Meet the team

Nigel joins the Charity, bringing with him 17 years of experience in fundraising, several of these years spent working with Outward Bound West and the American Alpine Club helping them to develop their fundraising and communications strategy. As Director of Development, Nigel is responsible for overseeing all fundraising activity as well as developing and implementing an ambitious fundraising strategy to ensure that the Charity meets its potential and can build on its fundraising success.

Julie is a qualified accountant and has worked at the Charity since 2008, following a 20 year career in NHS Finance. She oversees our finance and governance arrangements to ensure that all our income and expenditure is properly accounted for. Her hobbies are reading, gardening and spending time with her family, including her two daughters and young grand-daughter.

Jo joined the team in November 2021 after spending eight years at a national charity where she managed a team of fundraisers looking after corporate relationships, in memory donors and individual supporters. Jo has a background in charity work, frontline local government work and university-based research. Jo’s role is to support our corporate partners and to engage companies and their employees with our work. She lives in Nottingham with her husband and two children and enjoys running, hiking and travelling.

Angel joined the team after working almost seven years in digital fundraising at the World Wide Fund for Nature. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling and exploring nature with her two young children.

Leigh previously worked in the Retail and Payroll sector where she learnt excellent customer service skills. In her spare time, she likes travelling, Yoga, spending time outdoors, and going for long walks with her dogs.

Jules joined the Charity in September 2021. Following over 18 years as a Research Scientist for large pharma AstraZeneca Jules then moved to the charity sector working as a Regional Fundraiser for the Stroke Association. Jules’s role focuses on supporting our individual and community group donors with their fundraising and assisting and organising events. Outside of work she enjoys running, going on holiday, eating out and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Sophie joined the Charity in May 2022 after spending 12 years at the British Heart Foundation, most recently as Head of Corporate and Community Fundraising (East Midlands), followed by a year working for TOFS charity. After six months as Senior Community Fundraiser at Nottingham Hospitals Charity covering a maternity position, she took on the role of Fundraising Hub Manager at QMC. In September 2023 she started working for the charity as the Corporate & Community Fundraiser. Sophie’s role is to support our corporate partners and engage with companies and their employees with our work. In her free time she loves spending time with her little boy, husband and family, enjoying walks, days out, having fun and making memories together.

In Grace's previous job, she worked as a claims handler for a jewellery company before moving to Nottingham and joining the team. During her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and taking trips to London to watch a West End show.

Deb joined the Charity in June 2023, after spending over 20 years working in a variety of volunteer involving organisations across both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Deb’s role is to develop the Charity’s volunteer offer and support the existing volunteers. Outside of work Deb enjoys spending time with her family, holidaying in Cornwall and renovating her garden.

Sam has been at the Charity since 2009. She takes care of media work and the Charity’s newsletter and other publications. Away from work, Sam enjoys a busy life looking after her two young children.

Anne-Marie has a background in digital marketing, with experience working for various different organisations including Derbyshire-based children’s charity Chicks. In her spare time Anne-Marie likes to travel around the UK and Europe, exploring hidden gems with her camera.

Jayne leads the Charity grant making process; establishing relationships with Hospital staff at all levels, providing advice and guidance to grant applicants and overseeing grant evaluations and follow up. She works closely with the communications team to ensure promotion of grant-making activity and with the Charity’s Fundraising Team to capture the impact of the Charity grant making program. She brings 5 years’ experience from a national grant making organisation and 3 years of partnership working with NHS England, Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission to the role.

Amanda has been with the Charity since 2012, and oversees donations, legacies and gift aid. In her spare time she enjoys trying to train her rescue dog, and spending as much time outside as possible, be it gardening, camping or helping out at her local nature reserve.

Zara joined the charity in January 2023. Her role is to oversee all Operational Financial aspects of the Charity. Before this role Zara was previously working in Finance at Boots HQ. During her spare time she likes travelling, reading and spending time with family and friends.

Karen joined the Charity’s finance team in October 2017. Her role involves providing accounting support to the Finance Director in all aspects of financial management of the Charity. Karen previously worked in a finance role in Secondary Education and in her spare time has fundraised for a number of Charities, including our own.

Amanda has a background in publishing, administration and proofreading. Her role is to receive and process all donations made to the charity and to thank donors for their amazing generosity. In her spare time she enjoys listening to music, going to see concerts and musicals all over the country, reading and spending time with friends and family.