Rachel Cullen
Chair of Board

Rachel is a specialist in public health with a focus on women's rights and on the provision of quality health care.

Caroline Baker

Caroline works at Comic Relief as a Senior Partnership Manager, making, managing and monitoring grants. Prior to this she headed the Concern Worldwide office in Tanzania, and was Quality Assurance Manager on a health systems strengthening programme in Malawi.

Caroline’s expertise is in managing health-focused programmes, including maternal newborn and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health. She has also worked at Options Consultancy Services (sister organisation to Marie Stopes International), HTSPE Limited and Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International) in both Liberia and the UK. Caroline has lived, worked and travelled in 26 different countries in Africa.

Louise Morris

Louise has spent over 10 years fundraising, having increased income and profit for a range of causes.

Specialising in philanthropy, Louise now helps charities - both large and small - raise more money by launching and improving their major gift and capital appeal fundraising.

Louise is also a keen rock climber, leads her local Beaver Scout group and loves spending time with her husband, boys, cat and chickens!

Christopher Thorpe
Vice-Chair of Board

Christopher is an IT expert with extensive project and programme management experience. His skills and expertise lie in enabling business to achieve their goals and thrives on making a difference. 

Christopher has a background working in the private, commercial and public sectors. He is currently working for Rosebery Housing Association, where he is Head of IT. 

John Davis

John is a business leader and expert in banking, SMEs and technology. After time at Lehman Brothers and Sky, he worked for 10 years as the Marketing Director for Barclays Business before running a scale up company called BCSG.

John now acts as a NED, Trustee and consultant to a range of companies and charities. He also spends time with his wife and three daughters.

Priti Dave

Priti has over 30 years’ experience working in global public health, including sexual and reproductive health, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, and HIV/AIDs. Her expertise includes policy advocacy, health systems strengthening, and strategic evaluation.

She has undertaken work for FCDO (formerly DFID), the World Bank, EU, UNAIDS, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and more across the UK, Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. Priti is currently a freelance consultant.

Laura Bessell
Treasurer

Laura is a Qualified Chartered Accountant and currently the COO of the Argonon Group, an umbrella group for 12 brands producing television. She is responsible for Operations, Finance, Legal, Post Production, IP exploitation, M&A and Integration.

Laura has also worked at Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Shed Media, Sky and as an Audit Manager at PwC.

Bishu Solomon

Bishu is an expert and business leader in the legal technology and professional services space. She’s currently Director of Customer Success for Access Legal, where she manages a portfolio of over 4,000 legal customers.

As an Ethiopian-born Canadian immigrant now living in the UK, Bishu has a keen interest in supporting Women and Children First’s mission. She strongly believes in empowering vulnerable communities, helping them tackle health challenges and creating a foundation on which they can not only survive, but thrive.