Meet the team

As parents we know only too well how hard it can be to provide our children with all that they need. Our aim is to support local parents to cope with the difficulties they face, by helping them to provide their children with the best possible start to their own lives. We believe that every child has a right to have its basic needs met with dignity.

Helen was born and grew up in North Kent and has lived in Sevenoaks for 10 years, having moved here just before the birth of her daughter.

She works full time as a Deputy Director for Public Health for Lewisham. Helen is passionate about her work and the impact it has on the health and wellbeing of children and families. She has recently advocated for action on the causes of rising infant mortality rates in the region and led the production of the Lewisham Food Justice Action Plan which was featured on BBC Countryfile last year.

Helen was previously a Trustee of her daughter’s preschool before joining Friends for Families as Trustee and Vice Chair in 2023.

Claire qualified as a chartered accountant back when there were still a “Big 6” of accountancy firms and then worked for Carphone Warehouse as a project manager until her second child was born in 2006, moving to Sevenoaks the following year.

She has had a variety of unpaid roles since then and has been a Governor at Riverhead Infants’ School since 2013. She is also a volunteer for Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees and Sevenoaks Larder and Treasurer (from June 2021) for Sevenoaks Action Youth Trust. Claire first met Shona doing a beginners' running course and was delighted to be asked to join Friends for Families as a trustee and Treasurer in December 2020.

Kelly has over 15 years Investment Banking experience and was lucky enough to spend a few years working in the Sydney office (where she met her husband).  She is currently taking a career break to spend time with her two young children but not one to sit around she is excited to be part of the Friend for Families organisation & looks forward to helping it grow.

Kelly & her husband decided to settle in Sevenoaks after the birth of her second child in 2015. 

Anne first started helping Friends for Families with their Christmas Appeal, which led to a two year volunteer role before being asked to become a Trustee in April 2024. Anne has had a varied career starting out in a Life and Pensions office where her main hobby was travelling the world. She then started working in the Travel Industry before settling down in Sevenoaks to start a family. Her youngest of three children will soon be heading to University so she is very happy to be increasing her involvement with Friends for Families. 

Currently working with the NHS in Sussex, Heather has worked in community development in the social housing and voluntary and community sectors since moving to the Sevenoaks District 18 years ago, and has seen firsthand the local need for the kind of practical support that Friends for Families provides. Heather became a trustee after previously supporting the Christmas appeal. 

Katya grew up in a village near Tunbridge Wells but then moved around the country and settled in Sevenoaks with her young family in 2016. She worked as a corporate and commercial solicitor until she got married but then decided to channel her desire to help others into the charity sector. She has worked for a children’s mental health charity and is currently working for a global disability charity as a fundraiser. 

She has two primary aged children and has been involved with the local Beaver Scout and Cub Scout groups, and used to host a weekly ‘Forest Tots’ playgroup for Sevenoaks Kindergarten. She supported the F4F Christmas Appeal for many years and was happy to help when the charity was on the look out for more trustees.