Patrons and Trustees

Nick Maughan, Patron

Nick is a British investor, philanthropist and conservationist. He is the founder of Nick Maughan Foundation, a self-funded charity working in education, environment, and civic support areas for disenfranchised communities. He is also the founder of BoxWise, Britain’s largest boxing-related non-profit that works with disadvantaged young people through sport; and a trustee of Tusk Trust, an African wildlife conservation charity. Find out more about Nick here.

“I am honoured to be a patron of StreetDoctors because I believe violence affecting young people is one of the most pressing social issues in the UK. StreetDoctors is a remarkable charity that saves countless lives by providing the tools for young people to keep themselves and others safe. I am really pleased to have the opportunity to do all I can to assist them in this critical work.”

Jane Harwood, Chair of Trustees

I have operated as a senior executive in a number of organisations, both public and private sector, and have also run my own consultancy business. Much of my career has been spent in the world of policing and retired in 2019 from Surrey Police as an Assistant Chief Officer. During my working life I have been responsible for all aspects of corporate management ranging from strategic planning and performance management, people services, business change and transformation, communication and marketing, and corporate governance and risk.

For the last 10 years, I  been a trustee and Vice Chair at Missing People and led on policy and research, safeguarding and HR. I am also a Non Executive Director and SID at University Hospital  Southampton and is a trustee and chair of governance for the Wooden Spoon charity.

 “As Chair of StreetDoctors I cannot help but be amazed by the commitment, professionalism and dedication from all our staff and volunteers. The impact of violent crime can be so devastating for individuals, family and friends. Through the work of our amazing teams, StreetDoctors can help give young people the skills and confidence to step in and make a potentially lifesaving and life changing intervention”.

David Bell, Trustee Treasurer

I have been Treasurer of StreetDoctors since 2018. I have always been in awe of  the exceptional energy, enthusiasm, creative thinking and commitment that our young volunteer health professionals and our staff team all bring. They give other young people, at risk of violence, the skills and confidence to take action and to save lives. I am especially proud of what they all contributed in the past year as we were commissioned to, and trained a record number of vulnerable young people. I have personal experience of the randomness of street violence, but it bears little comparison to the pervasive dangers of incidents involving knives that many young people now face on a daily basis.

In my corporate business career, I had many diverse leadership roles as telecoms transitioned from ‘POTS to PANS’ (“Plain Old Telephony Services to Pretty Amazing New Stuff”). I had exciting opportunities and worked with amazing people to define strategies and implement them successfully. We  developed new organisations; new  products; new technology; new markets; and new customer facing services. I was fortunate to lead award winning teams in the UK and abroad. Later I became MD of a publicly funded provider of social and health care services and co-founder of a Business Consultancy that has continued to prosper since I retired in 2017.

Dr Rochelle Pierre, Trustee

Born and raised in Hackney, I am now a doctor in London. I joined the East London team in my first year of medical school in 2011.

Having grown up around youth violence and witnessing the struggles that many of the young people face, particularly in Hackney, I was eager to get involved with StreetDoctors. I have always wanted to give back to my community and help young people, and this has provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so.

StreetDoctors is an amazing charity which provides a means of empowering young people, and I am very proud to be a part of it. I joined the board of trustees in 2014 hoping to be a voice for both the volunteers and the young people we teach. Although I still have a lot to learn I am thoroughly enjoying it and looking forward to reaching out to many more young people and being a positive influence in their lives.

Outside of StreetDoctors my secret love is playing Basketball.

Rick Ogden

Helen Berresford, Trustee

I am delighted to be joining StreetDoctors board of trustees. StreetDoctors delivers such important work around the country to give young people critical lifesaving skills. I am looking forward to working with the trustees, staff and volunteers to contribute wherever possible to the impact they make.

I have spent my career working to improve policy and practice for disadvantaged young people and adults. With over 15 years experience working in Parliament and the voluntary sector, including in charities such as Nacro, Save the Children, and women’s charity Platform 51, I have successfully influenced Government policy across a range of areas including equality, childcare and poverty.

Dr Shola Apena Rogers, Trustee

As a Londoner born and bred, I am passionate for working to support and empower young people within the community.

I am a Chartered Forensic Psychologist, Lecturer at University of Birmingham. I have worked as a practitioner and researcher within various contexts, including the criminal justice system, Children’s Social Care, NHS and voluntary sector to achieve impact and positive outcomes. I am also a Consultant Trainer delivering Motivational Interviewing, Adolescent Mental Health and Trauma Informed Practice training programmes.

I am keen to work with a charity like StreetDoctors, which harnesses the potential of their volunteers to really make a difference.

Dr Katie Aston OBE, Trustee

My day job is leading on partnerships for Crime and Policing at the Home Office which brings me into contact with a lot of voluntary organisations including those working to combat serious violence.

I was attracted to joining the StreetDoctors board because I am particularly keen on charities that ‘do what they say on the tin’.  I was really impressed with its staff and volunteers and strongly believe that StreetDoctors people are its greatest asset.

I am also a trustee of the Noel Buxton Trust focusing on penal grant giving and have been involved with a number of different charities over the years.  I was awarded an OBE for services to charity and the voluntary sector in the Queen’s 2016 birthday honours list.

I live between London and rural East Suffolk and spend my spare time enjoying cooking, restaurants, good friends, wine and lively conversation.

Jacqui Highfield, Trustee

I’m excited and honoured to be joining the Trustee Board for StreetDoctors having seen first-hand the positive outcomes achieved from the life-saving skills sessions delivered to young people within Youth Offending Services. I was so impressed by the energy and commitment of the StreetDoctors volunteers and am really looking forward to working with the Board to support them.

I have been working in the area of Serious Youth Violence for over a decade and am currently the Director of Programmes for Redthread – a charity that embeds specialist trauma and health informed youth workers into A&E departments in hospitals and other health settings across London, Nottingham and Birmingham.

Dr Luke Swithenbank, Trustee

I first heard about StreetDoctors while I was studying medicine at the University of Leeds. I wondered why such unique and potentially life-saving lessons were not being delivered in his city, so I set up the branch there in 2013 with a group of my peers.

I was team leader of the Leeds team for two years, during which time I took up the national role of Expansion Officer and helped create the teams in Newcastle, Bristol, Birmingham and Warwick. Following graduation, I moved to work in Birmingham and witnessed first-hand the dire consequences of knife violence in the second city’s emergency departments, adding further fuel to my desire to help combat it.

I currently serve as a medical officer in the RAF and joined the board of trustees in the summer of 2018 with the aim of ensuring the charity does not lose sight of its roots: its committed volunteers and all the young people it reaches out to.

Vishal Chahwala, Trustee

I support the development of volunteering projects and impact reporting for StreetDoctors nationally.

A public health approach enables us to view violence as a preventable consequence rather than an inevitable outcome. I truly believe in StreetDoctors’ peer-to-peer model with young healthcare students working directly with young people most at risk of violence, empowering them to not only be lifesavers but also to be a part of the conversation and the solution to street violence.

I am a medical student at Barts & The London and I have taken a year out of my studies to work for StreetDoctors. I have been a volunteer and team leader for our East London team. I wrote my dissertation on Hospital Based Violence Intervention Programmes.

If I’m not catching a flight to somewhere in Europe for the weekend, you’ll find me in the markets in East London trying food from around the world and adding to my record collection.