We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance and comply with the principles outlined in the Code of Governance for Voluntary Organisations, which is approved by the Charity Commission.

The executive team prepares matters such as policy, strategy and budgets for consideration and approval by the trustees, who then monitor the implementation of these plans.

Jackie has short dark hair and is wearing a pink top. She is standing outside with large glass windows behind her.

Jackie O'Sullivan - Chief executive officer (acting)

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

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 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 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 Boger - Executive Director of Quality and Impact

Emma Boger - Executive Director of Quality and Impact

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 Fellow and Lecturer at The University of Southampton funded by The Health Foundation to research 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. 

Khaleel Desai - Director of Governance

Khaleel Desai - Director of Governance

Khaleel joined Mencap from Islamic Relief Worldwide, an independent humanitarian and development organisation where he was the Director responsible for Governance, Compliance and Risk Management.  

With extensive experience working with community groups, charities and non-governmental organisations, Khaleel has previously worked as a lawyer and legal and governance advisor in charities including Save the Children International and Plan International. Since 2019, he has also been a trustee for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) International.

Prior to moving to the charity sector, Khaleel spent 10 years working within the UK Government Legal Service where he provided legal advice on issues ranging from family and children’s rights, education law to human rights aspects of mental health legislation. He also advised on legal powers of NHS regulatory bodies, held a role at the European Commission and was also assistant-solicitor to Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press. 

Mary O'Hagan – Executive Director of Fundraising (Acting)

Mary O'Hagan – Executive Director of Fundraising (Acting)

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, where she has responsibility for our communications, advocacy and activism 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.

Richard Blakey - Chief financial officer

Richard Blakey - Chief financial officer

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.

David Blackburn

David Blackburn - interim Executive Director of People

David Blackburn is one of the most awarded HR professionals working in the UK today and recognised as a Most Influential HR Practitioner in the HR Magazine Most Influential List 2022 and 2023. He is one of the top 100 HR Directors in the World in the HRD Global 100 and is both a Chartered Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI): the highest level of professional recognition which is awarded by the Board’s of the CIPD and the CMI.

With over 25 years of experience in leading all aspects of human resources, David was the Chief People Officer of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for over a decade between 2013 and 202, He is the Managing Director of David R. Blackburn Consulting Limited, a firm that offers strategic and operational support to organisations undergoing business and cultural transformation. He is a recognised thought leader within his profession, and he regularly contributes to articles, podcasts, roundtables and speaks at events across the UK and beyond.

David is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen, the London Business School, and the Cambridge University Judge Business School; a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce; the Institute of Leadership and Management and a Freemen of the Company of HR Professionals. He has been the Investors in People (IiP) Leader of the Year; MEMCOM Excellence Awards HR Leader of the Year, Personnel Today Awards HR Director of the Year, HRO Awards HR Director of the Year, HR Brilliance Awards HR Professional of the Year and HR Excellence HR Team of the Year twice. He is also the inaugural Financial Times FT Adviser Diversity Champion of the Year. 
 

A head and shoulders photo of Chris

Chris Chalkley - interim Director of PS England

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 before joining Mencap’s Business Development Team, Quality Team and more recently Mencap’s Operations Team. 

More about how we are run

You might find the following pages useful to find out more about how decisions are made at Mencap.