Meet the team
We have a wonderful team of brilliant people committed to transforming society, one family at a time, and a group of top-notch trustees who support us every step of the way.
Our staff team
Andrea Zanin
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Andrea keeps you in the loop with quippy socials, plus chunkier commentary that hangs out in our website news. When she’s not scribbling away or dreaming up the perfect sentence, Andrea can be found sitting by a fire (okay, more like a lightbulb #cityvibes), recounting stories about life in South Africa and imagining a book deal.
Andrew Wiltshire
Operations Director
Andrew is the backbone of all that we do at Kids Matter – he ensures that we are operating as effectively as possible whilst also looking ahead and anticipating what we need as we seek to reach every child in need. If it was at all possible Andrew would start every day with breakfast on the coast whilst reading a good book or, if time, playing a board game.
Ben Shanmugam
Clinical Psychologist
Ben helps to ensure that all our material is evidence-informed and accessible. He brings experience both as a Clinical Psychologist and as a new father of two (this chapter has also increased his appreciation for coffee!). Ben has a joint love for food and football, so a winning day is when both come together.
Catherine Clayton
Partnership Engagement Lead
Catherine leads the Partnership Team, seeking to connect with churches and community networks in the UK who have a heart for reducing the impact of poverty on children. She is the queen of goal-setting – raising the bar for what it means to set and then achieve personal goals (she recently ran a half marathon!).
Eli Gardner
Co-founder & Executive Director
Eli loves to use her experience and knowledge as a Clinical Psychologist to help drive forward Kids Matter’s vision, and she embodies our values of being both ambitious and respectful. She is always on the hunt for ways to be even more effective by listening to podcasts, reading books or chatting with anyone she can about changing the world – ideally doing all of this whilst eating delicious food in the sunshine.
Hannah Widdows
Training & Programme Developer
Hannah plays a key part in developing new programmes and training opportunities, bringing her experience as a new mum of two and many years working in her community in Bristol. She is queen of the snacks and there is regular food envy on a Zoom call. She is happiest near water but also loves to explore a new city whilst listening to a recommended podcast.
Jess Main
Executive Assistant to Executive Director
Jess is the Executive Assistant to Eli, taking care of all the details that enable our Executive Director to focus on Kids Matter’s vision to see every child in need raised in a strong family. When Jess doesn’t have her head in the detail and the diary, she loves being mum to two small girls and enjoys walks at the beach with a coffee or ice cream (sometimes both!) in hand.
Jo Stilwell
Support Coach Lead
Jo leads the Support Coach Team, which, if possible, she would do from the inside of her beloved campervan nicknamed ‘Peggy’. Jo leads her team with the positivity (and copious amounts of Diet Coke) required to encourage and support our facilitators as they run programmes across the country.
Jude Johncock
Support Coach
Jude is part of the Support Coach Team, encouraging and empowering Kids Matter facilitators. She is also a key member of the Training Team, leading the development of our prison programme. Jude loves experimenting with random crafts and has been known to wow the rest of the team with her origami skills on Zoom calls.
Katie Akhurst
Training & Programme Development Lead
Katie oversees the development of all our programmes, ensuring they meet our values of excellence and respect. She is also the Lead Trainer involved in the development and delivery of all our trainings. When not sat at her desk drinking many cups of tea, you will find Katie on her bike or on a football pitch.
Katie Washington
Operations Assistant
Katie works with Lydia and Andrew to keep systems ticking over smoothly at Kids Matter. She loves making others excited about a big, bold vision (like ours!) and when she’s not immersed in the detail of all things operations, Katie enjoys listening to podcasts and running in the countryside, and is happiest with a slice of cake and a cuppa!
Keren Baker
Partnership Manager (North West)
Keren is based in Merseyside, and has a particular passion for seeing children in need thrive in North West England. She enjoys ‘collecting’ fabric, with an idea of using it eventually, and loves baking anything containing calories! Keren is happiest when looking out to sea or sipping direly weak tea.
Kylie Heard
Partnership Coordinator
Kylie supports Catherine in building partnerships with those who share our vision to see every child in need raised in a strong family. After years living in cities, Kylie loves being in the countryside, particularly long country walks and cycling. She also enjoys a cosy coffee shop with good coffee, although it’s not so idyllic with two young kids!
Libby James
Support Coach
Libby is part of the Support Coach Team, coming alongside Kids Matter facilitators as they support parents and families in their communities. She’s a mum of two, plays several instruments and also leads a church plant in her ‘spare time’! Libby’s happy place is her garden.
Lydia Smith
Operations Manager
Lydia keeps us faithful to our value of excellence – first: making sure all our processes are followed, and second: allowing us to run as streamlined and effectively as possible. When not managing all things ops, she is either baking up a storm (proving that vegan baking can taste great!) or spending time by the sea.
Matt Corry
Head of Communications & Digital Engagement
Matt heads up the Comms Team, keeping us on brand, looking good and communicating clearly. He uses his creative eye to help us showcase our impact through our website, videos and print. Matt is a committed Tottenham fan (someone has to be!) and emulates Bob the Builder with his DIY skills.
Meg Darnell
Prison Facilitator
Meg has a passion for the criminal justice system and facilitates Kids Matter parenting workshops in prisons. Her other passions are applied theatre, sea swimming, singing, and anything colourful. Meg lives in Brighton and has a lovely cat called Atticus, named after Atticus Finch from her favourite novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sophie Jackson
Support Coach
Sophie is part of the Support Coach Team, and loves the ability to coach Kids Matter facilitators through the challenges they face as they seek to reach families in their communities. When not being on hand to answer a support call, she will be sipping a (decaf!) coffee or warming up her vocals to be ready to sing in her local choir.
Tracey King
Support Coach
Tracey is part of the Support Coach Team, cheering on Kids Matter’s amazing facilitators as they share about their groups. When away from work, Tracey enjoys swimming, listening to and making music, baking and eating anything that contains pastry – and trying to stay awake whilst reading books!
Victoria Padmore
Fundraising & Events Manager
Victoria is articulate in sharing our vision and impact, encouraging others to come alongside Kids Matter in our efforts to reduce the impact of poverty on children. She loves creating collaborative partnerships and, in her spare time, keenly adores all forms of performance, especially musical theatre.
Our trustees
Not only does the Board of Trustees support Kids Matter with a wealth of knowledge, experience and clout but every single member is passionate about seeing children in need raised in strong families. They champion us in our work and every decision made is to bolster the ultimate goal of seeing children thrive by reducing the impact of poverty through our community-based programmes.
Ali Stewart
Chair
Ali has worked in international development, fundraising, executive recruitment and coaching, and currently consults with Resurgo Consulting. She is passionate about the intersection of business and charity and is thrilled to be working with Kids Matter to come alongside families that otherwise would not have access to parenting support. Ali is married to Justin and they have three young children.
Ed Dix
Ed, together with his wife Fuzz, lead St Luke’s Millwall, a local Anglican church serving the community on the Isle of Dogs – a diverse, inner-city part of east London. Ed loves prayerfully pioneering new initiatives that can make a tangible difference in people’s lives. He and Fuzz have four sons, who give him grey hair and much happiness.
Eli Gardner
Eli is a Clinical Child Psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in the NHS. She established the charity Kids Matter in 2017 to help churches deliver scalable, affordable, much-needed early intervention to the most vulnerable families in the country. She is married, lives in London and has three children.
Heather Grizzle
Treasurer
Heather is a founding partner of boutique consulting firm Causeway Strategies. Her background includes corporate and charity sector communications as well as work in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Heather is vice chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Stewardship, and a member of the Boards of Innovations for Poverty Action and Alpha USA. She and her husband, Ben, have four young children.
Mathew Neville
Mathew is the founder and CEO of The Kindness of Strangers, a digital platform with a mission to release the growth potential of churches and non-profit organisations. He was previously CEO of Alpha International, a church-based network of 40,000 churches in over 115 countries, and spent ten years at World Vision as Partnership Leader for Marketing and Fundraising. Matthew is married to Cathy; they have three grown children and split their time between London and Cornwall.
Pete Bacon
Pete is an experienced coach specialising in personal development and social impact at Resurgo Trust. He has diverse coaching experience from the corporate and charitable world, with clients such as M&S, HSBC and the Big ASK, and he specialises in helping groups navigate complex problems. Pete has three young kids and loves getting into the outdoors with them whenever he can.
Yinka Oduwole
Yinka works in non-profit Organisation Management at the United Kingdom Headquarters of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), an international church that is active in 197 countries and territories. With an academic background in the Social Sciences and Humanities, his PhD at Cardiff University, examined policy making in the European Union (EU).
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Partner with us
By working in partnership with churches, charities and community-driven initiatives to build strong families, we believe it is possible to see children in need flourish.
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