We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance and comply with the principles outlined in the Code of Governance for Voluntary
Organisations
Organisations are groups like companies and businesses.
, which is approved by the Charity Commission.
The executive team prepares matters such as policy,
strategy
A strategy is a plan to show what an organisation, or a person, wants to do and how they are going to do it.
and budgets for consideration and approval by the trustees, who then monitor the implementation of these plans.
Jon is an experienced leader in the charity sector, having previously worked as Chief Executive at UNICF UK, Crisis UK and Scope. Following an earlier career as a successful commercial human resources and organisational development director in an international technology business, he brings a breadth of valuable
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
, with a strong track record of growing scale and impact at major UK charities.
Jon also has notable experience in non-executive positions for charities and social enterprises, including SeeAbility, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and the Centre for Homelessness Impact.
Jon is currently a Trustee at St Petrocs, the homelessness charity.
Jackie grew up all over the North of England before the bright lights of London lured her down to study Classics at University College London (UCL). Since then she has worked in several Government Departments, done a stint at the European Commission in Brussels and worked in the food industry.
Jackie's last role before joining Mencap was as Director of National Lottery Good Causes. She joined Mencap in January 2018 and is really proud to part of the Mencap team.
Alison Pike - Executive Director of Inclusive Communities & Partnerships - Communities
Ali’s career started in the east of London as a secondary school teacher on the Teach First programme. After 3 years of teaching and some extensive travelling in central and south America she dabbled in the private sector working as a management consultant for Deloitte.
In 2010 she ventured into the charity sector and hasn’t looked back! Since then she has developed a keen interest in
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
inclusion: she is enthusiastic about people having the agency, connections and support they need to be able to live, work, socialise and really enjoy life to the full in the community they call home.
She feels lucky to be able to focus on this day to day at Mencap. Ali loves the
diversity
Diversity means people from all different cultures and backgrounds.
of her role and the impact that the work of the directorate clearly has on the lives of people she meets across England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Emma joined Mencap in October 2023. As a registered nurse, she is passionate that everyone receives high quality care to enable them to lead full lives.
Before joining Mencap, Emma worked for the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator for Health and Social care, holding various Senior leadership roles including as Deputy Director of Operations and Head of Registration. Prior to working at CQC, she worked as a Senior
Research
Research is a way of finding out information which could come from books, or asking people what they think.
Fellow and Lecturer at The University of Southampton funded by The Health Foundation to
research
Research is a way of finding out information which could come from books, or asking people what they think.
better support for people with long-term health conditions. Emma holds a Doctorate in Health Sciences focussing on measurement and long-term conditions and seriously enjoys data!
Outside of work, Emma has 3 sons who keep her busy as a regular sporting spectator. Emma has several voluntary roles working as a Trustee of a Multi-Academy Trust (a group of schools) and as a family court magistrate for the South West bench. She loves being outside and on the move as a runner, cyclist, walker and skier as well as reading a good book.
Mary has more than 18 years experience working in fundraising and sales roles in UK and Republic of Ireland. Originally from Northern Ireland and now based in London, Mary has been leading our fundraising directorate since 2019 and has recently stepped into our Acting Executive Fundraising Director role, where she has
responsibility
Responsibility is managing or being in charge of something.
for our communications,
advocacy
Advocacy is when you get support to have your say.
and
activism
Activism is taking action to make change. Going to a
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
event with others, writing letters and speaking up are all ways to take action.
directorate.
Mary is passionate about raising as much income as possible so we can ensure we are able to support the 1.5million people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
.
Richard joined Mencap from Settle, a Hertfordshire based Housing Association, where he was Executive Director of Finance and Resources. Before then, Richard worked in senior finance roles across a series of public and third sector organisations including Peabody, and Essex County Council.
Chris has over 30 years comprehensive and varied experience working with people with a learning disability and their families. He first joined Mencap in 1991 as a
volunteer
A volunteer is someone who helps out by doing work for free.
before joining Mencap’s Business Development Team, Quality Team and more recently Mencap’s Operations Team.
Having worked most recently as senior director of people for British Red Cross, Laura has varied industry experience both in the charity and commercial sector. She combines strong operational HR leadership with change management and strategic HR experience.
Prior to joining Mencap, Mary served as the Chief of Staff at the British Red Cross, a key strategic leadership position working across the span of domestic and international operations. Actively contributing to ensuring the organisation was run effectively, transparently and accountably, Mary collaborated with, advised and supported the Board, Committees and Executive to make sound, evidenced based decisions and to maximise impact for people in crisis. In the role she provided direct counsel to the Chief Executive and Executive colleagues; and the Board Chair and Trustees.
Mary has spent her career advising leaders at the highest level, including the United Nations in New York; and at the apex of the Australian Government, serving as Private Secretary to the
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is the leader of the government.
(and prior to the
election
An election is when people choose who should be in charge of something. This could be in charge of a group, an area, or the country. People choose by voting. The person with the most votes wins.
, Leader of the Opposition); and adviser to the Trade Minister.
Mary was raised in an Australian country town. She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science and International Relations; an MSc in Development and Demography; and an LLB. She is an avid traveller, reader, barre enthusiast, committed humanitarian and incurable optimist.