Meet the Team
Dedicated individuals supporting Edward’s Trust’s mission with passion and expertise
Trustees
Christine Bodkin
Chair
Christine is a founding member of Edward’s Trust. If you need to know anything about the history of our charity, you can guarantee Christine will know it.
Christine first met Edward and his parents while working with the Oncology Team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. In this role she supported Edward’s Trust in establishing Edward House, a home from home for parents of sick children.
In 1993, Christine was appointed to set up Edward’s Trust bereavement services, initially supporting bereaved parents and then expanding the service to support bereaved children and young people.
Christine was Chief Executive of Edward’s Trust for many years. After stepping down from the role as CEO she became a Trustee in 2017 and was appointed Chair of Trustees in 2023.
Christine is a qualified Social Worker, Counsellor, Wellbeing Therapist and Voluntary Sector Manager. Her work with bereaved parents led her to undertake extensive research on the physical and emotional impact of parents grief both in the short term and long term. This work and the bereaved parents she supported inspired Christine to complete a BSc (Hons) degree in Complementary Therapies. Following this Christine helped Edward’s Trust set up and develop our Wellbeing in Bereavement services – complementary therapies, wellbeing workshops and our retreat and respite bereavement care weekends.
Edward’s Trust is proud to have been at the forefront of the development of holistic bereavement support services since 1993. Christine remains deeply committed to Edward’s Trust’s aim of ensuring bereaved parents, children and young people receive compassionate holistic bereavement support and counselling.
Peter Dent
Vice Chair & Honorary President
Hello, I’m Peter Dent. I’m a retired Chartered Surveyor and semi-retired academic. I still help to run international academic seminars and professional training programmes from the comfort of the home office.
Following the death of my first son, we set up Edward’s Trust in 1989. It is heartening to think that, from our own personal loss, we have been able to support so many families over the years. Living with loss is a lifetime learning experience. It has affected my life and the path I have taken (or not) in so many ways. I am currently Vice-Chair of the charity.
Whilst I had the original vision for Edward’s Trust, I encourage staff, trustees, volunteers and supporters to take a vision forward that meets today’s needs. The Trust has always aspired to be at the forefront of family bereavement support in the West Midlands. We have achieved that through creativity, innovation and imagination which together with our values has not only provided a lifeline for so many families but has helped many to realise previously untapped potential in their lives.
When we have children, we take for granted that they will be a part of our lives going forward. If that doesn’t happen, then that can rock the foundations of family life. I am fortunate to have Chris, my younger son. He is married with two daughters. They, together with my wife, Regula, are a constant reminder to me that life goes on in so many positive ways.
Chris Hurley
Trustee
I have been a Trustee at Edward’s Trust since retiring from my full-time job in the Investment industry in 2021. I was drawn to Edward’s Trust because of its fantastic reputation, leading service provision and caring staff. Having never been able to commit time to a charitable cause I was determined to make up for this lost time and support a local Birmingham charity to continue in its journey of service excellence for the local community.
Peter Barrett
Trustee
Hello, my name is Peter Barrett. I am a Chartered Surveyor, and following a very varied career in the public and private sector and in education, I am now retired, which gives me more time to support the work of Edward’s Trust.
I have been a part of the Trust for over thirty years and I am immensely proud of the work that our dedicated professional staff do to support bereaved families.
Over the years I have seen the Trust become established as one of the leading bereavement charities in the West Midlands, if not the country, and I have no doubt it will continue to develop in the future.
Outside of the Trust I am also a trustee and former performer with Kaleidoscope Theatre, a Shropshire based charity working with young people with Downs Syndrome, and a volunteer with the RSPB at Sandwell Valley Nature Reserve.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, crosswords and now my playing days are a distant memory, coaching the England rugby team from the comfort of my armchair or the stands at Twickenham.
Áine Harkin
Trustee
Áine is an intuitive eating counsellor and wellbeing coach. She says, ‘I first began supporting Edward’s Trust in 2017 after I met the Head of Fundraising at a local networking event. At the time I was looking for a charity to support, as I had set myself 3 challenges to complete that year. As soon as I learned more about the work of Edward’s Trust, I knew this was the charity I wanted to become involved in. I lost my dad when I was 5 years old, so it was certainly a charity that felt was very close to my heart and why I continue to support Edward’s Trust as much as I can.
I love being a member of the FOET (Friends Of Edwards Trust) group so it was important to me, when joining the Trustee board, that I could still be involved as a volunteer in some way. Maintaining a strong link between the Volunteers and Trustees is what I’m a particularly keen to do, as I feel it is important for the volunteers to be involved and to be a part of the future plans for Edward’s Trust.
After being involved with Edward’s Trust for some time now, I can see how our services are truly life changing for both children and parents. Now, as a Trustee and Volunteer, I feel honoured to be a part of helping to support and grow the services at Edward’s Trust, services that will always be needed.
Teams
Clare Martin
CEO
Fundraising Team
Amber Scales
Interim Head of Fundraising
Philippa Green
Fundraiser
Holly Hawkesford
Community & Volunteer Fundraiser
Thomas Lawley
Fundraising Assistant
Service Delivery Team
Justine Wilson
Clinical Lead
Kate Barsby
Bereavement Services Manager
Liz Palmer
Administrator
Counsellors:
- Steve Pearce
- Bindu Parikh
- Dee Lytton
- Val Fowke
- Tracey Cox
- Vicky Avis
Patrons & Ambassadors
Judy Dyke MBE
Nikki Tapper MBE
Nick Owen MBE
David Christie
Will Farmer
Richard Page
Mat McSwiggan
