As a charity and a healthcare organisation, it is vital that the public, our clients and commissioners have confidence that the service we provide, is robust, fit for purpose, safe and appropriate.
The governance of our organisation starts with our board of Trustees who have ultimate responsibility for the organisation. Governance is then split between Clinical Governance and Corporate Governance.
Chief Officers
The Chief Officers are a team of experts in their individual fields who support our Chief Executive to set strategic direction for BPAS.
- Role and Responsibilities: The Chief Officers, previously known as the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), support the Chief Executive in setting the strategic direction for BPAS. They develop, implement, and monitor the annual Business Plan.
- Team Functions: Each member has specific functions and responsibilities, leading their respective teams. They set frameworks and policies to support organisational objectives and provide a collective view on issues impacting BPAS.
- Advocacy and Equality: The team identifies advocacy opportunities and is responsible for Equality & Diversity within the organisation and for our patients.
- Commitment to Inclusion: They believe that the quality of care and improvements at BPAS are only possible when every member feels valued and included. Each Chief Officer engages with the wider BPAS community, including frontline and support staff.
Heidi has over 25 years’ experience leading brilliant teams for some of the UK's largest private and public sector outsourcers and charities across sectors including insurance, mental health, housing, employment, justice, learning disability and social care. As a Director at Rethink Mental Illness she sat on the Governments Mental Health Taskforce to drive improvements in mental health services.
She also set up a social purpose organisation helping young people into employment and secure £1m social venture funding. Heidi was one of the first recipients of Princes Trust support, setting up my first business at 16, and a passionate supporter of improving outcomes for young women. Previously a trustee of The Big Issue having experienced homelessness first hand as a young adult.
Laura Clare is the Chief Finance Officer with responsibility for the finance, business development and governance departments. Laura is a charted accountant with an extensive background in healthcare finance.
Before joining BPAS Laura spent nearly 20 years working within the NHS, where she held various senior financial management roles. Her career began as a graduate finance trainee in a Primary Care Trust , gaining experience in work placements across both hospital and community trusts whilst studying for her accounting qualifications . She quickly advanced to more strategic positions, overseeing large budgets and complex financial portfolios across entire healthcare systems.
Laura’s experience includes promoting effective partnerships and improving governance arrangements, overseeing many corporate service departments such as Information Governance, Counter Fraud, IT, Business Intelligence, Contracting and Procurement. Laura strongly believes that corporate service teams are essential in ensuring front line services are able to function in the most effective way. Throughout her tenure in the NHS, Laura was committed to ensuring efficient use of resources and improving financial sustainability, all while maintaining focus on the best outcomes for patients.
Laura’s decision to transition into the charity sector was fuelled by her passion to make a difference to patients experiences and a keen interest in women’s healthcare. Laura plays a critical role in shaping BPAS’ financial strategy , ensuring the charity is financially equipped to deliver outstanding services , advocate for women and fund essential research.
Awaiting biography
Jo Deans is the Chief People Officer, with responsibility for delivering a strategic people agenda supporting the BPAS workforce to be capable of delivering high quality services in line with BPAS’ mission, vision, values and charitable aims. Jo has oversight of recruitment and resourcing, HR operations, employee relations, learning and development, internal communications and employee engagement, (including Equality, Diversity & Inclusion).
Jo’s career started with training to be a Primary School teacher and quickly diverted into people management, where she cut her teeth within the Financial Services industry. A natural interest in people led her to formalise her people experience and HR qualifications and, in 2008, (whilst trying to juggle a new career and a small family), she joined BPAS as a part time HR Administrator. Since that time, Jo has moved through several key HR roles, each one adding a layer of skills and experiences that have served to inform and deliver against the strategic requirements of her current role.
In addition to her role at BPAS, Jo provides generalist HR support to her family business and volunteers as a Governor at her local primary school (where she is a Designated Safeguarding Lead). She is an active supporter and volunteer at her local rugby club in her spare time.
Whilst it is important that the Chief People Officer is the guardian of people policies and processes and the fairness and consistency these bring. Jo believes the most crucial part of her role is to advocate for, promote, foster, and deliver a well-functioning workplace culture where the people can thrive.
Nigel has a clinical background as a consultant gynaecological oncologist and has held senior roles in health care and health care regulation over the last 15 years. He was a regional medical director in NHS England, deputy chief inspector of hospitals at the Care Quality Commission and most recently Chief Medical Officer in an Integrated Care Board.
Adam has worked at BPAS for over 22 years, bringing deep expertise in digital transformation, cybersecurity, and operational technology. As Chief Technology Officer, he is responsible for shaping and delivering the organisation’s IT strategy, ensuring the infrastructure, systems, and digital services support the delivery of high-quality care.
Adam has led the development and implementation of large-scale IT programmes, including secure electronic health records, cloud migration, modernisation of telephony systems, and the rollout of collaboration tools to support hybrid working. He has played a central role in aligning technology with the charity’s strategic goals, building resilient systems, and ensuring compliance with data protection and cybersecurity standards.
Over his career at BPAS, Adam has fostered a high-performing and collaborative IT team. He is committed to leveraging technology to improve patient outcomes, enhance staff experience, and ensure that BPAS remains agile and responsive in a changing healthcare environment.
Natalie Blunt has over 15 years of experience in a not-for-profit social enterprise that delivered a wide range of health services and products in partnership with the NHS and the wider health and social care system. During this time, she served on the Board and held the role of Managing Director for musculoskeletal services across Sussex.
She has worked across various areas of healthcare, including gynaecology services, mental health, and emergency care. Until recently, she also served as Chair of Brighton Women’s Centre, one of the longest-established women’s centres in the country.
Natalie’s professional passions include social justice, tackling health inequities, and championing personalised care.
Awaiting biography
BPAS Trustees
Our board of trustees ultimately lead our organisation. They are appointed to ensure we are doing what we were set-up to do and that we continue to achieve our goals and objectives. Each member of our board of trustees has specific skills, knowledge and experience to help us deliver our service and our strategy.
Our current board of Trustees are listed below:
Sam Smethers is a charity consultant and systems coach and has 12 years’ experience as a voluntary sector chief executive. Most recently as the CEO of the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights where she led the charity for five years until December 2020. Prior to running Fawcett, she was the Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus for seven years. She has extensive fundraising, governance, campaigns and communications experience. Sam has previously worked for the Equal Opportunities Commission as their Director of Public Affairs and also has nine years’ experience of working in parliament. She also sits on the board of Public Voice, a CIC specialising in service user co-design and is Chair of campaigning charity Pregnant Then Screwed.
An experienced professional healthcare leader, with a wide range of experience and achievements in Womens Health, service delivery, governance and most recently in Regulation both in the UK and in Ireland.
Dawn completed her Nurse Training in Dublin and her midwifery training in Surrey in the UK She spent many years working in hospital and community settings working in women’s health. She moved into management and was General Manager/ Director of Maternity Gynaecology and Children’s Services in a large London Hospital Trust. She relocated to Ireland in 2014 to take up the post of Group Director of Midwifery in the West of Ireland.
Dawn was appointed a Board Member of NMBI (Irish regulator for Nurses and Midwives) in 2015 to represent Directors of Nursing and Midwifery in the Irish Health Service but resigned from this role when she was appointed to the NMBI staff as Director of Midwifery in 2017
Dawn has in the past was a Fitness to Practice Panelist for 8 years with the NMC (UK) and has also assisted with reviews of services for the Health Care Commission (UK) and Health Inspectorate Wales.
Sanjay Shah has over 30 years' board-level experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, across both the private and charitable sectors. His experience covers audit, financial and general management, strategic planning, investment, risk management and corporate governance.
Mr Shah studied economics at the University of Essex and in New York and began his career with Barclays Bank. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he spent 24 years in various finance and operational roles, including as Chief Financial Officer of The London Clinic from 2003 to 2014.
He then spent seven years in Saudi Arabia as a Board Member and Executive Vice President of the Fakeeh Care Group, Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, Fakeeh University Hospital (Dubai) and the Fakeeh Family Investment Office. He was also Executive Chairman of Kameda Arabia, a leading healthtech company, and a Board Member of Saudia Medical Services.
Mr Shah is currently a Board Member and Trustee of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and Chairman of its Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. He is a Trustee at the Royal Society of Medicine, King Edward V11 hospital, and Governor at Bath Spa University.
Julian is an experienced Non-Executive Director having held Board posts in a number of sectors. He is currently board chair of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber Training, and a Non-Executive Director with both the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and The Environmental Trust Scheme Regulatory Body. He is also a past president of the London Institute of Banking and Finance for Coventry and Warwickshire.
Julian's executive career was in financial services. He was part of the Executive leadership team and led the HR function at Coventry Building Society, where he worked for nearly 25 years. His early career was spent with the Thomas Cook Group and Marks and Spencer plc.
Julian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the London Institute of Banking and Finance.
Julian is passionate about promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, developing high performing teams and delivering excellent customer service.
Graham Colbert studied Chemistry at Exeter University before qualifying as a Chartered Account in Birmingham. He continued his career by joining a large multi national company and spent the next 25 years working across research and development, supply chain and sales and marketing, experiencing different healthcare systems in Europe, The Americas and Asia. In 2014 Graham joined Genomics England and worked alongside the NHS and other partners to deliver the ground breaking 100,000 Genome Programme. He has experience of the NHS as a non-executive director and interim chair and has served as a trustee of two national charities, both working within healthcare.
Ed Dorman is a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist working in East London since 1999. He is a passionate advocate for reproductive health rights and has been an active abortion provider throughout his career in the NHS. For the past 5 years he has also worked as a surgeon for BPAS.
He is co-chair of the RCOG abortion task force which brings together key players with the aim of improving access to abortion care and ensuring the sustainability of services for the future. One of his key concerns is the establishment of robust systems for training future generations of abortion providers, particularly surgeons, with skills in second trimester abortion. He is a UK representative on the board of FIAPAC and is on the education and training committee of BSACP.
He is a keen musician and is a highly regarded French horn player, playing regularly in orchestras in London and in Europe
Debra joined BPAS in 2023 and has been a member of the Clinical Governance committee.
Debra is a nurse by background and has always worked within women’s health, in many different areas and settings. She is passionate about advanced nursing practice and nurse education. She teaches and works with the Royal College of Nursing Women’s Health forum to develop the role of the nurse within women’s health and education to underpin practice, working with a wide network of nurses in the UK and beyond.
Debra says – I have had women’s choice in all areas of healthcare at the centre of my career and am excited to be with BPAS to help to shape and develop abortion care services.
Siobhan Kenny MBE is an experienced CEO, Board Executive and Non-Executive, specialising in the Creative Industries and Government, with a background in marketing and communications. Currently advising a variety of media businesses in the UK and Ireland as well as mentoring senior women.
Siobhan worked in strategic communications in No10 Downing Street in the late 90s and launched the London Olympic bid as Director of Strategy and Communications at DCMS. She spent seven years as CEO of Radiocentre, the industry body for commercial radio, before launching her own consultancy in 2022.
Welcoming our newest trustee, Dr Caroline Turner, an accomplished Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health having worked in the NHS for 30 years. She brings a wealth of experience in genitourinary medicine and reproductive health, coupled with a proven track record in leadership, clinical governance, clinical excellence, research and education. Caroline is fuelled by a passion for our cause, evident from a 20 year career in Sexual Health. She joins us with a commitment to advancing our mission and contributing to our growth. Beyond her professional achievements she has a passion for advocating for women’s’ rights. As she steps into this role, Caroline envisions a future where our clients have barrier free reproductive choice and receive high quality, safe innovative care. We are excited to benefit from her expertise, dedication, and fresh perspective as we collectively strive to make a meaningful impact in our community. Welcome aboard, Caroline!
Natasha has been a trustee since November 2021, Natasha has over 20 years of experience in digital, undertaking both operational and management roles at a senior level. Natasha is a graduate of Imperial college London, and the NHS Digital Academy. Natasha has led several high-profile NHS England’s digital and diagnostic programmes across the Southeast region over the last 5 years including the tech delivery for the SE Vaccination programme and is currently leading on the implementation of Frontline Digitisation, digitizing diagnostics and the EPR leveling up programme.
Natasha is passionate about women’s health and addressing the health inequalities that are in health, with a specific interest in gender bias in AI. Natasha is currently supporting the KSS Health Innovation Network deliver the Women’s Health Strategy. She is also supporting the professionalization of DDAT workforce and women in technology across the NHS.
Sheelagh joined the BPAS Research and Ethics Committee in 2016 and was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2019. She is currently a member of the Governance, Remuneration and Nominations Committee.
Sheelagh is a legal academic with particular interests in health law and the regulation of reproduction. She is a Professor of Law at the University of Bristol Law School and a member of the School's Centre for Health, Law, and Society. Prior to working at Bristol Sheelagh held posts at the University of Birmingham and Keele University.