Chairman: Shaun O’Leary (he/him)

Shaun was Joint Chief Executive at St Christopher’s, London from 2014 to 2021 having previously served as chief executive of St Catherine’s hospice in Crawley. Prior to this he worked for Prostate Cancer UK and earlier in different HIV support organisations including, latterly, Terrence Higgins Trust.

Shaun has been a trustee of the Men’s Health Forum (UK) and a trustee of Hospice UK (then Help the Hospices). He has a sociology degree from Warwick University and spent the first five years of his working life in West Yorkshire Probation Service.  A long-term Sussex resident, Shaun currently lives in the Heathfield area.

Duncan Adams

Duncan has a wealth of board level experience in strategic development, marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement gained across the public and third sectors. He previously held the role of Director of Marketing at St Wilfrid's some years ago and now works as an independent Strategic Advisor to values-based leaders and organisations, supporting them to enhance their profile, design and deliver compelling strategy, and to nurture meaningful stakeholder relationships. Duncan has lived in Eastbourne all his life and has a strong network of local and regional contacts, which he brings to support the work of the hospice.

Dr Mark Barnes (he/him)

Mark was a GP in Seaford for 26 years, and during that time he was very grateful for the excellent care provided by St Wilfrid’s for his patients.  Over much of the last 31 years, he has been involved in NHS management and has been passionate about improving palliative care. Mark is married, with a daughter and grandson.

Jane Butler (she/her)

Jane worked as a Registered Nurse and Midwife in a range of senior clinical, managerial and education roles in the NHS and in Higher Education. Prior to her retirement she worked for Health Education England working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex as Head of Clinical Education/Lead Nurse, with responsibilities for the education and training of healthcare professionals. Jane is the Trustee Lead for Safeguarding and chairs the Clinical Governance Committee. She is married and lives in Hailsham.

Beryl Hobson (she/her)

Beryl currently runs a governance consultancy, working primarily with not-for profit organisations. During her career she has worked in the private, public and voluntary sectors and has been a trustee of several charities. She has also been the Chair of a NHS foundation trust and a NHS primary care trust. Beryl’s father was a patient at St Wilfrid’s so she has experienced the outstanding care at the hospice in a personal capacity.

David Holdsworth (he/him)

David is a qualified accountant and has been employed as a Finance Director in the education and charity sectors for the last 20 years, working closely with Trustees to develop a shared understanding of the financial health of the various organisations. Prior to retirement he worked for the local Mind in Cambridgeshire, which gave him an awareness of NHS commissioning and funding. With both his father and father-in-law having received hospice care, David is keen to use his accumulated knowledge for the benefit of St Wilfrid’s.

Ed Smith

Ed has worked in various finance roles throughout his career and he currently works as Finance Manager at St Peter and St James Hospice, Chailey. In his previous role as a tax manager with Legal and General, he co-chaired the employee disability awareness advocacy group, the Ability Network helping to make the workplace as suitable as possible for people with differing abilities. Ed has a personal connection to the hospice through his Grandmother who was a patient and he wants to use his experience of both finance and diversity, equity and inclusion for the benefit of St Wilfrid’s. Ed lives in Eastbourne.

Giles Meyer

Giles has 25 years’ experience of working with UK, Irish and international charities. Most recently as CEO of Carers Trust, the national charity supporting unpaid carers, and previously CEO of International Inspiration, a London 2012 Olympics international legacy charity.  Prior to this, he has worked at director level for FARM-Africa, Centrepoint and VSO in income-generating and strategic change roles.  Giles has lived in Eastbourne for five years and runs two local businesses in the hospitality sector.  In his spare time, Giles is a keen open water swimmer and was President of South London Swimming Club, the largest swimming club in the UK, and has swum the English Channel.  He has direct experience of hospice care when his wife was treated at St. Christopher's Hospice in South London.

Melanie Richardson

Melanie is the managing partner at Swindells, a firm of accountants and tax advisers based in East Sussex.  She is responsible for the day to day running of the firm as well as heading up the corporate finance department, dealing with the acquisition and disposal of companies, business restructuring and corporate tax planning.  For the last 6 years, Melanie has also been a non-executive director at the Sussex Chamber of Commerce.