Trustees are responsible for making sure the best decisions are made for Orpheus and its students, staff and volunteers. They delegate day-to-day leadership to the Chief Executive Rachel Black who is responsible for the operational management with support from the Senior Management Team.
There are also Trustee committees:
Committee meetings are every three months to ensure accountability and compliance in key areas, provide assurance for Trustees and to support staff in every department. Senior Managers also sit on these committees to provide updates and respond to queries.
We are grateful to our trustees for their vast knowledge and experience, from a wide range of sectors, which they bring to Orpheus to help us develop.
Joelle has recently retired after a 40-year career within the charitable sector. Her most recent role was as Director of Volunteering for Macmillan Cancer Support where she set the volunteer strategy and led an ambitious programme of engagement and significant growth across the organisation.
Previously Joelle was Assistant Director for ChildLine (NSPCC) and responsible for a 24-hour volunteer-led service offering support to over 200,000 children every year in the UK via telephone and online services.
Joelle has also been a Sure Start Programme Manager which was an initiative aimed at reducing child poverty by offering multi-disciplinary services in targeted local areas of deprivation.
Joelle started her career in a variety of roles for over 10 years at KIDs, a charity that supports families and children with special needs. It was there that she saw how support could open up opportunities for young people after leaving formal education. Her passion for making that difference led her to the inspirational work that Orpheus does.
She has previously been a member of an advisory panel for the charity ‘Missing People’ and a trustee for the Family Holiday Association. She lives in Brighton and enjoys long walks on the Downs and has for the last 10 years sung in a local community choir.
Helen volunteered at the Orpheus Barn Theatre in 1993 and 1994 on music weeks piloted for disabled people. Passionate about the power of the performing arts to change lives, Helen subsequently became a Trustee of Music & the Deaf and then Music in Hospitals & Care until 2023.
Helen has also served as a Trustee of a charity providing counselling to disabled learners and worked as a volunteer mentor supporting young autistic adults into employment.
Helen trained with EY and is both a qualified accountant and chartered governance professional. She has held senior governance roles in large multi-academy trusts, sixth form and FE colleges and in household name charities including the London Marathon Foundation. Helen was previously a Senior Accountant at The Charity Commission after working as an auditor for 10 years and as an arts sector finance consultant.
Helen holds a music degree and a Masters in Psychology of Music from The University of Sheffield. In 2017 she was awarded the Points of Light award by the UK Prime Minister for her role in establishing a project that takes live music into hospital intensive care units, after spending time in intensive care herself.
30 years since last volunteering at the Orpheus, Helen is thrilled to now serve as a Trustee, with her journey back to Orpheus giving her a sense that, in the words of TS Eliot, it is “to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time”.
Zoe’s career encapsulates her dedication to adult social care, as she has worked in both operational and policy roles to enhance the sector. She initially started as a care assistant for a domiciliary care provider, balancing her work with her studies at university. It was through this experience that she developed a passion for the sector.
Subsequently, she joined Surrey County Council as a Residential Support Worker for a supported living service, where she further refined her skills and knowledge, eventually becoming a Registered Manager.
Her aspiration and commitment to driving national excellence then led her to work for the Department of Health and Social Care, where she led on policies focusing on support for registered managers and the digitalisation of the sector.
Katie is a chartered accountant and has extensive experience of audit, risk, growth strategy, project management, HR, ED&I and governance. Having worked for multi-national organisations in both the public and private sector, Katie’s most recent role was for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, where she was Director of Finance and Corporate Services.
Katie decided to retire early to pursue fulltime her desire to support the most vulnerable in our communities. She has extensive non-executive and trustee experience in the education, charity and healthcare sector and is currently Chair of Northumbria Primary Care and Associate Non-Executive Director for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. In addition, Katie is currently Trustee at Ascent Academies’ Trust, River Tees Multi Academy Trust, Scope disability equality charity, Camphill Village Trust, Young Epilepsy, and Epilepsy Action; Finance Director at Northumberland Cricket Board; and Member at Ethos Academy Trust. She has also been a Trustee for two pension schemes and Trustee for SMART Multi Academy Trust.
Tom took early retirement in 2021 from Accenture – where he was the managing director leading the firm’s European government relations function – after a career that saw him working in the UK and Belgium, along with four years as a senior diplomat in Japan.
Tom has epilepsy and it was a short spell in ICU after an episode of status epilepticus that served as the catalyst for him to retire and focus his efforts on working in areas where he has skin in the game. He is a trustee at charities that support people with epilepsy and arthritis, and a crisis volunteer at Shout. He is passionate about the arts – particularly the creative arts and especially photography.
Tom is married to Barbara and has two adult sons along with two rescue pointers, Flo and Theo. The dogs let him think he’s the pack leader.
Tom McLaughlan joined the board of trustees in 2022.
Vik became a Trustee in 2022 and sits on the Finance and HR Committee as well as the Trustee Board. He is a qualified chartered accountant with more than 20 years of experience in finance. He spent the first 10 years of his career as an auditor with PwC in the UK and USA.
He then moved into industry where he has held senior roles in a number of large corporates including Taylor Wimpey, G4S, OCS and Nuffield Health. He is currently the Group Finance Director for Merlin Entertainments, a global theme park and attractions business.
Jessica has volunteered for charities since she was a teenager. Largely providing personal care to hospital pilgrims in Lourdes; but also organising an international holiday camp bringing 300 young people together – people with disabilities and volunteer carers.
The common theme of these is putting the person centre stage with a programme of activities that inspire enjoyment, growth and confidence. Values that she is delighted to find at the heart of Orpheus.
Jessica also comes to Orpheus with over 20 years experience as a professional charity fundraiser. She has run major capital appeals, and shaped fundraising strategies to deliver good practice and growth. She is currently the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Versus Arthritis.
Jessica lives in the Test Valley with her young yellow Labrador – Tinka. She enjoys gardening and sings with the Barton Stacey Chamber Choir.
Jessica Dallyn joined the board of trustees in 2023, and is currently the Fundraising Trustee.
Howard Webber joined the board of trustees as chair in 2022. When people ask me why I am Chair of the Board at Orpheus, I can’t provide a good answer from Orpheus’ perspective. But for myself, I have three reasons.
The first is simple: it is a joy and a privilege. Anyone who visits the centre is likely to come away with a smile on their face and a better feeling about the world. How could I not want to be involved?
The second is that young disabled adults face huge obstacles in achieving their potential and living their best life. Orpheus is helping to change that, and anything I can do to assist is worth doing.
And the third is, of course, the people – Orpheus’ wonderful students, volunteers, staff, and fellow-trustees. They are a constant source of surprise and inspiration. My Board colleagues are the most talented, challenging (in a good way), and smart people one could hope to meet with. Board meetings are a pleasure – which is not a sentence you will often read.
As for me, my background lies in areas rather distant from Orpheus. I have worked mainly in the public sector, with jobs ranging from counterterrorism to Head of Policy at the Arts Council. I also spent several years as Chief Executive of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which provides taxpayers’ money to the victims of violent crime.
Among my other non-executive and charity roles have been periods on the Board of the regulator of premium rate phone services and as Chair of an inner London housing association. Currently, I’m also on the Board of the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, which provides acute medical services to much of Surrey and cancer treatment services far more widely.
And after I retired, I did an MA and a PhD in modern British history. Orpheus, the Royal Surrey, and weekly grandchild care leave me little time to follow up my history studies. But I’m not complaining!
Neil White is a retired city solicitor with 30 years’ experience in construction and property development. He also spent four years as General Counsel of a top-20 law firm responsible for governance, client relations, regulation, compliance, risk and commercial contracts.
As a result, he is particularly interested in the Orpheus Centre’s plans for improving and expanding its facilities and in helping Orpheus meet the many standards that govern it. Neil is also trustee of Haig Housing and the Sheppard Trust.
Virginia Fenton is an experienced social care professional. Previously Virginia worked in regulation as a CQC inspector and she has also spent time working for the Disabilities Trust managing a specialist autism service.
She completed the Doctor of Social Work programme at the University of Sussex in 2013. Virginia has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and she has an interest in the performing arts that has led to her involvement with the Orpheus Centre.
How to become a Trustee at Orpheus
Orpheus is a vibrant independent specialist college for young disabled adults who have a passion for the arts and a desire to live independently. Orpheus believes that disabled people should have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers.
The Board of Trustees is looking for new Trustees with a range of skills and backgrounds who share our vision to empower and equip young disabled people with the skills and confidence they need in order to live independent and fulfilling lives in the community.
Our core values are to be Joyful, Bold, Inclusive, Resilient and Determined. These values are the foundations for all our work and are what the organisation stands for. This is an exciting opportunity to get involved in engaging in decision making roles within a unique charity.
The Trustees sit on the following committees alongside members of the senior management team:
Finance – Howard Webber, Vik Chandran, Katie Stevens
Fundraising – Jessica Dallyn, Howard Webber, Sally Varah (External Committee Advisor), Katie Stevens, Joelle Leader
Care & Learning – Virginia Fenton, Tom McLaughlan, Zoe Ota
Housing & Estates – Neil White, Virginia Fenton, Helen Ashley Taylor
Sir Richard Stilgoe’s 50-year career in show business spanned radio, television, cabaret and theatre and lead him to many egregious people and places. It gained him a diverse collection of fortuitous and deserved honours. In the mid-1990s, Sir Richard Stilgoe and neurologist Dr Michael Swallow started piloting music weeks for disabled people. The Orpheus Centre opened in 1997 at Sir Richard’s former family home in Godstone, Surrey.
Dr John Beer OBE was previously Chair of Trustees at the Orpheus and formerly the Director of Social Services in Southampton and before that Head of Children’s Services in Surrey. He was Secretary of ADASS and has a very wide experience of local and national care and health issues. He is married with four grown-up children and lives in Surrey.
In September 2024, Richard sadly passed away. We wanted to pay our warmest respects and thanks to former Chairman, Vice President and long term supporter of the Orpheus Centre, Richard Groom. He was awarded an MBE in 2016 for services to charity. Sir Richard Stilgoe who invited Richard to join Orpheus as Chairman in 2004 said: “None of the students will ever know how much they owe to Richard’s efforts on their behalf. But I do, and I will always be grateful to him.”
The Orpheus Centre. North Park Lane, Godstone. Surrey. RH9 8ND
