Paula Ojok - Chief Executive
Paula is Chief Executive of Helplines Partnership, having joined the organisation in 2008 when it was Mental Health Helplines Partnership. The organisation subsequently merged (2012) with The Helplines Association to form Helplines Partnership. Over the years Paula has progressed into a variety of management and Director roles until becoming Chief Executive in 2018. Mental health and wellbeing are of the utmost importance to Paula and this passion is evident in both her work and personal life. She lives with her family on The Wirral and you will often find her either walking or running with her Cocker Spaniel on New Brighton or West Kirby beach.
Gemma Khairi - Director Of Operations
Gemma is the Director of Operations. She has an MA in Criminology, Rights and Justice that largely focused on children and young people and mental health. She began her career working with vulnerable adults who had suffered drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues, before moving into working with young Care leavers, Street sex workers, and those affected by, or with, HIV. Gemma has extensive experience in safeguarding, child protection and the Helpline sector and feels very passionate about both. She has wide and varied operational management and leadership experience within the charity sector, having previously managed a large national volunteer-led service. Privately, Gemma is dedicated to her weight training and fitness, loves time by the waterfront with good food and enjoys a well-made cocktail, Negroni being a favourite.
Lorraine Pearce - Head Of Administration
Lorraine has worked for Helplines Partnership since 2009 and has extensive and varied experience of working in administrative roles for the private, public and charity sectors. She likes to support others where possible, having previously volunteered on a helpline and by currently offering administrative support to her husband, who is Chair of a local voluntary environmental charity. Her role at HLP is varied and includes governance, human resources, general administration, health & safety, no two days are the same. Outside of work, Lorraine enjoys walking in the countryside, reading, yoga, meditation, travel and meeting up with family and friends.
Laura Dowswell - Head Of Finance
Laura is the Head of Finance and qualified as an Accounting Technician in 2000 after completing her training in general practice and in 2012 gained Fellow status as an FMAAT member. She started working as a finance officer for a local Church in 2008 which sparked her interest in working in the Charity Finance sector. She is also HLP’s lead assessor for the Helplines Standard and enjoys learning more about our member helplines and the services they offer. In her free time, Laura loves the beach life in both summer and winter as she lives with her family on the coast of West Sussex and can often be found taking a therapeutic dip in the sea.
Sam Bromiley - Policy and External Affairs Manager
Sam joined Helplines Partnership in October 2021 having previously worked for a health charity as well as in Parliament. He has experience working in policy across the health and disability sector and in his spare time is a local Councillor, focussing on children’s social care and care leavers. He has also led participation work in research projects and is keen to ensure the value and impact of helplines is evidenced. Sam leads HLP’s work on a wide range of policy issues relating to helplines and is looking forward to working with our membership to develop strategic policy activity. He lives with his family in the West Country and enjoys paddle boarding whenever possible.
Liz Champion - Senior Marketing and Communications Lead
Liz began her career as a journalist, writing for a variety of weird and wonderful magazines, before moving into communications and marketing in the charity sector. Her first position in the sector was back in 2005, working for Epilepsy Action as publications manager. Since then, she has spent most of her career promoting the work of health charities.
Liz is passionate about writing and storytelling and loves that she can use her skills to help organisations that are making a difference. After five years working for a gut-health charity, Liz joined Helplines Partnership in 2024 and is excited to raise awareness of helplines and the amazing work of our members.
Stella Pearson - Trainer and Consultant
Stella has worked in helplines for 15 years, with a background in information provision and training in charities. With an MA in Information Studies, her first career in academic libraries also involved teaching and assessing students and planning for courses. Joining Helplines Partnership in March 2021, she enjoys being part of a team, and learning alongside people from a wide range of support services. She is always struck by the high levels of skill and commitment offered by helplines.
Away from work, Stella volunteers for a charity supporting vulnerable families and focuses on time with family, music, walking and nature. In lockdown she created a pond in her garden and feels privileged to see damselflies, tiny frogs, and a whole ecosystem develop. Wellbeing for her is about looking outward, connecting, humour and being thankful.
Rosie Swan - Helplines Standard Co-ordinator and Assessor
Rosie’s career began in Early Years, where she worked with children and young people, and their families, in a variety of support roles. Rosie came to find her passion for the role of helplines in society when she became Helpline Coordinator at a city-wide domestic abuse charity in 2018. Rosie is a big advocate for supporting the health and wellbeing of helpline teams, and is passionate about promoting positive mental health in the workplace, and she enjoys meeting and learning about member helplines and their impact. In her spare time, Rosie loves to escape city life in Birmingham; finding new countryside walks, farm shops, and quiet camping spots by the sea.
Molly Dawson - Services Co-ordinator Executive
Molly has been with Helplines Partnership for two years supporting both the Training and Consultancy Teams. Although she doesn’t come from a helpline background, she has developed a deep respect and admiration for the incredible work that helpline staff undertake daily. Each individual she has met whilst at HLP has left a lasting impression, serving as an inspiration and motivation to one day follow in these footsteps. In her spare time Molly enjoys attending music festivals, gardening and adventures with her family.
Christian Murphy - Trainer
Christian has a long and varied professional career, going back over 25 years. The majority of this time was spent delivering offending behaviour programmes and staff training within a criminal justice setting. He has a BSc Hons in English Literature & Creative Writing, plus qualifications in adult learning and children & young people’s mental health. He has also completed a diverse range of job-specific training courses, from First Responder Emergency Care and Mental Health First Aid to Cocktail Flaring! In his professional life he is passionate about working in helping industries and in his personal life loves movies, music and collecting books.
Brad Moehringer - Partnership and Engagement Manager
Brad joined Helplines Partnership in 2023 after relocating to the UK from America for his wife’s career. Prior to joining the team, he completed his MA in public policy and administration while leading a local volunteer charity supporting American military personal and their families in the Cambridgeshire area. He oversees the Membership team and has a deep belief in the power of collaboration and partnership. He strives to build strong relationships within every team or community he works with. Outside of work Brad loves travelling to new places, enjoying a nice meal, and spending time with his family. If he’s not doing those things, you will probably find him on the golf course.
Michelle Fernandes - Helplines Standard Co-ordinator and Assessor
Michelle's professional journey in the helpline sector began through dedicated volunteering with a crisis line. Through witnessing the invaluable impact of helplines on societal well-being, Michelle progressed to training and coaching volunteers. Prior to joining Helplines Partnership, Michelle assumed the role of Helpline Supervisor with a nationwide missing person's helpline. She has a deep-seated passion for encouraging personal development, firmly believing that opportunities for development leads to good practice. Outside of her professional pursuits, Michelle enjoys immersing herself into running, crocheting, podcasts, and the world of gaming, all while spending quality time with loved ones.
Our Trustees
Elizabeth Rimmer - Chair
Elizabeth is the CEO of Lawcare, the mental health charity for the UK legal sector. She started her working life as a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence, practicing at Leigh Day. She joined LawCare from the Institute of Group Analysis, a membership and training organisation for group psychotherapists. Before that, she headed up Alzheimer’s Disease International, a worldwide federation of Alzheimer Associations. Elizabeth is a member of the International Bar Association's Professional Wellbeing Commission and chairs the Commission's regulatory and ethics committee.
Debbie Sadler - Elected Member Trustee
Debbie works for Unlock as an Advice Manager. She oversees the Unlock helpline which provides information, advice and support to people facing stigma and obstacles regarding a criminal record. Knowing that the helpline can reassure and reduce a caller's fears or help them to access support from other organisations gives her the motivation to get up in the morning. Unlock has been a member of HLP for many years and Debbie has been lucky enough to attend several HLP conferences which resulted in Unlock winning an award in 2014 for ‘Best Use of Innovative Technology’ and also receiving a ‘Star Member Award’ in 2019.
Katie Foulser - Elected Member Trustee
Katie has worked for Rethink Mental Illness for almost 20 years. Katie is currently the Acting Deputy Associate Director for Community Services and her substantive role is as Head of Community Services South.
Rethink currently has seven mental health helplines and is extremely pleased to be a Helplines Partnership member and proud to hold the Quality Standard. Rethink helplines provide emotional support, crisis management, information and signposting and many of these are open 24/7 or out of office hours when callers most need support.
Katie is really passionate about helplines and has directly managed various mental health helplines during her career at an operational and strategic level and was extremely keen to become a trustee of HLP to contribute her experience and skills and give something back.
Sarah Timms - Elected Member Trustee
Sarah has worked for ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity for over 5 years as the Head of Family Services. Sarah oversees ERIC’s busy national Helpline, as well as providing other supportive services for families of children suffering from bowel or bladder conditions.
With a background of family support work and safeguarding, Sarah feels passionate about supporting mental health and wellbeing amongst her team, and the wider ERIC staff and volunteers.
Having successfully supported ERIC to achieve the Helplines Standard on two occasions, Sarah has built positive relationships with Helplines Partnership and is keen to share her knowledge and experience to support this important charity.
Nisha Motwani - Elected Member Trustee
Nisha Motwani leads Universal Services at Alzheimer’s Society, bringing a wealth of experience from senior roles across fundraising, marketing, and customer engagement in the charity sector. In her current role, Nisha oversees universally accessible support services delivered via telephone, digital, and virtual platforms. She enjoys diving into data, curious about turning raw numbers into insight and using that, alongside user feedback to develop services that prioritise user needs, customer-centricity, and stakeholder involvement.
Outside her professional life, Nisha is a huge fan of sci-fi, horror, and crime shows. She also taught herself to knit during lockdown—nothing too complicated however, so scarves are a speciality.