Our Senior Leadership Team
Our Senior Leadership Team is employed by the charity and oversees the day-to-day running of activity.
Sherine Wheeler,
Chief Executive
Sherine joined Fire Fighters Charity in April 2024. Having had a successful early career in finance and assurance services, Sherine previously held several leadership roles in the charity sector, including as Chief Executive of Mayhew. She brings extensive experience of working to broaden the reach and deepen the impact of charities, including at Marie Curie, Action for Children and Young Lives vs Cancer. She has also advised a number of charities on strategy, impact and performance.
Sharon Bailey,
Director of Services
Sharon joined Fire Fighters Charity as a Registered Nurse in 1995 and was part of the original team who implemented the charity’s first rehabilitation and nursing services. Before joining the charity, Sharon worked for the NHS within the field of orthopaedic nursing. She has held a number of roles within the organisation, overseeing service development and change, and is responsible for the leadership and management of our services
Joss Gaynor, Director of Impact and Service Partnerships
Joss joined Fire Fighters Charity in 2022 from Brainkind. She brings extensive experience working across the charity sector leading practice and strategic functions. In previous roles Joss has developed and delivered far reaching programmes utilising evidence and insight to influence both local and national structures to create practice, system and policy change.
Ellie Rocks, Director of Fundraising
Ellie joined Fire Fighters Charity in November 2024 and is responsible for the charity’s voluntary income. Ellie has previously held several leadership roles in fundraising including Associate Director of Fundraising at Teenage Cancer Trust. She brings a range of experience in diversifying and growing income across high value and public fundraising income streams.
Ashley Fryer, Director of Engagement
Ashley joined Fire Fighters Charity in November 2024 as Director of Engagement. Ashley brings extensive experience leading communications and media teams at major charities, including Save the Children International, Macmillan Cancer Support and St John Ambulance. She also spent a formative chapter of her early career working in the London Fire Brigade’s press office.
Chris Goonan,
Director of People, Governance and Compliance
Chris has worked in the voluntary sector in leadership roles for several years and joined Fire Fighters Charity in 2011, moving from a children and families charity where she was Director of Resources. With a broad range of experience in human resources she has also been responsible for leading and developing a variety of organisational support functions.
Richard Jenkins, Director of Business Development, Estates and Facilities
Richard leads our multifaceted business development, estates, facilities and customer care functions across the organisation. He has extensive experience in leading both hard and soft estates, facilities and operations services in both commercial services and not for profit organisations. Richard joined Fire Fighters Charity in 2017 as Operations Manager at Harcombe House.
Lizzie McGilveray,
Director of Finance
Lizzie joined Fire Fighters Charity in September 2024 and is responsible for the charity’s financial leadership and management. Having qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with PwC, she has extensive experience as a Finance Director across charitable, not-for-profit and commercial entities. Lizzie has worked across a range of sectors including as Group Finance Director at Crown Agents and as an Operational Finance Director at the Royal Mail.
Our Board of Trustees
Our Trustees are a body of volunteers who bring a wide range of knowledge, experience and expertise to the charity. The Trustees approve our strategic and business plans and annual budget. They must ensure that everything done we do genuinely and solely in pursuit of our objectives. We have 12 Trustees who are appointed by our Company Members.
John Baines, Chair of the Board of Trustees
John served with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service since joining as a fire fighter in 1990 and retired in 2020 as Assistant Chief Fire Officer, leading the Organisational Development Group. Previously as Assistant Chief, John led the Community Safety Group, delivering emergency response together with operations and resilience planning, legislative fire safety, prevention, education and community engagement. He has also co-lead the production of the last two reviews of national operational guidance for Incident Command for the UK Fire Service. Previously John was Vice Chair of the National Fire Chief’s Council’s National Operational Effectiveness working group, Chair of the British American Project, Chair of Northumbria Local Resilience Forum and Chair of Governors at Fellside Community Primary School.
Neil Gibbins, Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees
Neil’s 37-year operational fire service career included serving at all ranks, commencing as a firefighter in Derbyshire. He became Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service after co-directing the merger of the two services. Neil was lead officer for fire protection within the UK Chief Fire Officers Association from 2007 to 2013, and before this, chaired the working group that managed the implementation of the Fire Safety Order by English and Welsh fire services.
Neil is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he is a Past-President and former CEO. He sits on the Advisory Group for The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and is the fire safety lead for CROSS-UK, the confidential reporting system. He has been awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal and has been an active member of the charity for his whole career, from involvement with work parties at Harcombe House in the early 1980s to being a company member.
Simon Routh-Jones, Member of the Board of Trustees
Simon served as a fire officer for over 37 years and retired from his post as Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in April 2016. He was instrumental in Wiltshire’s merger to become Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. He implemented a Juvenile Firesetters programme, intervening and educating young people on the dangers and consequences of fire setting, which subsequently formed part of the national approach to youth education in fire prevention. On his retirement he joined HM Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland in September 2016 and was appointed HM Chief Inspector for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. More recently, Simon has undertaken several Government appointments, forming part of the Castlereagh Foundation and undertaking a review for the Northern Ireland Office. Simon is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers and a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. In 2016, he was awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal for services to the Fire and Rescue Service. In 2020, Simon was awarded the CBE for Services to the Fire & Rescue Service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
George Wood, Member of the Board of Trustees
George is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate of Heriot-Watt University. After starting his career in the profession, he then moved through management consultancy and internal audit into financial services where he worked for many years before entering the not-for-profit sector. He has served in a variety of senior charity FD/CFO roles over the course of the last twenty years, including working for professional membership bodies and benevolent funds and has extensive experience of working with Trustee Boards and Finance/Audit sub-committees.
Chris Bilby, Member of the Board of Trustees
Chris joined Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service in 1982 and served operationally for 32 years, ending his active FRS career as substantive Assistant Divisional Officer in 2016. Chris worked in many roles over the years, but finished running one of the national New Dimensions Asset teams and his service’s Technical Rescue team. He was also a National Tactical Advisor for USAR. Chris maintains a strong connection to the fire service, through his role as Director/Trustee for Fire Fighters Charity and as a Director/Trustee of the Institution of Fire Engineers. As of 2024, Chris will have been an active supporter and fundraiser for the charity for over 40 years and currently serves on the Fire Fighters Charity Staff and Governance Committee.
Michael Graham, Member of the Board of Trustees
Michael served with Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) for over 30 years, joining as a firefighter in 1991 and retiring as the Chief Fire & Rescue Officer (CFRO) in 2021. During his time as CFRO, Michael led the service through a period of significant organisational uncertainty, as well as through the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring him to demonstrate strong, yet compassionate, strategic leadership. Michael also spent three years at the National Fire Service College as an instructor and has a strong background in the development of people, both in the operational environment and as strategic leaders. He has now been a Trustee with Fire Fighters Charity for three years and Chairs the Staff and Governance Committee and Renumeration Committee. Michael has also been a Non-Executive Member of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) for the past two years. He has previously Chaired the NIBTS Audit Committee and currently Chairs the NIBTS Governance and Risk Committee. He is also the NIBTS Board member on the Pathology Blueprint Programme. This is a transformational change programme, that aims to develop a new, more effective, way of delivering pathology services across all of Health and Social Care within Northern Ireland.
Ross Haggart KFSM, Member of the Board of Trustees
Ross is former Chief Officer of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), having retired from this role on 31 October 2024 after 30 years’ service. Prior to becoming Chief Officer, Ross was SFRS’ Deputy Chief Officer, having also served as Assistant Chief Officer, Director of Prevention and Protection. Ross has been a Trustee of Fire Fighters Charity since November 2021; he is also a former Trustee of the National Fire Chiefs Council and former Board Member of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre.
Shantha Dickinson, Member of the Board of Trustees
Shantha is Deputy Chief Officer of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. Within her role, Shantha is responsible for the development of policy, performance and assurance, and organisational learning, for her Service. She also completed the Fire Executive Leadership Programme in 2016 and is an alumna of the National Leadership Centre ‘Accelerate’ programme. Shantha began her career serving as an officer in the British Army, before moving into local government and the fire sector. She has undertaken a variety of roles within Hampshire & Isle of Wight, as well as nationally, which have all shared a common theme: using intelligence to improve firefighter and public safety. Shantha is also the National Fire Chiefs Council lead for the charity, working with a diverse group of colleagues from the sector to enable the charity to extend its reach and relevance to beneficiaries.
Roger Thomas, Member of the Board of Trustees
Roger is currently Chief Fire Officer of Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service (MWWFRS). He has worked in the service since 1996 and has extensive experience managing disparate areas of work, including training delivery, organisational development, national resilience, community risk reduction and corporate planning and performance. In 2007/08, Roger was seconded to Welsh Government, acting as an advisor for the implementation of the Integrated Personal Development System. Roger is also a Trustee of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Vice Chair of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Public Services Boards and Senior Responsible Officer for the Wales Safer Communities Network.
Peter Connolly, Lead Trustee, Digital
Peter is an Operations Manager for the Environment Agency, with expertise in digital transformation, business operations, change management and incident management. Currently, he leads the Environment Agency’s incident response and forecasting system teams. His responsibilities extend to overseeing developments, shaping digital policy, embedding business change and ensuring critical services are highly resilient and secure. In addition to his digital role, Peter has been a Tactical Commander for 15 years, leading the response to, and recovery from, environmental incidents – including flooding, fire, and pollution events. Peter is an accomplished leader and passionate about helping people by evolving business approaches and digital services.
Steve Tolan, Lead Trustee, Clinical
Steve is the London Regional Chief Allied Health Professional for NHS England and NHS Improvement, with a clinical background in physiotherapy. He has been leading the AHP pandemic response for NHS England and Improvement in London including supporting the set-up of London Nightingale, coordinating strategic workforce deployment and leading the delivery of Long Covid services at a regional level. He is also a non-executive director for a health and care innovation hub, Care City. His general professional interests are rehabilitation and recovery, digital healthcare, system transformation, leadership and diversity, and health inequalities.
