Our team

Keith joined our board in 2009, becoming Chair in June 2020. Keith’s son, Harry, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma aged three in 2006 and his family was supported by Candlelighters. Keith provides fantastic leadership to the whole charity and along with the rest of the board helps set our strategic direction to provide the best support to families. In his day job, Keith heads up his own architecture firm.

Mike has been part of the Candlelighters board since 1999. He was appointed to his current post of Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at St James’s’ Hospital in 1998. He underwent undergraduate training in Oxford and was trained in Haematology in Cambridge and Sheffield before arriving in Leeds. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Oxford.

David Mayman joined the Candlelighters board in 2018. David works for Aviva and is a Chartered Accountant, bringing a wealth of finance experience to Candlelighters. He has an important role as our Treasurer, monitoring our finances and helping the other trustees understand the Charity’s financial position. Candlelighters supported David after his son, Joe, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and sadly died in 2017.

Martin was appointed as a Consultant in Paediatric Oncology and a Candlelighters trustee in 2005. Martin provides valuable insight as one of our medical trustees and particularly enjoys helping advise on which research projects to fund, making sure that our fundraisers’ hard efforts always benefit patients and families as much as possible.

John has been a Consultant Neurosurgeon in Leeds since 2010, joining Candlelighters as a medical trustee in 2018. Operating on children and adults with brain tumours is a major part of his daily job. He particularly enjoys collaborating and teamwork to help achieve the best outcomes for the children under his care. He joined Candlelighters to bring his experience to help improve our care and support for children and families.

Sue had already been involved with Candlelighters for a number of years before joining the board in 2015 as a lay trustee. Sue’s background is firmly rooted in business, and she brings a unique perspective, helping to broaden the skillset of the board so we can run the charity as effectively as possible. Sue was also previously the Chair of Harrogate Candlelighters fundraising group raising significant funds to support children and families.

In June 2018, Greg’s then three-year-old daughter Sophia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and Candlelighters was there to support him and his family. Greg has been a company director for many years and he has an extensive background in marketing, PR and branding. Greg brought his fantastic skills to the Candlelighters board as a trustee in September 2020.

Julie has been a registered children’s Nurse for over 30 years and joined our board in 2022. Julie’s passion is her many years of work with young people with cancer and their families and she is now the Candlelighters Lead Nurse for Children and Teenage Cancer at Leeds’ Principal Centre and the Yorkshire and Humber Children’s Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Operational Delivery Network, fostering collaboration between the hospitals and professionals involved in childhood cancer care.

Simone trained at Cambridge University and qualified as a doctor in 1997. She is a consultant in Paediatric and Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Oncology, treating patients aged 0-25 years and has worked in Leeds since 2010. She has special interests in brain and central nervous system tumours and palliative care. Simone joined the board in 2021, offering her medical expertise to the charity to improve support for patients.

We welcomed Rohan to the board in 2023. Rohan works as National Manager at the UK’s biggest cricket charity, Chance to Shine. Rohan was previously diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June 2004, aged 8 and he and his family were supported by Candlelighters. Using his lived experience and knowledge of the charity sector, he is passionate about bringing comfort and positivity to young cancer patients and their families.

Dale joined the board in 2024 as a parent trustee and is an experienced account manager in the field of critical communications and associated services. In July 2018, Dale’s son was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, needing intensive treatment, mostly in hospital. Dale experienced Candlelighters’ support first-hand and how we help families in their darkest moments. Now, she wants to use her skills and lived experience to support and help the charity continue to provide our vital services.

Emily became our CEO in June 2018 having previously been Deputy Director of the charity. She’s passionate about providing the best possible services to meet the needs of our families. Emily is responsible for managing the charity and implementing our plans for the future.

Lucy joined Candlelighters in early 2014. She looks after all things people, including recruitment, learning and development, benefits, payroll, pensions and volunteers. Lucy is also our company secretary, ensuring we comply with statutory and regulatory requirements.

Our Head of Family Support, Natalie joined Candlelighters in September 2014. She is highly experienced in developing support services for children and families and leads the implementation of our wide range of emotional, practical and financial support.

Tom joined the team in April 2019. He is responsible for leading the fundraising team to raise the £2m needed to provide our services to families each year. Tom also develops strategies to help grow our income so we can provide more support and fund further research.

Our Head of Engagement, Caroline joined the charity in March 2020. She manages our marketing strategies, helping to spread the word about Candlelighters and the work we do. Caroline helps ensure our families and supporters have the information they need from us.

Lawrence joined the team in May 2019 as our Head of Finance. Lawrence manages everything about the charity’s finances including processing the amazing donations we receive and overseeing our budgets. He also makes sure our facilities and operations run smoothly!

Hannah joined us as Front-of-House Coordinator in 2022 before moving to Family Support Manager in March 2023. Based at The Square, she provides practical support to families, whether helping them to access services or being a friendly and familiar face to talk to.

Lucy joined Candlelighters in November 2021 and oversees our community support, helping support families outside of the hospital. She collaborates with other professionals, charities and services to provide the best support possible to families and organises lots of our events.

Lori is our Community Support Worker and joined us in January 2023. She works across Yorkshire to provide support to families closer to home and works closely with Lucy J to help organise lots of our family events and groups throughout the year.

Janet became our Family Support Administrator in December 2020 having already worked closely with Candlelighters for many years through her role in the NHS. Janet plays a crucial role in referring families for our services and ensuring they can access the support they need.

Amy is one of our Family Support Workers and provides practical and emotional support to children and families at Leeds Children’s Hospital and The Square. She joined the Candlelighters team in December 2018.

Ryan is one of our Family Support Workers and provides practical and emotional support to children and families at Leeds Children’s Hospital and The Square. He joined the Candlelighters team in September 2021.

Helen is one of our Family Support Workers and provides practical and emotional support to children and families at Leeds Children’s Hospital and The Square. She joined the Candlelighters team in November 2023.

Ollie is one of our Family Support Workers and provides practical and emotional support to children and families at Leeds Children’s Hospital and The Square. He joined the Candlelighters team in September 2021.

Lucy is one of our Family Support Workers and provides practical and emotional support to children and families at Leeds Children’s Hospital and The Square. She joined the Candlelighters team in March 2024.

Jess joined us as a Family Support Worker in November 2022, before moving to Family Support Coordinator in October 2023. She provides supports families to access services and is always there for a friendly chat. She also keeps The Square running smoothly day-to-day!

Our Youth Activity Coordinator, Chelsey, joined the team in September 2024 and works on the teenage haematology and oncology ward at the hospital, supporting young people aged 13-19. She helps organise tailored activities for teenagers staying in hospital who have different needs and interests to younger children.

Our elephantastic mascot Champ is a very important member of our team! Champ can often be found at our events, meeting children, families and supporters. He loves spreading the message of Candlelighters and making people smile. Champ is always up for a hug and a photo, so if you see him around, make sure to say hi!

Chris joined us in 2019 in the corporate fundraising team, helping businesses across Yorkshire to raise funds for families. Now, Chris is our Philanthropy Manager looking after both people and businesses looking to make a difference for children with cancer.

Since October 2017, Sean has provided administrative support for the fundraising team and our wonderful supporters. Sean also coordinates our challenge events, giving participants everything they need for their big day and to raise vital funds.

Iain works with the many brilliant businesses that offer their support to Candlelighters, giving them the tools and guidance they need to fundraise and make a difference. Iain joined us in January 2022.

Becki joined the team in September 2022 supporting our wonderful community of fundraisers across Yorkshire, whether that be the families we help, local groups and schools or members of the general public. She makes sure they have the tools they need for fundraising success!

Donna joined the Candlelighters team in January 2025 as Relationship Development Fundraiser. She’s dedicated to supporting our incredible community fundraisers and fostering corporate partnerships.  Donna works closely with individuals, local organisations, and businesses to develop engaging fundraising initiatives that benefit families affected by childhood cancer.

We welcomed Sam to our fundraising team in February 2025. As Partnership Development Manager, Sam’s role is to help grow corporate fundraising for Candlelighters by securing support from new partners within the business community.

Jenny became part of the Candlelighters team in February 2025 as our Trust and Foundation Specialist. With plenty of enthusiasm and commitment, Jenny works to secure essential funding by nurturing strong relationships with charitable trusts and foundations, ensuring impactful support for the families of children with cancer and for the Candlelighters Supportive Care Research Centre.

Corinne has been with the charity since January 2018. She is the first contact for new starters, looking after our onboarding for staff and volunteers, as well as benefits, training, recognition and wellbeing. She also develops lots of necessary policies and procedures!

Lauren joined Candlelighters in January 2019. She coordinates recruitment, onboarding and training processes for our staff, reviews and updates policies and procedures and helps to support the wellbeing of the team as a mental health first aider.

In February 2020, Gaby joined Candlelighters to provide marketing support to the charity. As Digital and Social Executive, Gaby looks after our social media, website, e-news, and coordinates all things digital marketing for the charity.

Lisa joined Candlelighters in November 2021 as our Marketing Analyst. Lisa helps look after the data of the people we work with and that support us. She helps make sure we’re compliant with legislation and best practices and helps us to work more efficiently.

Ayub joined in 2024 bringing with him years of finance experience. Ayub helps accurately record the donations we get from our fantastic supporters and processes grant payments to families and our invoices from suppliers.

Jade has been with Candlelighters since 2018 and is a member of the Finance and Operations Team working three days a week. A key part of Jade’s role is organising the holidays for our families. She works closely with our families and holiday providers to make sure that every part of the holiday experience is as seamless and enjoyable as possible. She also helps with the processing of income making sure the amazing donations and online merchandise orders we receive are all logged and accounted for in the right places!

Gaynor began volunteering with us as an Event Administrator before joining the Finance team in November 2022. Gaynor supports the finance team to accurately record and thank donations as well as process any payments.

In May 2024, Frank became our Operations and Charity Support Officer. Frank helps ensure our operations and facilities are well looked after and working as they should be. Frank’s role is crucial in providing a pleasant, welcoming environment for families and staff.

Paul joined Candlelighters in October 2024 and plays a big role in creating a welcoming, supportive and safe environment at Candlelighters. From tackling redecoration, repairs and maintenance to office operational support, Paul ensures our facilities are maintained to the highest standard and running smoothly!