Laura Riley,
Founder & CEO
Laura set up Mums In Need in 2014 and continues to confront coercive control today. She is deeply passionate about helping others who are in a situation that she is only too familiar with. She wants to support women who otherwise may have nowhere else to go.
Along with the daily running of the charity Laura has a hand in all that the charity does, from recruiting new members to attending networking events. Laura ensures the efficient running of the day-to-day operations of the charity. Her goal is to help as many women as possible across the country. She wants to help them feel empowered in confronting coercive control rather than being victims.
To find out more about Laura, see Our Founder's Story.
Kathryn, Administrator
Following almost two decades working in marketing, advertising and business administration, Kathryn joined Mums In Need as an Administrator in September 2020. After seeing the role advertised on a jobs app while casually browsing through the vacancies, Kathryn viewed the Mums In Need website and was so inspired by the charity’s purpose, mission and values that she immediately sent in an application.
As an Administrator, Kathryn’s role is varied and encompasses many aspects of keeping Mums In Need running efficiently and effectively behind the scenes. Having previously experienced a similar situation to the women that Mums In Need supports, she firmly believes that a woman’s past does not determine her future, and that all women have the right to access help and guidance to improve their situation and help them achieve their potential.
Kathryn is a keen runner, stationery addict and proud single mum, who is passionate about encouraging and supporting women to achieve full, rewarding, and confident lives.
“Administration is often hugely underrated but is the backbone of any office. I’m passionate about women’s rights, independence and wellbeing, so it’s a privilege to work for a charity that provides so much essential support to women at a time in their lives when they need it most.
Nicola, Caseworker
Nicola joined the Mums In Need team as a caseworker in November 2021. Nicola has lived experience with domestic abuse and coercive control and is passionate about supporting others. She trained as a community connector for Rise - a grassroots domestic abuse charity based in Brighton.
"Working for Mums In Need is an honour. My mission is to help those who have suffered coercive control to feel understood and enable women to thrive after leaving abusive relationships. Another area of interest for me is to be able to support children and young people to know what healthy relationships look like and give children a voice too."
Zara, Caseworker
Zara joined Mums In Need in August 2021 as a Caseworker.
Her career began by attending University studying Law & Psychology. Her aim was to become a Criminal Lawyer, but after 2 years, it became apparent that a legal career would sometimes require representing those in the wrong. This was something that Zara realised she didn't want to do, and she made a difficult decision to leave her course to start something new.
Zara has since enjoyed 10 years with her previous employer managing administrative and recruitment functions for the delivery of Apprenticeships nationally. In 2019, she left to start her own business, and it's success has allowed her the spare time to give back in a new role.
"After hearing about Mums In Need through a friend, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to actively make a difference in the lives of women who are going through extremely difficult and traumatic experiences. This role has highlighted the need for women, and children, to be better supported during post separation abuse in order to successfully manage their lives. And it is now something I am passionate about supporting."
Mark, Finance Lead
Mark joined the MIN team in March 2022 as a Finance Lead. Before this he was volunteering with MIN from May 2021 as a Finance Volunteer.
Mark is in charge of all aspects of finance and bookkeeping for Mums In Need.
“I believe that the work the charity is doing is invaluable for the women and children affected."
Sara, Media & Marketing Lead
Sara joined the Mums In Need team in March 2022 as the Media & Marketing Lead. Before this she volunteered as a Media and Marketing Volunteer.
She has always had the drive to help others and has previously worked in the Social Care setting, as well as running her own small business. Since having her two young children she wanted to support fellow mums who need support.
"I am proud to be able to be able to work for Mums In Need. I am going to be in charge of all aspects of Media and Marketing to aid more fundraising for MIN! This will ultimately allow more women receive the help that they need, which makes a very rewarding job role "
Board of Trustees
Sue, Chair for the Board of Trustees
Sue joined Mums In Need at the beginning of 2022. Sue is a team and leadership coach who is delighted to be leading a Board of highly motivated Trustees who are striving to bring out the best in MIN and everyone connected to it. Before setting up her own business Sue was a senior leader in the Civil Service. She brings a wealth of leadership experience including strategic and organisational development, project management, governance and team leadership.
“Mums In Need supports something very special to me: the right of individuals to live a life that’s full of positivity and hope. As a survivor of coercive control I know that people use coercive behaviour to try to stifle both positivity and hope. I am proud to be part of a charity that seeks to highlight the reality of coercive control and support Mums who have experienced it”.
Olivia, Treasurer for the Board of Trustees
Olivia became the Treasurer of the board in January 2022. Olivia saw our vacancy for a Trustee advertised on Linkdin and wanted to work with MIN because of her own lived experiences of coercive control. Olivia’s working background is in Finance, and she has the skills and knowledge to support MIN as our Treasurer.
"I am delighted to be working with such an amazing group of people, being able to use my experience to support such a good cause and also develop my skills by learning more from those around me."
Graham, Vice Chair of Trustees
Graham joined Mums In Need as a fundraising volunteer at the beginning of 2020, helping with corporate fundraising and bid writing, and recently took the step of joining the board to offer more strategic support.
With a background in Corporate Fundraising, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Volunteering across the Private, Voluntary and Public sectors, Graham is able to offer an insight into what corporate partners are looking for and how to pitch the charity to potential funders and partners.
"It's great to be able to support a small local charity, where I feel I can make a real difference whilst developing my own strategic and leadership skills"
Carolyn, Secretary for the Board of Trustees
Carolyn was previously involved with MIN as part of the Lived Experience Leadership Programme. She was keen to be more involved with the charity as it pursues its aims to help women who are facing post-separation abuse.
Her own background in the medical profession has lead to a determination to improve understanding within Health and Social Care of the difficulties faced when attempting to co-parent with an abuser. These difficulties can be worsened due to the family courts emphasis on shared care arrangements no matter what has occured in the past to the mother, or to the child.
“It is a real privilege to join the team to further Mums in Need’s goals. I believe MIN is extremely valuable for mums coming to terms with the complex situation they find themselves in, heal from the trauma safely, whilst raising their children. MIN gives these mums validation and hope at a time when they can feel powerless, misunderstood and alone. I am keen to use my skills to help extend the scope of MIN so we can reach more women, and to encourage change so that mums and their children are better supported by the systems that are currently in place“
Stella, Trustee
Stella joined Mums In Need in 2022.
Her own lived experience of coercive control and economic abuse led her to writing. This started as a therapy process as a way of learning to communicate. The impact of domestic abuse had resulted in Stella being barely able to speak. Finding her voice through writing resulted in the unexpected, her memoir was published in 2017. Stella has spoken about her experience in Westminster London UK, LBC Radio, Radio Five Live with Martin Lewis and BBC two documentary Womanhood.
Stella has over 20 years working in the private health sector managing and developing her own clinic. She is the co-creator of a wellbeing centre in Sheffield supporting women's health.
"It is an honour to be working alongside an incredible team dedicated to confronting coercive control. I am looking forward to expanding my skills further and using my existing skills to make a positive impact ."
Antony, Trustee
Antony joined Mums In Need as a trustee in 2016 after volunteering with the organisation in its formative period. Antony is therefore one of MIN's first trustees!
He feels passionately about Mums In Need’s mission and the need for an organisation for women in situations of emotional and psychological abuse.
Antony is a journalist by profession, has experience dealing with people at all levels of business and asking the kind of questions that aim to ensure organisations are run well, with governance a key area of his work.
“I am very happy to bring whatever skills I can to help Mums In Need minimise the effects of coercive control on women and its effects on future generations.”
Ben, Trustee
Ben joined the board of trustees at MIN in November 2021 after meeting Laura Riley at a networking event run by a local marketing agency. From just one meeting he was inspired by MIN's mission, decided to find out more about MIN and how he could make use of his personal skills to help drive strategic growth to the charity.
With over a decade of business development and public relations experience, Ben will be utilising his skills to enhance and develop strong relationships with potential corporate supporters to the charity as well as work with the rest of the team to ensure continual improvement in every area is achieved.
"I really am excited and driven to support such a fantastic local charity that is supporting women who have experienced coercive relationships. This is definitely a cause that is close to my heart and I believe that my skills and expertise can only help the charity grow and support more Mins."
Volunteers
Corinne, Social Media Volunteer
Corinne set up her own Virtual Assistant business (WiseNotes) in 2019, working with a variety of small businesses taking on various admin/business support tasks to help give them extra time to grow and develop their organisation.
Corinne's initial role at MIN involved directly supporting the caseworkers with email management, such as inputting of emails and correspondence into the MIN database and collating responses from surveys on google forms.
in 2023 she moved to the social media team, and will be supporting the team up schedule posts onto our social media platforms.
"I’m grateful for the opportunity MIN has provided. It’s very satisfying knowing, that by taking away some of the administrative pressure from the case workers they are able to support more women access the vital services MIN provides and for me it’s helped build my confidence both personally and in using a variety of new IT systems in our changing business landscape where more companies are outsourcing administration and business support to ensure that they receive just the service they need in a more productive cost effective manner."
Kathy, Social Media Volunteer
Kathy joined Mums In Need at the end of 2019. She has lots of experience of volunteering for local charities and is currently also a volunteer for St Luke’s hospice. She works part-time for Abbeyfield and is in the process of completing a foundation year in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Kathy initially volunteered in the Fundraising team, supporting the promotion of Mums In Need through her experience of public speaking at local groups and networking events, alongside assisting the fundraising team.
In 2023 Kathy joined the Social Media Team, supporting them with engagement on our social media platforms.
"I am passionate about supporting mums that find themselves in distressing and challenging situations through no fault of their own."
Cristina, Media Volunteer: Newsletter
Cristina has been part of the MIN team since 2021. Initially she was part of the service delivery team, and then she has volunteered on the media and marketing team since 2022.
In February 2023, MIN launched their first ever newsletter.
Cristina will be working on the media team, by creating content for our monthly newsletter.
enquiries@mumsinneed.com
Sasha, Admin Volunteer
Sasha is our newest member of the team, joining Mums In Need as an admin volunteer in June 2022. Born in South Africa, Sasha moved to mainland Europe in 2004 and then to Sheffield in 2016 to complete both a BA and a MA at the University of Sheffield. She brings an abundance of volunteer experience, previously having volunteered for organisations such as Mind and the Red Cross (which she spent a particularly memorable year as a play volunteer at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town).
"I am extremely passionate about Mums In Need’s cause and constantly in awe of the talented and hardworking individuals who make up this organisation. I heard about Mums In Need through a friend and was immediately drawn to the fact that they focus on aspects of abuse recovery that are often overlooked by others. As a volunteer, I firmly believe that time is our greatest and most precious commodity, and as such there is nothing more important that we could give to remarkable charities like Mums In Need."
Shreya, Admin Volunteer
Shreya started volunteering with Mums In Need in November 2020 whilst studying medicine at the University of Sheffield. Shreya works on group support, helping out the media and marketing team with the blogs, creating and designing content, paperwork and any other things that need doing.
"I am glad I am able to offer my services to such an important charity, and after volunteering with Mums In Need for my community placement, I am excited I decided to stay on and make a positive impact."
Alan, IT & Fundraising Volunteer
Alan has volunteered with Mums In Need since 2016, and is one of MIN's first volunteers.
Through his 39 years as a Systems Technician in the IT and computer hardware industry he has gained extensive and specialised IT skills which he now shares with MIN. His role has recently changed to not only providing technical support, but also fundraising opportunities in the IT industry.
"I was looking for some way to use my skills in a positive way. It was some years back when I got new neighbours I found out about MIN, as my new neighbours were Laura and her family. They needed computers, I had them and then began a long association with the charity. So here I am and very happy to be here."
Counsellors
Heidi, Counsellor
Heidi is an experienced counsellor, having been qualified since 2012, she has a particular interest in the power dynamics of inter-relational abuse due to her own personal experiences. Heidi helps her clients deal more effectively with difficulties by assisting them to tap into their inner-resources and find their own direction.
Heidi works in compassionate and non-pathologising way, aiming to offer hope during difficult times, followed by healing.
"I have been connected to Mums In Need for a few years now and I offer telephone counselling to women who use Mums In Need's services."
Sally, Counsellor
Sally is an experienced and qualified counsellor who has worked with a wide range of difficulties faced by individuals.
Sally will provide counselling for mums who have left emotionally and mentally abusive relationships. She is extremely passionate about being there to help and listen to mums in these circumstances and help them to move forwards in a safe space.
"I feel excited and privileged to join the team at Mums In Need. Rebuilding a life in the aftermath of coercive control, particularly when the perpetrator is a parent to the mum's child/children, is often a complex process. The funding to increase this service will make a huge difference."
Advocates
Sara Pascoe, Comedian
Sara met our CEO at Stylist Magazine's Remarkable Women Awards 2019. Since finding out about what we do, Sara has been a huge supporter of Mums In Need. Sara hosted a wonderful evening in support of Mums In Need on the 21st December 2019 at the Bloomsbury Theatre, including a handful of other top female comics.
Susan Cookson, Actress
Susan started volunteering with Mums In Need in 2018, shortly before she was whisked off to Emmerdale village to play villainous Lee's mother, Wendy Posner! Susan played an essential part in getting our office back up and running a few years ago when we moved offices, and continues to provide her support when she can.