Meet our team members and trustees

Jayne is the Strategic Adviser for the Foundation Group of Trusts that include South Warwickshire Foundation Trust (SWFT), George Eliot Hospital Trust, Wye Valley Trust and Worcestershire Acute Trust. She has been a Helpforce Trustee since the beginning and is a non-executive director on a number of boards delivering healthcare and digital services.

Richard is a strategy consultant and evaluator who specialises in the health and care sector. He has published and researched about integrated care for nearly 30 years, including co-leading the national evaluation of integrated care pilots for the, then, Department of Health. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Nuffield Trust, a trustee of Bart’s Charity and a non-executive director of THIS Labs.

Lara is Vice-Chair at Helpforce, chairing the Remuneration Committee, and having been a trustee since June 2023. She is also Chair of King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity and holds board and trustee roles across health, transport and the environment, including London TravelWatch, South Downs National Park Authority and Age UK Wandsworth. 

With a background as a Programme Director and Chief of Staff in the NHS, Lara brings deep expertise in governance, organisational development, system transformation and stakeholder alignment. 

Mark brings a wealth of experience to Helpforce’s Board, grounded in the world of finance. With a Cranfield MBA, the first 13 years of his career were spent training and practicing as a Chartered Accountant before moving into the third sector – a decision he has not regretted for a single minute of his 30 + years as a charity leader. During this time, he held Chief Executive positions at the WRVS (now RVS) and the National Autistic Society. He led Helpforce between 2019 and 2024 as CEO, returning to the organisation in February 2026 as a trustee.

In a career spanning manufacturing industry, national and global consultancy, Rosemary has been recognised as one of the groundbreaking communications practitioners over the past 50 years.  Her interest and experience has focused particularly on developing healthcare-related strategies for both businesses and charities. 

A former Trustee of the Royal Voluntary Service and of the Industry and Parliament Trust, she has been a Helpforce Trustee since its foundation. 

Professor Michelle Bateman is a Registered Nurse and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer at NHS England, with over 40 years working for the NHS. Michelle provides national nursing leadership for the delivery of programmes across safety, improvement and quality, helping to build and maintain a quality culture across the profession. 

Massoud was Co-founder and Medical Director of Circle Health Group. His vision has been to build a co-owned and clinically-led partnership of healthcare professionals. In 2001, Massoud founded the Ophthalmic Clinical Leads Forum at the King's Fund and was Chair of the Association of Ophthalmologists in the UK from 2003-2007.

Penelope is an independent consultant specialising in policy, strategy and external affairs, with particular expertise in supported housing and the integration of health, housing and care.

Penelope brings extensive experience of working at the heart of national government, having spent 18 years in policy and strategy roles across the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office. 

Mal Minhas is founder of Diorama Consulting, a technology advisory practice specialising in digital strategy, data infrastructure and AI adoption. He has advised boards across the commercial and charity sectors on digital transformation and technology governance. He is also a Trustee at Aston Mansfield, an East London community charity.

David works at Social Finance as Health Programmes Director. He has over fifteen years of experience in senior voluntary sector and NHS roles. David brings a track record of designing and delivering complex strategic programmes such as the national hospital at home / virtual wards programme, Ageing Well, urgent community response and the NHS 2019 Long Term Plan and interim Workforce Plan. 

Sara is Global Health Sector Leader at Deloitte, leading their health practice in the UK. Sara’s work includes supporting the government on its Coronavirus testing programme, and the introduction of robotic and cognitive automation to improve the speed and quality of NHS services and to release more time for direct patient care.

Erica Deti is a system leader at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. She works with communities, clinicians, and senior leaders to address systemic inequities and improve access, experience and outcomes.

As an Associate Trustee at Helpforce, Erica brings expertise in community partnerships, inclusive leadership, and systemic change.

Ashleigh is Volunteer Development Lead at Sense where she leads the development of accessible and inclusive volunteering and champions the contribution of volunteers across the organisation. Bringing experience across volunteering, healthcare and the charity sector, Ashleigh is passionate about embedding volunteering within health and care strategies to improve patient experience, support NHS staff and improve health outcomes. 

Sir Tom founded Helpforce in 2015 with a vision that everyone being treated in hospital would never be alone.

He is also the co-founder of the Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship within the London School of Economics and Political Science, Chair of the John Innes Centre and was Chair of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.