Meet the team

CEO Lee Bennett

Lee has 20 years’ experience of working in the charity sector and in that time has been CEO of The Brigitte Trust and most recently, The Garwood Foundation. Lee is pleased to be able to apply his experience of delivering upon the strategic aims of trustees, whilst ensuring continuity of the very best possible services.

Having long admired the work of The Meath Epilepsy Charity, Lee is delighted to take up the role of CEO, joining the Meath in its 130^th year. Lee is especially pleased to lead an organisation that recognises ability, is an enabling force and which provides such breadth of high-quality support to its community.

Lee is also former Chair of Trustees at The Mary Frances Trust, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of residents in Surrey.

Lee Bennett

Head of Residential Services

Tracy – Registered Manager and overall responsibility for all aspects of Residential services

Tracy Toth

Tracy has worked in the social care sector for 15 years working her way up from Support Worker to Head of Residential Services. She has worked with various levels of learning disability, complex medical needs, and the Elderly throughout her career. She is able to adapt to all working needs from high complex medical needs through to supporting residents in supported living. Due to working for many years in Cairo Egypt at a nursery school, she made the decision to work within the care industry upon her return to the UK.
Prior to joining the Meath, she supported Managers in opening up new builds from purpose built complex accommodation to supported living flats. She has been involved in carrying out in depth assessments for prospective residents..
Tracy has been a qualified trainer to ensure all induction class room training was delivered to a high standard including manual handling, and nonviolent crisis intervention (which later transferred to NAPPI).
Tracy has gained a vast amount of knowledge, skill and qualifications to empower, lead and mentor staff within their role. She has hosted successful CQC inspections ensuring full compliance across all areas, in her previous role.
A member of the Meath Senior Leadership Team.
Tracy has a variety of interests which include theatre and ballet, sewing, knitting and crochet, walking, swimming, baking and travelling.

Tracy Toth
T: 01483 415095

Head of Risk Assurance

Michelle – Head of Risk Assurance

Michelle Plumb

Michelle has worked in social care for over 20 years and has been at The Meath for 22 years.
Having started as a support worker, Michelle has been instrumental in developing the excellent Training Programme at The Meath.
Michelle is a QCF assessor and IQA (Internal Quality Assurer) She is competent in assessing House Managers and other staff and is now responsible for Quality Audit, Training and Compliance which is her area of expertise.
A member of the Meath Senior Leadership Team.
Interests: supporting my husband with classic motorbike racing!

Michelle Plumb
T: 01483 420436

Head of Finance

Andrew – Overall responsibility for Finance

Andrew Bagley FFA FIPA ATT

Andrew worked as a senior manager for a local firm of accountants for 23 years before joining The Meath as Head of Finance on the Senior Leadership Team.
During that time Andrew assisted with specialist forensic assignments as well as complex financial modelling for corporate finance.
Andrew has a wealth of experience working closely with clients to develop their accounts function, dealing with all aspects from initial review to implementation, report writing, training and support.
Andrew has worked with a wide and varied cross section of clients and sectors including, care homes, travel, motor, insurance, leisure and manufacturing industries.
Andrews interests include Walking, Travelling, Crosswords and Real Ale

Andrewv Bagley
T: 01483 415095

Head of Fundraising

Lucy Miguda, Head of Fundraising

Lucy Miguda

Lucy is responsible for generating voluntary income for The Meath’s to bridge the increasing gap between what is received in statutory income and what it costs to run The Meath. The shortfall is £2,000 each day.

The Fundraising team seeks and secures income across a wide fundraising portfolio including regular donors, Trusts and Foundations, corporates, legacies, online shop, Meath Lottery and events.

Lucy brings to The Meath a wealth of experience, having worked in the Third Sector for over 15 years, for special needs and mainstream education charities and has corporate experience which she is able to apply to the role.
She joined The Meath in 2019 and is pleased to be in a position where she can make a real difference to the lives of the people we support.
She is a firm believer in working in partnership, developing and nurturing stakeholder relationships which are key to achieving sustainable income and ensuring a positive experience for supporters.

Lucy Miguda
T: 01483 411071

Head of Marketing

Helen Jackson, Head of Marketing and Communications

Helen Jackson

Helen has worked at The Meath since 2016 after having volunteered with the charity and feels extremely privileged to promote the wonderful work of the charity and the many personal achievements made by the people we support.
Before joining The Meath, Helen worked in the theatre and education sectors. She enjoys working creatively and collaboratively with the people we support and colleagues in order to create engaging communications and content which showcases the enabling and life enriching culture we are all proud of at The Meath.
Helen works especially closely with the Fundraising Team where she delivers traditional and digital awareness and fundraising campaigns. More broadly she enjoys driving forward other key organisational needs through marketing activity.
She is proud to have put the people we support centre stage in marketing activity as she believes that they are the very best possible advocates for the charity.
Helen has a family member who lives with complex epilepsy and disabilities.

Helen Jackson
T: 01483 411071

Trustees

Graham Healy - Chair

Graham is a Chartered Accountant, who retired in 2015 as a partner of Smith & Williamson in Guildford, after more than 30 years. He has over 20 years experience as a Trustee of various Surrey-based charities, and is also involved with several local charities in Wonersh, where he has lived since 1992.

Mark Dumas

Mark worked in commodities for 24 years. He was a main board director of ED & F Man, which became Man PLC.
Mark subsequently became involved in property and is now Vice President of the supervisory board of DOM Development SA, a publicly quoted house developer on the Warsaw, Poland, Stock Exchange.

Malcolm Ring

Malcolm was a solicitor, having been a partner with Taylor Wessing LLP in London for more than thirty years.

Helen Pernele

Helen Pernelet is a qualified solicitor, and Doctor of Governance. Her professional career in the private sector has spanned the legal profession, investment banking and strategic consulting within global banks and professional services firms, advising clients in the UK and continental Europe.

Karen Thurston

After a 25 year career in banking & consultancy, Karen has spent 15+ years both employed and working to support two local hospices, a disability advisory service and a community enterprise. She is married and lives in Hascombe with two mad labradors who help keep her fit.

Chris Alder

I have lived in Godalming for the past 40 years, going to junior school in Busbridge, then the Grammar School in Guildford and Bristol University before returning to settle in the area, where I live with my wife Sonia and two daughters, Amelia and Darcy.

Nick Fenton

I am a Chartered Surveyor and my practice is based in the West End of London close to Marylebone. My work has taken me to all parts of the UK and several countries in the Middle East. Although I do not now travel so much a large proportion of my clients remain overseas based.

Katie Randerson

A strategic communications professional, Katie’s career began in international consultancy, she then ran her own PR business specialising in healthcare before moving into the not-for-profit sector.

Sally Wilson

A Chartered Accountant, Sally pursued a career as a senior finance professional for 20 years before moving into the voluntary sector in 2004.

With experience both as a trustee and as chair of Boards in the sector, the primary focus of her voluntary work has been aimed at young people, their education and/or special needs.

Patrons

Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP

Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP

HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux

HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux

Baroness Parminter

Baroness Parminter

John Jeffrey MBE

John Jeffrey MBE

Dr Colin Stokes MBE

Dr Colin Stokes MBE

Richard Lockwood

Richard Lockwood

Lesley Lockwood

Lesley Lockwood

Skills Centre

Helen Faulkner-Jones

Deputy Manager
T: 01483 415095

Epilepsy Nurse Consultant

Lisa O’ Brien

Lisa runs regular epilepsy clinics and works closely with external specialists and the team at The Meath to champion and review the medical needs of the people we support.

Letters to external specialists and the service user or representative copied to The Meath will be completed.

Through Lisa’s Epilepsy Nurse Consultancy our staff team and the people we support benefit from her up to date knowledge, best practice and latest guidance in epilepsy management.

Lisa has worked within the neurosciences field since she qualified in 1993. She has a special interest in epilepsy, neuro-disability, brain injury and rehabilitation. Lisa has been very fortunate to work within paediatric and adult arenas in acute, community and specialist provisions. Currently the Epilepsy Nurse Consultant and Registered Nurse Manager for CQC at Young Epilepsy which gives Lisa valuable knowledge and experience in CQC registration and compliance, social care, epilepsy and learning disabilities management. Lisa also works for NICE on the new epilepsy guidelines and the review of the quality standards and supports other charities and groups as a medical advisor or facilitator.

Sensory Therapist

Jackie B., Complimentary Therapist

Our immersive, relaxing dedicated sensory room is a wonderful resource for the people we support. This beautifully kitted out room is complete with star lit ceiling, changeable LED lighting, specialist therapy chair, hoist, sofa, projection, and sound system.

Sessions with the Sensory Therapist in this lovely new facility are a key feature in our life enriching, wellbeing services.

Sensory room

Occupational Therapy

As an integral part of our Health Care Team, Occupational Therapist Sybella Wilson, supported by experienced Therapy Assistants, works with interested individuals and groups across the Meath to ensure that everyone is encouraged towards reaching their own individual potential.

Sybella helps residents and those who support them to develop person-centred therapeutic aims and objectives that are realistic and achievable.

Having on-site Occupational Therapy ensures a fast response to referral plus specific clinical knowledge.

Services include:

Activity of Daily Living Assessment
Environmental Assessment
Motivational goals and understanding personal volition
Engagement in purposeful occupation
The planning and management of daily routines
Supporting physical and psychological needs in everyday life
Regular groups held with therapeutic and educational purpose

For further information:
T: 01483 415095

Sybella Wilson

Health Care & Wellbeing Video

Take a quick look at our dedicated Health Care and Wellbeing teams in action in this short video.