Chairman: Shaun O’Leary (he/him)

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

Shaun was a trustee of the Men’s Health Forum (UK) for nine years and also a trustee of Hospice UK (then Help the Hospices) for four years. He has a sociology degree from Warwick University and spent the first five years of his working life in West Yorkshire Probation Service.  Shaun has lived in the St Wilfrid’s patch for 20 years, more recently near Heathfield.

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.

Lauren Chambers (she/her)

Lauren is a senior litigation solicitor and partner at Barwells. She qualified as a litigation solicitor in Cornwall in 2003 and is now based in the Barwells Seaford office.

Lauren advises on a wide range of disputes, including settlement agreements, commercial disputes, contested probate matters and possession claims for private landlords.

She lives in Seaford with her husband Matt, and her slightly high maintenance cat Eden.

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.

Fiona MacIntyre (she/her)

For the last six years Fiona has been Chair of the Board of Trustees. She believes passionately in the importance of good palliative and end of life care, and has experienced directly the difference that it can make to the dying and their families. Fiona had a successful career in publishing and was a Main Board Director of Penguin Random House. She was a mentor in an innovative scheme to support women in the media, and was one of the first supporters of publishing internships for young people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. She lives in rural East Sussex to the North of our catchment area.

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.

David Turner (he/him)

Prior to his retirement David was Chief Executive of Rother Homes, a local housing company and registered charity. During his career, he was involved in a number of special needs projects involving both the statutory and voluntary sectors. Since his retirement, David has been active in the voluntary sector and is currently also a Trustee of Citizens Advice Eastbourne.