PLACE FOR HOPE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Director of Inclusion for the Methodist Connexion
Bevan is the Director of Inclusion for the Methodist Connexion and joined Place for Hope as a Trustee in December 2023.
Elizabeth joined Place for Hope as a Trustee in March 2024 and is also the Chair of the Finance and Funding Forum for the Charity.
Georgia has worked for a range of charities, primarily in leadership roles, for the last twenty-five years. Her passion and focus is collaborative working, bringing people together to share hopes, make plans and celebrate difference. She lives in Stroud with her family and loves to read and write fiction.
Job Titles:
- Learning and Development Manager
Gill has always loved learning and this has taken her into the world of youth and community work, further education teaching, and learning and development work. She lives in Dorset with her husband and teenage son, where she is also an LLM (Licensed Lay Minister) in Salisbury Diocese. She is passionate social justice, seeing God in everyday life and popular culture, reading and travelling.
Helen's passion for justice and peace has underpinned her development work for various ecumenical organisations over many years. Her role focuses on strategic planning, sustainability and fundraising. Helen is a member of the Methodist Church and lives near the sea in North Lancashire. She loves walking and birdwatching around Morecambe Bay, and at holiday times she and her husband can be found in their caravan anywhere in the UK!
John is a happily retired Church of Scotland Minister. After starting his working life as a brewer with Scottish and Newcastle, he served parishes in Edinburgh and East Kilbride, followed by a spell working for the Presbytery of Glasgow as Congregational Facilitator. He then joined the Interim Ministry team in the Church of Scotland, the post from which he retired. John is a volunteer practitioner with Place for Hope, and occupies the place on the Board set aside for a practitioner.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager ( Methodist Way of Peace Programme )
Combining a passion for people with a head for strategy and process, Katie will develop a new reconciliation and mediation service for the Methodist Church and lead a team of practitioners in 3 pilot regions. She has extensive experience of project management within faith contexts and training in initial ministerial education as well as a background in academic theology. Katie loves being outdoors with her family and especially enjoys collecting rocks and shells with her daughter Ailsa for their games and craft projects!
Job Titles:
- Learning and Development Officer
Lizzy loves training and is passionate about equality and making learning inclusive. Her role is to support the delivery of training programmes and to support the growth and development of the voluntary Bank of Trainers. She lives with her husband and their 3 cats, if she is not reading then they are usually out walking in the beautiful countryside.
Job Titles:
- Programme Lead ( Training and Reconciliation )
For as long as she can remember, Martha has held a deep curiosity for the human condition. This curiosity has motivated her to seek out a career that seeks the flourishing of both individuals and communities, and has included work for charities & faith based organisations. A trained counsellor, she brings a depth of understanding to walking alongside people and the complexity of the healing and reconciliation process. Martha can often be found by the sea, in the sea, engrossed in any one of a number of creative projects, reading, or spending time with loved ones.
Mirella Yandoli currently works as an interfaith and equality diversity and inclusion officer. Her main professional interests lie in the intersection of faith, equality and gender justice. Her role is split between managing focused dialogues with faith groups, education on the prevention of violence against women and the strategic development of the Church of Scotland's first equality diversity and inclusion group. Through this varied and challenging role, Mirella enjoys working with others to find creative solutions and ideas relating to justice and equality.
Job Titles:
- Communications, Client & Volunteer Manager
Natalie looks after words, websites and people! She is the main point of contact for those reaching out for support or training and ensures that the work, ethos and message of Place for Hope is communicated in a clear, accessible way. Natalie lives by the sea with her children. She plays roller derby, runs and loves outdoor adventures that include a swim in a loch or an ocean!
Fiona Bennett is a Minister of the Augustine United Church (URC) in Edinburgh and also a Place for Hope Practitioner. Fiona became a Trustee for Place for Hope in September 2024.
Having studied Divinity at New College and a post-graduate diploma in Community Education at Northern College in Dundee, Fiona was ordained as a minister of the Scottish Congregational Church in 1996. When the SCC joined the URC in 2000, she became a minister of the URC.
As a URC minister she has worked in local churches with both the Methodist Church and the Church of Scotland, before being inducted as the minister of AUC in 2009. Fiona served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the URC 2022-2023. As well as being a minister, Fiona is a mum and partner. She has a great love of music, singing and laughing.
Susan is a Parish Minister with the Church of Scotland and has held numerous posts including Moderator of the General Assembly and Convenor of the Faith Impact Forum for the Church of Scotland. Susan joined Place for Hope as a Trustee in December 2024.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Vice - Chair of the Board
- Director of Ministries
Richard Armiger is the Director of Ministries and Learning. Richard has worked for the Methodist Church in learning and development for the last 14 years. Richard has a passion for enabling people to flourish and achieve their full potential as God intends for all his people. He has previously worked for the BBC and run his own media and training company Active Media Publishing. Richard is a trained trainer in conflict transformation and appreciative inquiry. He is an MBTI (Myers Briggs) accredited practitioner. Richard is a Local Preacher, MBA qualified and has an MA in Mission and the World of Work. He is married with two children, a daughter aged 15 and a son aged 18, and enjoys walking, photography and spending time with his family.