up to Care Team Administrator. She assists the Care Team with ensuring that all relevant paperwork for children/families is up to date and accounted for.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Project Oversight Committee
Jessie May is the first charity I have joined as a Trustee and I am proud to be involved with such an amazing team of staff and trustees in a truly wonderful organisation.
I have worked for over 20 years in small entrepreneurial organisations, in the UK and internationally, and have founded four successful start-ups. I hope to bring a passionate energy and business acumen to Jessie May to help grow its reach and influence, so that more children and families can make the choice to stay together at home.
I have two children, and family is a hugely important part of my life. My children and family will be supporting me with Jessie May and I hope that we can help support other families along the way.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Finance & Resources Committee
People always used to say to me that once you become part of the Jessie May family you never leave and this is certainly true for me. I held the position of Director of Finance and Corporate Services at Jessie May for two and a half years before leaving to find a position closer to home. Shortly after I left the finance chair was stepping down as she was coming to the end of her term and so a vacancy for a finance professional became available. I applied for the position and was thrilled to be accepted onto the board in June 2020.
I am a qualified accountant and have worked in the charity sector since 2007. I have recently stepped into the housing sector which although commercially run has a strong sense of social purpose which will enable me to enhance my skills needed to help set the strategic direction of Jessie May and to support the executive team in ensuring resources are continued to be deployed efficiently and responsibly. Having worked alongside the nurses at Jessie May I have seen personally the first-class care and support they give to Jessie May families and how hard the rest of the team work to plan and administer the running of visits and making sure that there are enough funds being raised so this support can continue.
Job Titles:
- Data and Insights Officer
Rachael has a background in customer service, admin and Pensions Software Training.
Over the years she has had the opportunity to live and work in Amsterdam (totally threw me out of my comfort zone but such an amazing 18 months which I'm so grateful to have had the chance to work and live there as a resident rather than a tourist - I still get homesick for beautiful Netherlands!). On return to the UK, she decided to take some time-out from an office environment. It was then she became involved with volunteer and community work, sitting on the committees at her daughter's pre-school and for a local park Friends group. More recently during Covid-19, she has been volunteering delivering meals for the National Food Service and becoming involved with the local area Covid Help, Support & Volunteering Group.
She joined Jessie May originally as a Care Team Administrator and has had many opportunities to communicate with our many of our families and children. Her current role in Jessie May is as the Finance and HR Administrator, where she works closely with the Admin and Office Manager to keep day-to-day records accurate and timely, supporting the nurses so they can go out and provide support to the families.
"I've been at Jessie May for 3 ½ years now and can honestly say I enjoy coming into work. I'm honoured to be a part of the Jessie May family and it always brings a smile to my face to hear about and see the children being children, having fun and laughing with their Nurses."
Before joining Jessie May, Sam worked at the Bristol Children's Hospital on the Renal Ward and PICU. She was passionate about supporting children with additional needs, and especially supporting children and young people with non-verbal communication to feel empowered during their time in hospital.
During her time there, she would always see families walking out the ward doors and wished that she could walk out there with them to help support them on the other side. She had heard about the support Jessie May nurses were able to give families at home, as well as in hospital, and jumped at the chance as soon as a position came up!
She started out on the Swindon and Wiltshire team, as the service opened in that area in 2016, and later transferred to the Bristol team, developing into a Care Team Leader after working across all areas.
Steve has been a qualified nurse for almost 10 years (qualified in 2015). Before he worked at Jessie May, he was a staff nurse on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Bristol Children's Hospital. He always wanted to work with children who had complex care needs after a placement during his nursing training. He would have loved to have worked in the community from the moment he qualified, but there wasn't a post available at the time. His time working in the Intensive Care Unit was so valuable, and provided him with the skills needed to confidently work in the community.
He joined Jessie May in November 2016, as a nurse providing visits to children and their families. He started off ‘out on the ground', providing care to the children and supporting their families, which is the main part of our work at Jessie May. He has since moved on to become a Team Leader, where part of his role now is in planning the care and line management of the nurses.
As a Community Paediatrician working in Bristol I have been able to see first hand the enormous benefit the Jessie May brings in to the lives and homes of our families. These families have challenges to overcome that most of us can not even conceive so the value of having the Jessie May team alongside them on their journey feels like a wonderful gift. It is the relationships that the team develop with families that seems so precious and important in helping them enjoy the time they have together and supports them through their darkest times.
I have the privilege of being Community Paediatrician to a high proportion of children with life limiting illnesses and this experience helps me in my role as a trustee ensuring that the charities focus remains centred on the needs of the families and children. I am glad to bring my knowledge of children's health services in the area as well as my clinical knowledge to the role and see myself able to be a very important link between the charity, the children and their families and the other health services working to meet the need of children. My understanding of clinical governance is also key in ensure the charity is run in a safe and effective way.
As I work part-time I am able to find time to commit to the Jessie May whilst my two children are at school and look forward to attending some of the family events with them.
I am honoured and delighted to join the Jessie May Board as a Trustee and be able to support the amazing work that the Jessie May team does.
I am a partner at Nine Feet Tall, a local management consultancy based in the South West. I first got involved with Jessie May when we were deciding who to select as our Charity of the Year for 2020. When I heard about the work the Care Team does with children and families, I felt instantly drawn to Jessie May and a desire to become more closely involved.
In my work as an advisor, coach and change consultant, I help organisations overcome their specific challenges to turn their strategies into actionable plans, which achieve real results. I have over 15 years experience working in non-profit and regulated sectors and I hope that some of this experience may be useful to Jessie May. My core values are about being passionate and authentic in everything I do and I place a real emphasis on listening first and building strong relationships. I know both will be important in my role as a Trustee.
Outside of work I have 3 children, one of whom has educational support needs and so, as a parent, I really appreciate how much difference charity and support services can make, to both your child's life and your own.
I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to share my knowledge, skills and experience to support Jessie May Trust with its ambitious plans for the future.
I have over 20 years of human resources management experience gained in a variety of sectors. I am now a freelance HR consultant, specialising in services to the voluntary, charity and social enterprise sectors in the greater Bristol area.
In the last 25 years I have held various voluntary positions including Chair of Governors, Trustee and Appropriate Adult.
I live with my husband in South Gloucestershire and have two daughters and two young grandsons. I love travelling and live music.
Victoria worked on the Adolescent Ward in Bristol Children's Hospital for 7 years, with a keen interest in oncology care. She trained in the administration of chemotherapy and successfully completed two degree modules in Oncology. Other areas of practice included orthopaedics, surgical, respiratory, gastro, neuro, and mental health. The Adolescent Ward was multi-speciality and so she was lucky enough to see a huge variety of diagnosis and treatments delivered. Over the years she has developed a passion for tissue viability and wound care management.
After an incredible 7 years with the Adolescent Ward having made some of her best memories and friends she moved to Lighthouse Ward where she received comprehensive training and education for the care of renal children. She is trained to deliver haemodialysis and became an independent nurse prescriber through further university study. It was also on Lighthouse Ward that she undertook her first master module in physical assessment and clinical reasoning of paediatric patients. She was lucky enough to experience all aspects of renal care from dialysis to a ward based setting, and had a short secondment to community whereby she realised that community care was definitely an area of interest.