Board of Trustees
Cllr. David Mackintosh
Chair of the Board of Trustees
David was educated at Roade School and then went on to read politics at the University of Durham, where he gained a BA Honours degree. David is also a County Councillor on Northamptonshire County Council.
He lives in Northamptonshire and currently works as a political adviser, enjoying travelling, films and theatre in his spare time.
“As Chair, I am very lucky to be supported by a first-class Board of Trustees and a team of therapists who really care about improving the lives of children and families across the county."
Charlotte Marten MA
Treasurer and Trustee
Having worked with young people in a variety of different contexts for the last three decades, in her professional life Charlotte is the headteacher of a girls’ grammar school in Warwickshire, which is her second headship.
Charlotte has always had an interest in supporting young people in the world beyond the school gate. While in her twenties, she was involved in running hostels for homeless young people in London and more recently continued this work in Jersey eventually becoming Chairman of the Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship.
“Increasingly aware of the need for the kind of service that KidsAid offers, I am delighted to be serving as a trustee”.
Dean Ashworth
Chair of The Friends of KidsAid and Trustee
Dean studied Economic & Business Policy at Portsmouth University and has since worked in corporate sales management. His background in leadership and management development in both the public and private sectors is valuable to the charity in the area of fundraising, and Dean heads up the charity’s support group, Friends of KidsAid, who focus on organizing events and raising sponsorship. Dean is a keen skydiver and also enjoys travel and martial arts.
‘I am proud to be part of KidsAid, and pleased that I can use my skills to help the charity: the well-being of children is such a vitally important issue.’
Sonia Bolland
Trustee
Sonia has worked with children and young people for the past 30 years. She is a qualified social worker and, after many years working in child protection, changed course and began working for a national children`s charity specialising in fostering.
She has a great interest in, and passionate dedication to, improving the lives of traumatised children and young people.
“Having now retired from social work I am delighted to be able to help KidsAid in any way I can to increase and improve the service offered to children and young people”
Ellen Burgess
Trustee
Schooled in Highams Park, London, at Sidney Burnell, Ellen’s working life began with various stockbroker companies in the City, followed by “my hippie days” at a typesetting company called ‘Darling Darling’.
Ellen moved to Kettering 25 years ago and began working for Social Services as a volunteer, running a group for children with emotional problems. She later became a foster parent, which led to the involvement with play therapy.
Now employed as a Family Worker at the Pen Green Family Centre, working with children and their parents.
Ellen enjoys cooking, photography and lace making in her free time, and, along with a friend, cooks for the Pen Green conference.
“What we do enables children to have a voice again.”
Jane Collins
Trustee
Jane was born and brought up in Northampton, and was a student of Northampton High School and later Overstone School. She moved to South Africa and worked there for 18 months in the 1970s, returning to England to work in the family business, Stuart’s Shoes, which she now runs on her own. The business celebrates its fiftieth year of trading in 2010, and has been at the same premises since 1960.
“I juggle being a farmer’s wife and running a retail business! – but I also now want to do everything I can to help KidsAid continue its vital work with children.”
Paul Fisher
Trustee and Clinical Director
Paul was born in Northampton and was educated at Kingsthorpe Upper School. He commenced his training as a Mental Health Nurse at St. Crispins Hospital in 1988. He has subsequently worked in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Bedford and in London.
He has experience in working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and qualified as a psychotherapist in 2002 and is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.
Paul is currently a Director for an organisation running residential care homes for Looked After Children. He provides individual therapy for some of these children, but is primarily involved in overseeing the quality and implementation of care, therapy and education that each individual child receives.
More recently Paul has completed some further training at the Tavistock & Portman Clinic in ‘Consultation and the Organisation’. He has a keen interest in developing and supporting resilient organisations in this complex and difficult work.
“It is important when working with traumatised children to consider the context in which therapy is provided. There is also increasing evidence to suggest that combining interventions in terms of combining treatments and linking different treatment modalities has better outcomes for children.
Essentially I believe that we need to create an effective service and an array of treatments that show themselves in the ‘how‘ of an intervention instead of a ‘what‘ intervention. Arguably, this idea does not solely focus on the child, with their problems but these problems should be seen in terms of interrelated and interacting responses in a system and sub system that affect and regulate the child's behaviour. The system of providing treatment for traumatised children is a dynamic one and includes engaging not only the internal world of the child but the external world in which they live.”
Paul also has two young daughters that keep his feet firmly on the ground.
Caroline McGonnell
Trustee
Originally from the Channel Islands, Caroline served for 3 years in HM Forces before returning to Guernsey and taking a post as Residential Child Care Officer at a children’s centre.
Fulfilling the desire to become a Social Worker, she moved to the UK mainland and qualified in Bristol, remaining at university to gain a Degree in Health and Social Welfare. Since 1997 Caroline has held various posts for UK local authorities, primarily in child protection. In 2006 she was appointed Family Court Advisor and is currently employed by CAFCASS.
“I am delighted to be appointed a trustee, and I know first-hand of the absolute necessity for this type of resource being made available to children in Northamptonshire.”
Joy Pinkham
Trustee
A family law barrister, practising from Chartlands Chambers in Northampton for the past 15 years, Joy is a member of Gray’s Inn and the Family Law Bar Association.
Joy is married, with a son and daughter who both work in the media, and a daughter-in-law who is a qualified child trauma therapist.
“Through my work I have become aware of the huge difference that access to play or creative therapy can make to the lives of vulnerable, traumatised or distressed children who find themselves drawn into the court process through none of their own making.”
Just to add a little more stress to life, Joy is a lifelong and passionate Northampton Saints season ticket holder!
Maria Stevens
Trustee
Paula Tucker
Trustee
