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Meet some of the people who make Bede happen. To get in touch, please visit our Contact page.
The Right Rev Christopher Chessun, The Lord Bishop of Southwark
Roger Harrison
Andrew Sutton
Councillor Sunil Chopra, former Mayor of Southwark
Jane Holbrook, CEO, Côte Brasserie
Sir Simon Hughes, Chancellor of London South Bank University
Chair: Jerry Flechais
Jerry is a safety and risk management professional with experience of working at senior level in the commercial, public and third sector. He specialises in practical and sensible risk management, governance and operational delivery.
Vice Chair: Julie Cotton
Julie has spent her career in the housing sector and is currently a Senior Advisor in the Investigation and Enforcement team at the Regulator of Social Housing. Julie got to know Bede through working in Southwark, and her focus is community engagement.
Treasurer: Sacha Dingomal
Sacha works as Director of Finance and Business Operations for the mental health charity YoungMinds. An ACCA qualified accountant, Sacha has experience across several sectors including the Arts, Education and Housing. Prior to joining YoungMinds, he was Director of Finance and Corporate Resources at Skills Training UK and Technology Finance Manager at Cancer Research UK. With a background in mathematics, Sacha enjoys playing badminton, chess and is a parent/volunteer with Woodcraft Folk.
Bob Ogilvie
Bob is a director at multi-disciplinary consultancy firm AECOM, where he leads a large team of project managers covering London and the Southeast. His team acts for clients in the built environment covering sectors such as residential, commercial, healthcare and education. A chartered civil engineer, he has long experience in the property and construction industry. Bob is currently leading a team of project managers working for British Land to deliver the Canada Water regeneration scheme. He also serves as a school governor.
Diana Stevenson
Diana has been a social worker for many years working with adults with learning disabilities in different London Boroughs. She got to know Bede several years ago through her work. She has also worked in Respite, Residential and supported employment projects in the community and has a particular interest in balancing self-direction with managing risk. Playing piano, singing and reading are her main joys in life!
Eleanor Rowland
Eleanor joined as a trustee in September 2023. She works as the Director of Safeguarding and Inclusion for Fulham Football Club. Prior to this she worked within the inspection team at the NSPCC and a number of different substance misuse charities. Her skills and expertise are in safeguarding, inclusion of underrepresented groups and community work.
Shane Murphy
Shane joined Bede as a trustee in 2020. He works as an architect and leads design teams through various stages of large scale construction projects. Shane takes a particular interest in management of the existing building facilities, alongside the strategic planning for Bede’s future premises.
Simone Eseanobi
Simone obtained a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Middlesex University in 2011. She has worked in domestic abuse refuges, specialist domestic abuse Social Work roles within two different Local Authorities and for Cafcass as a Family Court Advisor and Guardian in private law matters. Simone is trained in the following domestic abuse programmes: Preparing for Change, Children overcoming domestic abuse (CODA), Caring Dad’s, Women’s support group for domestic abuse and Escape the Trap. She is also trained in individual work with perpetrators of domestic abuse which is accredited by RESPECT.
Director and Council Secretary: Mahua Nandi
Mahua brings many years of senior management experience from a range of sectors, including community transport, mental health, prison-based learning and social enterprise. She started her career as a community organiser providing advocacy, peer support and training for low-wage workers in and around London. She then moved into project and organisational management in the not-for-profit sector, qualifying as an accountant and working as finance director for a range of different organisations. She is a trustee of VoiceAbility, a charity which supports people to be heard in decisions about their health, care and wellbeing, and a board member of Reside Housing Association, which specialises in providing high-quality housing for people with support needs.
Finance Manager: Pam Whyte
Pam is an AAT qualified accountant with over 20 years’ experience in finance. She joined Bede in 2013 as Finance Assistant and was subsequently appointed Finance Manager.
Bede Learning Disabilities Project Manager: Carole Brady
Carole joined Bede in 2014 and has worked in social care for over 30 years. This includes 12 years in management roles with Southwark and Lambeth Councils, Camden Society and Bede. Carole was born and brought up in Bermondsey and still lives locally.
Bede: Ending Domestic Abuse Project Manager: Ahlam Laabori
Ahlam joined Bede in 2010 and became Bede Starfish Project Manager in 2015. After social work training with Westminster Social Services, she joined the Forced Marriage Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Ahlam is a qualified Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) and trained Freedom Programme leader.