St Christopher’s is a charity creating brighter futures for children and young people in care. As a leading provider of children's services, we always seek to develop our practice and find new ways of supporting young people.
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All our services have the same goal: to support children and young people to fulfil their potential, grow into independent adults and have happy, successful futures.
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There are many ways you can support St Christopher's work with children and young people. Find out how you can help young people reach their goals.
Our trustees
St Christopher’s Trustees work across our Councils in the UK and Isle of Man. They bring a variety of transferable skills and knowledge to the organisation, and spend time getting to know our young people and staff in line with the Nolan principles.
Meet the team
Bert O'Donoghue
Chair - UK
Trustee - Isle of Man
Trustee - Isle of Man
Bert spent 32 years with the 3M Company. He was Managing Director of the 3M subsidiaries in Hungary and India / Sri Lanka and held Pan-European positions leading the electronics / telecommunications and industrial businesses. Bert retired from 3M in June 2013 and joined St Christopher's as a Trustee in September 2013. He was elected as Vice-Chair in 2014 and became Chair in 2018.
Angela Dakin PGCert
Vice-Chair - UK
Angela provides independent strategic support and advice to public and voluntary sector clients across both children's and adults' services. She has previously held Assistant Director roles in several local authorities, with responsibility for commissioning, performance management and service improvement. Her voluntary experience includes direct work with young people through the Prince's Trust and in schools, overseas project work and grant making. She was elected as Vice-Chair in 2018.
Jane Poole-Wilson (MA Oxon)
Chair - Isle of Man
Jane is a Member of the Legislative Council in the Isle of Man. As well as her parliamentary work, Jane is the Government’s Equality Champion with a remit to promote and support the implementation of the Equality Act 2017. She is a qualified solicitor who specialised in employment law and now works for a specialist consultancy providing HR and employment advice and training for a range of multi-nationals. Jane became Chair in 2018.
Dinesh Visavadia BSc
Honorary Treasurer - UK
Dinesh is a Director at Independent Trustee Services Ltd. He has previously worked as the Head of Pensions and Benefits at Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd, John Lewis Partnership, Royal Mail and JP Morgan in a career spanning over 30 years. Dinesh joined St Christopher’s Council of Trustees in 2013 and was elected Honorary Treasurer in 2015.
Akua Doreen Akonor BSc MA Fellow CIPD
Trustee - UK
Akua Doreen has more than 20 years experience in human resources, working within healthcare, telecommunications, IT and investment businesses across Europe, Africa and Asia. A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, she now provides independent strategic and operational advice and support to investment and private equity firms, with specialism in business transformation, leadership transition and effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, and HR operational effectiveness.
Joe Anichebe BA (Hons) MBA Fellow CIMA
Trustee - UK
Joe is a graduate of both John Moores University and Kingston University, and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He has worked in the financial services industry for more than 25 years at JP Morgan, UBS and HSBC. Joe is a keen Liverpool FC supporter and is married with two daughters.
David Brown MA PhD CSci CPhys FIChemE FInstP FRSC
Trustee - UK
David is a consultant working at the interface between universities, business and the public sector with a special interest in educational outcomes for young people. He was formerly Chief Executive of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and also served as Deputy Chairman of the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and has held board and Trustee positions in several organisations.
Kelly Dooley BA MA NPQH PGCE PGCert
Trustee - UK
Kelly lived at St Christopher's when she was a teenager. She has since graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama and has devoted her professional career to teaching in comprehensive secondary schools in London. She has held a range of senior leadership roles in schools and is currently Head Teacher at The Richmond upon Thames School.
Geneva Ellis BA (Hons)
Trustee - Isle of Man
Geneva is St Christopher's Director of Corporate Services. She previously worked with young people who were disengaged with education and in adult homeless hostels and has held a number of roles, including setting up and managing two 16+ homes.
John Halliwell BA NPQH
Trustee - UK
John is an Executive Head Teacher in London, leading a number of schools within the STEP Academy Trust. He is responsible for leadership development across the trust, developing training packages and coaching to support leaders at all levels. In 2017, John was made a National Leader of Education (NLE), recognising his experience and success in improving schools. Previously John has been the Chair of Governors for a special school and has worked in a number of schools in challenging circumstances.
Dan Hobbs BA (Hons)
Trustee - UK
Dan is a senior civil servant in the Home Office. He joined the civil service from university and has worked in a number of roles in the Home Office, Cabinet Office and Foreign Office, including working for two Prime Ministers on EU Justice and Home Affairs policy. Dan joined St Christopher’s in 2013 as a Trustee and joined the Isle of Man Council of Trustees in 2014.
Caroline Johnson
Trustee - Isle of Man
Caroline has worked in the finance industry at board level positions in HSBC and Barclays, before being headhunted by Friends Provident to improve corporate governance structures. Since retiring Caroline has undertaken a Forensic Psychology Degree and a voluntary role on the Isle of Man Parole Committee. She sits on a fund administration board for Apex Fund Services and has passed the Institute of Directors Certificate and holds a Diploma in Company Direction.
Peter Killey
Trustee - Isle of Man
Peter is a retired Fire Officer and spent the last seven years of his career in the Community Safety Team, educating children in the community. He worked closely with many Isle of Man Government Departments including the Police, Department of Health and Social Care and the Probation Service. He also worked as a Residential Care Worker for St Christopher’s in the Isle of Man in a number of St Christopher’s homes including the secure unit.
Sara Kortenray
Company Secretary
Sara is responsible for governance of St Christopher's Council of Trustees in both the UK and Isle of Man. She looks after data protection and quality assurance to ensure we are compliant with regulation. Sara has a wealth of experience as a company secretary and data protection lead, including experience working in housing associations and charities.
Sally O'Neill BA (Hons)
Trustee - UK
Sally currently holds the position of Vice-President International at Lewis PR, where she has worked for over 15 years. With a background in International Business, Sally’s specialisms include coordinating international PR campaigns and managing agency networks. Sally joined St Christopher’s as a Trustee in 2013.
Jonathan Whalley
Trustee - Isle of Man
Jonathan began his social work career in residential care and has worked at every level within the sector, with a particular emphasis on looked after children and care leavers. He was a senior, strategic leader for Luton Borough Council and Barnardo's, before joining St Christopher's as Chief Executive in 2018. He has a proven track record as a change manager and is an effective strategic leader.
Thom Wilson BA (Hons)
Trustee - UK
Thom has 15 years' experience with commissioning and transformation of adult social care, working within a number of different local authorities. He has been an independent consultant for the past four years. His roles include engineering systems to improve outcomes and developing best practice approaches to commissioning. He is the lead Trustee for safeguarding.
Corporate Information
'St Christopher’s is a wonderful organisation that puts the children and young people that they work with at the front and centre of everything that they do. It is an honour and a privilege to be associated with the incredibly committed staff and trustees throughout the UK and the Isle of Man, who dedicate themselves to creating brighter futures.'
Bert O'Donoghue