Alison Roche

Interim Chair

I have lived in Surrey for the past 20 years, having moved from the North-West, and have been based in the South-East since 1995. After a 30-year career in the NHS specialising in kidney care and patient experience, I now run a small business supporting professional associations in this field.
I have a long-standing commitment to supporting families and young people, including serving as a PTA chair and being involved in community initiatives such as local family events and Nearly New Sales in Ottershaw.
Now an empty nester, I am keen to give back to the local community and support families, drawing on both my professional experience and personal understanding of the value of early support services.

Trevor Pound

Treasurer

I have lived in the Woking area for over 30 years and brought up my family here.  Now retired, I spent my working life with one of the major banks, where I specialised in large corporate finance.  I have a diverse range of interests including walking and cycling and I am also a particularly keen bridge player.  I was involved with Citizens Advice for a number of years in a variety of roles and have been a trustee of Home-Start Runnymede & Woking since 2015.

Joanna McKenzie

Fundraising Grants and Bids

I have been a trustee for Home-Start for over ten years, firstly with Home-Start Surrey Heath and now with Home-Start Runnymede & Woking.  I am also a home-visiting volunteer with Surrey Heath.  My big task with Home-Start Runnymede & Woking is fundraising, applying for grants and trusts to ensure that we have income to pay our staff and costs, and ensuring sustainability.

Mike Griffiths

Health and Safety

I have been a trustee for over 10 years first with Home-Start Woking, and then with Home-Start Runnymede & Woking when it was formed in 2015. When I started my career I worked mostly with British Telecom in their Research Department at Dollis Hill, London, and then as an engineer in Cardiff, finishing as a network manager back in the London area. Taking early retirement I worked as a contractor with Ericsson for a couple of years and then moved to become a Civil Servant in the SureStart & Children’s Centre Office in Guildford. On “final” retirement I volunteered for three charities with Home-Start being close to my heart from the Children’s Centre days.

I now spend my free time between skippering canal boats for community groups, sailing in the Solent and Mediterranean, and flying light aircraft from Fairoaks.

Gemma Niebieszczanski

Trustee, Company Secretary and Safeguarding Lead

Originally from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, I have lived in Surrey for over a decade now. I joined the board of trustees in January 2022 as I was keen to get involved in a local charity that supports families in the area that has become my home.

I have worked in the charity sector for almost 20 years, including five years working with young Burmese democracy activists in north-west Thailand. Since returning to the UK in 2011, I have worked for a variety of national charities including Brook, Anna Freud and the National Literacy Trust in programme management and operations roles. I am currently Regional Associate Director at Rethink Mental Illness, overseeing services across London and the South East. I completed an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management in 2021 and am passionate about the power of the sector to enact positive change.

Sally Evans

Trustee

Sally has been a member of Home-Start since 2016 when living in Guernsey and she is now proud to be part of Home-Start Runnymede and Woking.

She travelled the world as an educator with a specialism in SEND, behaviour, autism and complex needs. She set up the company “All children included” to support families especially in education. Now she is working as supply teacher and supporting HS as a volunteer and trustee. She is passionate about helping young children and their families get the best start in life.