The charity is governed by a board of 7 trustees:
Tony Bernstein (CHAIR) is a Client Partner for a recruitment search firm, a former EY Consulting Partner and was previously a Partner at Diamond Technology Partners (now PwC). He is a Trustee of a London based charitable trust and a non executive Director of a financial services firm.
Chris Madel (DEPUTY CHAIR) public relations director with the London Communications Agency. His clients have included Marylebone Cricket Club, Chelsea Football Club, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (Kensington Aldridge Academy). Chris is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
George Smith has volunteered for Family Friends since 2010 and has befriended three families as well as helping with fundraising. He has worked mostly in the sports and entertainment industries in client management & marketing. He currently works in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea where he mainly looks after property management and travel for his private clients
Allison Blasch has supported two families as a volunteer for Family Friends. A resident of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, she has volunteered on committees and with groups in the community. Allison has significant experience in finance having worked for Bank of Boston dealing with multinational corporations, and with Merrill Lynch as an Equity Analyst. In addition, she has worked as COO for a gourmet takeaway start-up, and with an internet start-up in a management coordinating capacity.
Ros Bowles is a qualified social worker, having worked in both the voluntary and statutory sector of social care, both in the UK and Australia where she lived for 3 years. In most recent years Ros worked for the NSPCC as well as CEOP where she gained lots of experience and knowledge relating to safeguarding children online. She currently works as a social worker for Children’s Services in Hackney. Ros volunteered with Family Friends between 2016 and 2017, volunteering on both the child mentoring and Grenfell Towers support programme.
Catherine Sandler is an executive coach who has worked with leaders across the business and not-for-profit sectors for the past 25 years. Clients have included EY, John Lewis, Unilever, Burberry, BBC, NHS and Save the Children. She has taught at London Business School, published widely and enjoys helping other coaches develop through training and supervision. She is a qualified counsellor and brings an in-depth psychological perspective to her work. She is also a Family Friends volunteer and has mentored a 10-year old boy.
