Making Carers Count Event Attendee List 

At the event, we will be joined by Making Carers Count project representatives, Carers Trust staff, external speakers and panel members. Please find the complete list of attendees below. 

Carers Trust staff

Tanya Coles - Programme Lead, Making Carers Count

Tanya has worked in the charity sector for over 20 years, developing, delivering, and evaluating programmes for children and young people. She joined Carers Trust as Grants Manager in 2013 where she has delivered a broad portfolio of grant programmes with a particular focus on young and young adult carers.

In May 2021 Tanya became Programme Lead for Carers Trust’s flagship programme for under-represented carers, Making Carers Count, with a specific focus on young and young adult carers. Alongside programme governance and reporting cycles, Tanya is responsible for collaborating with funded programme partners and the wider sector, leading stakeholder learning processes, capacity building and integration into sustainable delivery models for young and young adult carer support across the UK.

Tanya is passionate about delivering strategic, impactful and responsive programmes in partnership with carers, local carer organisations and supporters. She is also a Trustee for Arts for Health MK and a Community Representative for her local Community Foundation.

Ben O'Hanlon - Programme Lead, Making Carers Count

Ben joined Carers Trust in May 2021 as one of the Programme Leads for Making Carers Count. Ben has worked in programme management roles for several UK and international charities, focusing on human rights and social justice issues. Prior to joining Carers Trust he worked for Mind on an international programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and India.

Kirsty McHugh - Chief Executive Officer

Kirsty joined Carers Trust in February 2022. With extensive experience of working in the voluntary sector in a variety of public affairs and delivery roles, Kirsty has a deep commitment to improving the life opportunities of those from disadvantaged communities. Before joining Carers Trust, she had 11 years’ experience as CEO of the Mayor’s Fund for London and the Employment Related Services Association. Before that Kirsty served as a director at Business in the Community, where she led community programmes across England and Wales.

She is a non-executive director of Gateway Housing Association in East London and has served as a panel member for the National Lottery’s Building Better Opportunities Fund.

Kirsty also has first-hand experience of what it means to be an unpaid carer. She has cared for a close family member approaching end of life, and for another with a long-term disability.

Alexandra Roberts - Director UK Network & Innovation

Alex Roberts is Director of Network and Innovation, joining Carers Trust in January 2023 to lead on the brief of network development and innovation. Alex joined Carers Trust from the National Lottery Heritage Fund where she was UK Head of Innovation and New Business. Prior to that, Alex was at Mind for over a decade driving and shaping the charity’s network evolution first as a Network Development Manager and then as Head of Business Development. Alex also has her own lived experience of being an unpaid carer.

Trisha Thompson - Head of Grants & Programmes

Having dedicated her working career to the development of the voluntary sector, Trisha joined Carers Trust in 2009 and has progressed to be the lead contact for grant making and programme activities across Carers Trust and with external partners interested in developing support and effective approaches for adult carers. Trisha has been responsible for the management of programmes worth over £14million over the past five years including strategic partnerships with Comic Relief, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Covid 19 Support Fund.

Prior to working at Carers Trust, Trisha worked at Macmillan Cancer Support, the Social Investment Business & on The Parenting Fund. She has an MSc in Grantmaking, Philanthropy & Social Investment, is an unpaid carer to her great aunt and volunteers at a refuge in East London.

Vicky Morgan - Head of young Carers and Young Adult Carers

Vicky Morgan joined as Head of Young and Young Adult Carers in January 2020 and with a small team leads Young Carers Futures our ambitious UK wide programme. Current programmes are broadly focused around four key strands; Education (Young Carers in School and Cares in Higher Education); Employment (Young Adult Carer Internships and access to early career pathways); Strengthening carers services (Making Carers Count) and underpinned by Involvement and Voice of young and adult carers to shape our programmes, policy work, media and campaigns.

Vicky is passionate about the collective power of partnerships. Vicky has many years’ experience of working across charities, social enterprises, local authorities and corporate partners bringing together exciting cross sector partnerships to deliver innovative programmes focused on employability and inclusive employment pathways for young people.

Scott Lafferty - Network Development Manager Scotland

Scott Lafferty has been part of the Carers Trust team for five years and has responsibility for developing, growing and managing our network of local carer organisations in Scotland as well as leading on the Enhanced Value Proposition Project for Carers Trust as part of our Partner for Growth agenda to enhance the membership benefits and relationship we have with our UK-wide network of local carer organisations.

Holly Swinckels - Carer Involvement Manager

Holly has been working in participation and involvement roles across the Voluntary and Community Sector for over 20 years.  She joined Carers Trust in January of 2023, coming directly from her 5 year role as UK-wide Lived Experience Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support.  Other roles have included Women’s Services, Hospice Fundraising, regional infrastructure and 14 years at the Independent Living Fund.  Outside of work, Holly is a Trustee for a local LGBTQ+ charity and is attempting to learn Dutch.

Fran Lawrence - Grants and Programmes Officer

Fran Lawrence joined Carers Trust in September 2021 as Grants and Programmes Officer, supporting with the management and coordination of various programmes across the team. This has included assessing grant applications, grants administration and the collation and analysis of programme data.

Fran has worked in grant making roles since 2014, with her previous role working for Lloyds Bank Foundation as the Programme Support Manager where she led on the coordination of numerous programmes across the Foundation.

Carol Clark - Executive Support

Approachable and flexible, Carol has thirty years’ project and office administration experience, thirteen of these within a third sector organisation, this includes supporting CEOs with governance, project and budget management, and working alongside volunteers and stakeholders to deliver numerous events and projects.

Carol is the gatekeeper for the Carers Trust Knowledge Hub, updates the Operational Policy Framework each quarter and supports Network Development and wider teams with meeting organisation, minutes, newsletters, communications and webinars for the Network.

External speakers and panel members

Sarah Collis - Independent training delivering day two session on inclusion of under-represented groups 

Sarah has over 35 years’ experience working with and for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. After several years working for the Big Lottery Fund, Sarah turned her passion for supporting communities into direct action. As CEO of Self Help UK, Sarah was a key influencer in the development of peer support both nationally and internationally for over 13 years, especially within health and care and developed new programmes where peer support was at the centre of innovation.

Her passion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has led her to Chair Healthwatch Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, a statutory organisation working with never or rarely heard communities to amplify their voices and shape health and care services to be accessible and equitable for everyone.

As a Non-Executive Board member of National Voices, the health charity membership organisation, Sarah championed COVID-19 research into the needs of gypsy and traveller, Deaf and hard of hearing, Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and people with learning difficulties to access information and services during the pandemic to inform national health policy.

Sarah is most proud of the work she co-developed with Deaf people affected by cancer to create peer support that met an unmet need in the community, and which has led to the development of a national peer support service nationally. Sarah has level 2 BSL and is still learning!

Jo Williams - Day one panel member

Cecilia King - Day one panel member 

Kiesha Lamptey - Sessional Engagement Worker, Harrow Carers - Day one panel member

Andy Barber - Communications Manager, Caring Together - Day two panel member 

Andy Barber is the communications manager for Caring Together. Caring Together are a charity and Carers Trust partner supporting unpaid carers across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk.
Caring Together were part of a Carers Trust inclusive communications project in 2021/2 and have continued to use insights from this work to help shape their communications.

Matthew McKenzie - Day two panel member

Matthew McKenzie a carer of his brothers and former mental health carer. Matthew is also an author and has written 4 books. The first book was about his experience caring for his mother suffering mental illness.

Matthew chairs the National triangle of care community group, Carers UK BAME advisory group and also runs carer peer groups and forums to empower unpaid carers.

Vicky Morgan - Head of young Carers and Young Adult Carers, Carers Trust - Day two panel member

Making Carers Count project representatives