Meet the team

Meet the Trustees

Mark Lewis

(Chair)

Trustee since 2008

Mark is a financial services professional and the Chair of the Board of Trustees for my AFK.

ⓘ This means Mark knows a lot about money and he is in charge of all the Trustees at my AFK.

Mark had 30 successful years in senior financial services roles. In 2007, when he was a finance director of a UK retail bank, he realised that he wanted more from life and started to build a portfolio career in the third sector.

“I need to make a difference, and now I jump out of bed with a huge smile on my face every morning! As my AFK’s Chair I am determined to help as many young disabled people as possible into work.

“In my spare time I like to visit historical sites across the globe, sampling local food, wine and culture as I travel along. I also love singing, listening to music, watching football and being an Ambassador for Girlguiding UK.”

Mike Harry

(Vice Chair)

Trustee since 1999

Mike is Vice Chair and our longest standing Trustee, having been with my AFK since 1999. He is a building surveyor specialising in contentious litigation-related issues and planning disputes.

ⓘ This means Mike makes sure that buildings are safe. He is in charge of the Trustees if Mark is not around.

Mike also runs a training programme for people wishing to enter the building trade.

Gurmeet Dhillon

(Treasurer)

Trustee since 2014

Gurmeet is a financial investments professional and has been a my AFK Trustee since 2013.

ⓘ This means Gurmeet knows a lot about money.

Gurmeet works in operations at Pharo Managment. He is also a volunteer fundraiser at my AFK and has raised money for several years before becoming a Trustee.

Peter Mitchell

Trustee since 2015

Peter is a professionally qualified banker who has been a Trustee of my AFK since 2016.

ⓘ This means that Peter knows all about looking after money.

A highly successful board-level Executive Director and General Manager, Peter has a proven record of Business Leadership, Staff Engagement, Operational Excellence, Risk Management, Strategy Development and Change Management gained in a career which has spanned over 35 years in banking. During that time he has worked in retail, corporate and international business. He initially gained experience at Barclays and then at CAF Bank between 2000 and 2013, where he undertook the roles of Chief Operating Officer and, from 2008, Chief Executive.

He joined Smith & Williamson in July 2014 as the partner with overall responsibility for the range of activities carried out by the firms Bank and maintaining the highest levels of client service. Peter has been a member of the Institute of Financial Services and its predecessor the Chartered Institute of Bankers since 1979.

Caroline Hattersley,

MEd MIoD MInsF

Trustee since 2014

Caroline is our lead Trustee on Safeguarding and has 17 years experience working in education and disability charities.

ⓘ This means Caroline is in charge of making sure that my AFK is a safe place for students.

She is currently the Head of Services at women@thewell where she is responsible for overseeing the organisations services and operations. She was previously Deputy CEO at Providence Row, and before that she spent eight years as Head of Information, Advice and Advocacy at the National Autistic Society. Prior to that she was the Community Education Manager at the British Red Cross.

She has worked in a wide range of settings with children, young people and adults with autism, other disabilities and mental health difficulties. She has a particular interest in and writes and speaks regularly on autism, trauma, behaviour, self-harm, attachment theory and community and individual resilience. She has been published in a number of journals including Nursing Standard and Autism Journal and has written two books, Autism: Understanding Behaviour and Autism: Supporting Your Teenager.

Belinda Blank MEd

Trustee since 2014

Belinda works at Ambitious about Autism as Information & Family Services Manager. Previously she worked as their Transition Liason Officer.

Belinda is extremely knowledgable about young people with Special Educational Needs. She is the Chair of Trustees at Hendon United Sports Club, and was previously the Director of KEEN London, a charity providing sports and recreational activities for children with special needs.

ⓘ This means Belinda knows a lot about working with students and has worked in places which are a lot like my AFK.

Sue Baldwin

Trustee since 2016

Sue is the regional schools’ commissioner for the East of England and North East London, and has been a Trustee for my AFK since 2016.

ⓘ This means that Sue knows a lot about how schools work. She is responsible for making decisions about the academies and free schools in these areas.

Prior to this role, Sue was the Department for Education’s Director for School Efficiency and the Director for Academies and Maintained Schools in the Education Funding Agency. Earlier in her career, she also worked on economic development with a particular focus on business development and skills in Scotland, as well as being an advisor on social justice to the Scottish government.

In 2016 Sue was awarded the CB award (Companion, Order of the Bath) for services to education.

Tina Brivati

Trustee since 2016

Tina is a parent of 10-year-old boy with Down Syndrome and has been a my AFK trustee since 2016.

ⓘ This means Tina knows what it is like to live with someone who has a disability.

Tina is also a superstar volunteer for my AFK, and in 2018 she was given the award for Community Volunteer of the Year at my AFK’s Community & Trainee Awards.

Ben Cavanagh

Trustee since 2016

Ben is currently Senior Public Affairs Manager at the Open University (OU).

The OU is the leading university for flexible, innovative teaching and world-leading research in the United Kingdom and in 157 countries worldwide. Uniquely placed to understand the needs of part-time students, combining their learning while earning, their innovative, award-winning distance teaching credentials have seen over 2 million students receive an education, otherwise denied to them at campus-based universities.

Ben has been a trustee since 2016.