Our people

Anna-Clare joined Step Together in September 2018, having previously been CEO of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum. She has over 10 years' experience of senior management in the charity sector, primarily working in the health and social care sector. Anna-Clare also brings experience of the commercial sector, where she focused on business development and income generation. Outside of work, Anna-Clare has a busy family life with her husband and twin boys and enjoys getting out in the fresh air for runs or dog walks.

Deb joined in January 2021, from Headway Bristol (a brain injury charity) where she led on all charity operations from HR and fundraising, to finance and governance. She previously ran her own boutique legal recruitment consultancy and professional CV writing business and spent over 25 years in the industry as a successful recruiter, manager and careers coach. ACIPD qualified with many years’ experience in business start-ups, sales and operations, she has responsibility at Step Together for managing our volunteer project management team and core program delivery. Deb lives in Bristol, is married and a mum to two grown up children. To relax, she enjoys working on her allotment, cooking, drawing, musicals and watching live bands.

Lucinda joined Step Together Volunteering in 2019 as the Admin and Comms Officer and on returning from maternity leave joins us as Business Manager. Lucinda studied and worked in business and project management up until her move to Bristol in 2013 when she allowed herself to follow her passion and begun studying Creative Arts Therapy, whilst studying she gained experience working within charities and schools. 'My recent studies and work have shown me the benefits of non time-bound support, when clients are given time and bespoke help they are able to flourish and create sustainable lives for themselves; this is why I am passionate about the work that Step Together Volunteering does and am proud to be able to work for the charity.' Lucinda is a recent new mum with two small children and lives in Bristol, she enjoys walking in nature, running, baking and is a passionate advocate of the therapeutic arts.

Gillian joined in January 2021, after working as a paralegal in education law, primarily supporting families of children and young people with special educational needs. She has worked with several charity organisations, including Citizens Advice, and Asylum Welcome, and has a particular interest in the legal issues that vulnerable people face. In her free time, Gillian studies Arabic, enjoys painting, and going on long walks.

Karen is a mum of three grown up children. She has always been a working mum and the majority of her career has been spent in supporting families and individuals to achieve their full potential. Having spent a significant amount of her early career working with people with criminal convictions, Karen joined the Step Together team in 2012, supporting people across Greater Manchester.

Laura’s background is in Clinical Physiology, where she worked for several years within the NHS. Laura also has experience of working directly within the armed forces community for several welfare organisations, both overseas and the UK. Being a military spouse, she shares an insight and understanding of what military life is truly like. With an interest in personal development, she is passionate about helping those around her by providing a supportive network, enabling people to develop their potential. Laura is married and lives in Salisbury with her two children.

Sarah joined Step Together Volunteering in October 2023, having run her own business for many years, and recently launching a social enterprise supporting military spouses into local employment and volunteering placements. As a military spouse herself, she has relocated her family across Europe whilst supporting her serving partner’s career, working within the Armed Forces Community in each posting. Sarah is an advocate of the military community, passionate about supporting and empowering those that need a helping hand to achieve their goals and meet their full potential. Sarah recognises the unique barriers and disadvantages that service life presents, and believes that volunteering is a great opportunity to overcome these challenges. In her spare time, you will find Sarah in the garden and greenhouse where she loves to grow her own produce and flowers, or walking and exploring the Dales. Sarah lives in Richmond North Yorkshire with her husband, two children and Frank the Jack Russell.

Mel joined Step Together in September 2021, having worked with Young People for 20 years in a wide range of roles, including mentoring, family support work, delivering groupwork and detached youth work. Alongside her role as Sessional Worker for Step Together, Mel is a qualified Forest School Leader and runs forest school sessions for 4-16 year olds. Mel also has her own allotment where she grows her own fruit and veg, and enjoys painting, sewing, cooking and anything crafty. She also loves to paddleboard and travel – preferably together!

Aimee-Claire is passionate about improving the lives of young people, having spent the past 12 years working in a range of youth work roles including Teaching Assistant, Foster Carer, and Young People’s Advocate. Alongside working for Step Together Volunteering, Aimee-Claire works for Bristol City Council supporting schools across the city to get more pupils walking and cycling and also runs a community gardening project for children in her local area. Aimee-Claire is always busy juggling her multiple roles and voluntary projects and can often be found whizzing across the city on her bike. In her spare time Aimee-Claire is surrounded by her favourite people (her partner, friends and family) and pets (dog, horse and tropical fish!). Aimee-Claire loves sweet treats, going on adventures outdoors, and hitting the high notes singing karaoke!

Alice has a background in supporting young people. This started out through volunteering as a mentor, then after completing her training in Careers Advice and Guidance, she has worked in schools, colleges and within the community. Most recently she has worked as a Job Coach with young people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism, supporting them into work experience and employment. Alice has a passion for making a difference to people’s lives and believes in using a person-centred approach to achieve a positive outcome for those she works with. Married and a Mum of two, she enjoys walks with her dog Tammy and yoga in her spare time.

Roger has a business background in branding, marketing, strategy development and change management consulting. He started his career in the City and then moved into consulting for service based industries, both in the UK and overseas. The last five years saw him working in Sydney where he transitioned into the charity and voluntary sector, working for Mission Australia and Opportunity International, and on the board of Leprosy Mission Australia. In 2016 Roger and his wife volunteered for 3 months in Sri Lanka. He is also a trustee of EMMS, a charity based in Edinburgh which works in the palliative care sector. His interests include fly fishing, classical music, opera and cricket. He is married to Janet and they have two sons working in London.

Caroline is an independent consultant with significant experience as an effective strategic advisor and coach across ‘people services’ - adult social care, housing, public health, children's services, and justice services. She has been a senior leader for over 20 years, and her previous senior leadership roles include Director of Adult Social Care at Manchester City Council, and Director of Offender Management Services in The Ministry of Justice, managing prisons and probation services in the North West. Her experience includes Service Design, Commissioning, Adult Social Care, Offender rehabilitation services, Children's Services, housing for older people, Community Safety, Youth Offending services, and Public Health. She is interested in developing thought leadership and has authored a number of published articles relating to adult social care and personalisation in criminal justice. Caroline lives in the North West and is active across a number of networks including membership of the Association of Adult Social Services; fellow of the RSA; chair of the Academy for Social Justice Commissioning seminar series in Manchester and member of the Institute of Leadership & Management.

Originally from a small and mostly unknown mining town in the northern part of South Africa, Scharmarie now lives with her partner in a small village just south of Bristol. Scharmarie's background has been primarily in corporate finance and accounting and more recently she has moved into asset/wealth management and financial advisory, an area that she feels more passionate about, where she can help people with financial education. Scharmarie has international offshore funds and finance experience, having lived in Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Bermuda. She currently works in investments and finance for a small company in the Cotswolds. Outside of work Scharmarie attends gymnastics and trampolining classes (her childhood sports of choice) and also does Ballroom dancing with her partner. She is an avid Crossfitter and always up for anything outdoors and adventurous.

Deborah is a Director and General Counsel of Sulla Investments Limited, a regulated investment firm and adviser to Envestors, a regulated corporate finance adviser. Until September 2015, she was a partner in an international law firm where she led teams in Europe advising corporate clients. From 2007 to 2010, Deborah sat on the Save The Children Fund Festival of Trees committee where she assisted in fund raising through the annual Festival of Trees Gala. She is a member of her local Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group, formed to assist the community to influence the planning and development of her local area.

Liza has nearly 30 years’ experience in a senior leadership role in the justice sector. She leads, manages, develops and motivates large teams within a complex and changing public sector landscape. She has a diverse background as a senior manager in a range agencies - Local Authority social care departments, children’s rights and advocacy, Children’s Society, Local Authority Secure Children’s Homes, Her Majesty’s Prisons service and has worked at the Youth Justice Board (YJB), an Arm’s Length Body sponsored by Ministry of Justice for approximately 15 years. Liza is an avid follower of her local team - Everton, and tries to keep fit and healthy by trying all the new gym and exercise regimes! She has a strong value base and loves to work with people - putting her values into practice and expecting others to show good governance and accountability.

Maurice, or Moz as he's known, has a background in the media industry having started in publishing before moving into branding, advertising and digital marketing. He currently works for a London based marketing agency as Resource Manager, and has over 20 years managerial experience. Moz has held a lifelong passion for sport, including supporting Watford FC, and still enjoys keeping fit. Moz was introduced to Step Together via an offer of pro bono support to help us with our brand refresh and clearer messaging. Together with his contacts in the industry, who also offered their support pro bono, Moz provided Step Together with a vibrant new logo and simple, concise messaging. Having shown such a keen interest in the charity and its work, Moz was subsequently invited to join the Board of Trustees, and was appointed in July 2020

Ralph served for 30 years in the British Army commanding on operations in Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2015 he has been the Director of Operations at a large school in North London responsible for coordinating the delivery of all non-teaching aspects of the school and supporting the school’s outreach programme, Shaftesbury Enterprise; he also sits on the school’s Charity Committee. He is a Trustee of The Rifles, his former regiment and a member of the Grants Committee supporting Rifleman and their families. He lives in South West London and has been a volunteer with HANDS since 2011, a local charity providing meals for the elderly living alone in the area. A former rugby player and rower his interests include rugby, fitness training, open water swimming, skiing, music, food and wine and reading.

Jamie is from a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Vancouver, Canada before moving to the UK in 2007. Jamie commenced her financial services career in London where she started in internal audit. She subsequently worked in compliance and risk in asset management and now manages a finance and HR team. Jamie is a successful leader and loves managing people and watching them gain confidence as they increase their skillsets. She sits on her company’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Consultation Group and volunteers for a charity that promotes asset management as a solid career choice for young women. Jamie is passionate about travel, and also enjoys sailing and photography.

Elizabeth is a qualified solicitor working for Osborne Clarke LLP and with more than 10 years’ experience advising UK and international clients on a variety of business matters. Having trained in London, she moved to Bristol in 2015 and started putting down roots. She is at heart a people person, passionate about the stories and experiences that make us who we are and allow us to connect with each other. She is an active member of her church, having been church warden for a number of years. She loves to read, cook and sing – and will try to combine all three at once.

Holly has worked for charities and third sector organisations in the young people and education sectors for over 15 years, in a range of leadership and management roles spanning service, operations, people, and governance. Currently, Holly is Head of Service and Operations at Reach Volunteering, the leading skills-based volunteering charity in the UK, and the single biggest source of trustees for the voluntary sector. Her passion lies in supporting all people to develop the skills and confidence to thrive. Outside of work, Holly loves spending time with her young son, volunteers at her local school, and is a keen gardener, knitter and singer.

Mary Mawhinney is Chief of Staff at the British Red Cross, a key strategic leadership position working across the span of domestic and international operations. Mary collaborates with, advises and supports the Board, Committees and Executive to make sound, evidenced based decisions and to maximise impact for people in crisis. She provides counsel to the Chief Executive and her Executive team, and to the Board of Trustees as their Head of Governance. Mary engages broadly with colleagues across the organisation, actively contributing to ensuring the organisation is run effectively, transparently and accountably. She has spent her career advising leaders at the highest level, including the United Nations in New York; and at the apex of the Australian Government, serving as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister; and adviser to the Trade Minister. Mary was raised in an Australian country town. She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science and International Relations; an MSc in Development and Demography; and most recently an LLB. She joined the Board of Step Together Volunteering in February 2024. She is an avid traveller, reader, committed humanitarian and incurable optimist.