In accordance with the charity’s constitution, the Trustees are responsible for the strategic management of the charity.
Trustees are elected annually at the charity’s Annual General Meeting. The Trustees elected at the 2023 AGM are as follows:
Gopal Bhachu (Chair of Trustees)
Gopal is currently the Chair of Trustees.
Sharon Daniels
Sharon joined the trustees in 2023.
Leslie Pappoe (Honorary Treasurer)
Having worked extensively in finance and being actively involved in charitable work, Leslie joined the trustees in 2019.
Sadhana Patel
Sadhana was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2023. She has worked at a Primary School in the Pinner area for 19 years . The experience she brings as a new Trustee is that she has been on several fund-raising committees through her time, both working in school and also at her children’s schools. Sadhana also brings the experience of committee protocol, having been a Clerk to School Governors for over 5 years.
Bobbi Riesel
Bobbi Riesel was trained as a Bereavement Visitor with HCBVS (now Bereavement Care) and later completed training as a Psychodynamic Counsellor. She is a Bereavement Group Leader and has served on the Management Committee (now the Board of Trustees) for many years and as Head of Training, is responsible for organising the initial and on-going training of our volunteers.
Tony Simmonds
Tony is a retired Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant with over sixty years experience in professional practice and commerce, including the charity and public sectors. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2023.
Richard Segalov
Richard is Bereavement Care’s Safeguarding Lead. He is a qualified social worker and leads the Pinner Synagogue Bereavement Group.
Sheila Small
Sheila joined the trustees in 2023.
Dr Charlotte Spencer
Charlotte joined the trustees in 2023. She qualified as mental health nurse and achieved a professional doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy. She is experienced in training, education, supervision and system thinking. She was elected as Church Warden at Holy Trinity Northwood in 2023 and interested in mission outreach and Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) issues. She provides advisory support to the course The Bereavement Journey at Holy Trinity Northwood.
Dr John Spencer
John is a retired Hospital NHS Consultant who also worked for ten years with a large international charity. He was nominated to the Board of Trustees in 2021 by the Harrow Deanery Synod of the Diocese of London (Church of England). He is also a Trustee of the benefice of Holy Trinity Northwood where he leads the local bereavement support group. He also organises the support course The Bereavement Journey for seven weeks twice a year for small groups.
Aviva Wilford
Aviva joined the trustees in 2023. She is an expert in marketing, investor relations and led a successful career working for top FTSE companies. She spearheaded one of the first City women in business network groups in the mid ’80’s. Aviva is Vice Chair of Northwood and Ruislip United Synagogue and since retiring has advised among others the Roth Trust and the Revitalise Charity supporting carers. Aviva also enjoys studying history of art, painting in acrylics and is a regular visitor to art galleries, museums and the theatre.