Management and trustees
Strategic Management Team (SMT)
Matt Fellows
Chief Executive & Company Secretary
Matt joined in March 2024, bringing with him a wealth of experience in the public, private and charitable sectors. Having previously been a member of the Armed Forces, Matt then worked in disability employment services for many years ultimately sharing best practice across the UK, Europe and Australia. On returning from Australia, Matt embarked on a successful consultancy career for a range of organisations before becoming the CEO at Age UK Gloucestershire.
Liz Cotton
Finance & Operations Director
Liz Cotton is the charity’s Finance & Operations Director. She joined the charity in December 2013 and is responsible for ensuring all the charity’s funds and assets are recorded and accounted for in accordance with Company Law; Charity Commission requirements; and any other relevant regulatory authorities.
Rachel Jones
Income Generation, Marketing & Communications Director
Rachel joined in September 2022 and benefits from 15 years of hospice expertise, with a passion for income generation and marketing. Alongside a committed team, Rachel leads the Fundraising, Marketing and Retail strategies for St Michael’s to ensure income is maximised and the profile and reach of the hospice is increased within the community where she lives.
Lisa O’Neil
People Director
Lisa O’Neil is the charity’s People Director. She joined the charity in January 2023 and is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership to the Hospice and leading the development and delivery of the People Strategy to support the achievement of St Michael’s vision and strategic objectives and ensure these are delivered by motivated and appropriately skilled people whose values and behaviours reflect those of the organisation. Lisa is a Chartered member of the CIPD and has many years HR experience across different sectors whilst also teaching HR management and leadership skills at degree level.
Jade Dyke-Whitfield
Director of Nursing
Having joined in 2001 and progressed through her career at St Michael’s Jade is now the Director of Nursing. Her commitment and dedication to palliative care and her passion for St Michael’s and the care we deliver has seen her fulfil a variety of nursing, management and leadership posts. Throughout her time at St Michael’s, Jade has engaged actively in continuing professional development completing a Masters Degree in Palliative Care and her Chartered Degree Apprenticeship in Leadership and Management becoming a member of the Chartered Management Institute. Using these skills and knowledge Jade leads on enhancing our nursing care alongside her continuing focus on delivering the best possible support for patients and their families.
Nichola Proctor
Director of Care
Nichola is the charity’s Care Director. She joined the charity in April 2017 following a successful nursing career within the NHS. Nichola is passionate about ensuring the standard of specialist palliative care delivered is of high quality and person centred. Nichola is also joint Registered Manager and is eager to develop the care services, working across systems collaboratively to ensure that patients and their families needs are met.
Herefordshire Palliative Medicine Specialists
Dr Jim Burtonwood
Specialist Doctor
Jim is a specialist in palliative medicine and the lead clinician for the inpatient unit at St Michael’s Hospice. He is involved in the delivery of the wider strategic management of palliative care provision for St Michael’s. Previously, he worked in various roles across the South West, including hospices, a specialist supportive care team for cancer patients in Cheltenham, and as a GP partner in North Somerset. No stranger to working for charities, Jim was formerly an RNLI lifeboat crew member and station doctor prior to moving away from the coast.
In addition to leading the care of patients in the inpatient unit he holds regular outpatient clinics. Jim works closely with his colleagues in the community and county hospital to provide an integrated palliative care service across the county and neighbouring areas. Jim has a particular interest in the management of long-term medical conditions and medical education.
Dr Maddy Turley
Community Palliative Care Consultant
Having trained in the West Midlands, Maddy returned to Herefordshire to take up her consultant post which encompasses the strategic vision for community specialist palliative care across the county, with clinical practice within the hospice and the Wye Valley Trust specialist palliative care team. This way of working champions integrated care across settings, seeking continuity and seamless experience of services for our patients and those important to them. Living just over the border into Worcestershire, Maddy enjoys a busy life with her young family.
Trustees
Catherine Davies
Trustee
Catherine qualified as a nurse in 1986. She specialised in critical care nursing gaining clinical, management and education experience in London, Birmingham and Bristol. She was seconded to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement which provided valuable project management and leadership experience. She returned to Wye Valley in 2003 where she held a number of senior positions including Nurse Consultant, Associate Director and Deputy Director. Catherine retired in 2021 but returned part-time to lead nursing digital project for the Trust.
Charles Akle
Trustee
Charles became a trustee in 2022. A Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, he trained in medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London. He researched transplantation and immunology early in his career, obtaining his Master of Surgery degree.
Charles was a prominent London-based surgeon and a pioneer in developing laparoscopic surgery, helping train many of today’s excellent surgeons in Europe.
After retiring from clinical practice in 2007, Charles established a private biopharmaceutical company developing novel immunotherapeutic products.
Charles believes in excellence, legacy, charity, and service to one’s fellow man.
David Teague
Chair of Trustees
David became a Trustee in 2006. After chairing the Finance and Investments Committee, he was appointed Chair of Trustees in 2021.
David qualified as a chartered accountant in the 1970’s, having been articled with a Gloucester firm that was acquired by Deloitte, Haskins and Sells. He moved out of practice soon after qualifying to join the Velcourt Group, where he was an executive director for many years, and is now a non-executive director. David has a vast experience of commercial and corporate arenas in the UK and around the world.
David holds other non-executive positions. He is also a Parish Councillor and passionate about the Herefordshire countryside.
David has lived in Brampton Abbotts for over 30 years with his wife, Cornelia. David and Cornelia have two sons, James and Patrick
Eric Drummond
Trustee
Eric became a trustee in 2020. Since 1979, Eric has been involved with the agricultural industry throughout the UK and now works alongside two of his four sons in the business. He is involved with several other businesses, including a UK-wide private storage firm and a property business run by his other two sons, who all live within the county.
While originally from Scotland, Eric and his family enjoy everything the county has to offer. He has been a parish councillor for many years and enjoys the countryside and country sports.
Gavin James
Trustee
Gavin has lived in Herefordshire for the last 40 years. Gavin ran the Helping Hand Company in Ledbury until 2022. The company specialises in manufacturing products for the severely disabled a well as pressure sore prevention cushions for the NHS.
He is an engineer by training having worked in Sydney, San Francisco and Toronto before returning to Ledbury to set up the Helping Hand company. He is a keen sportsman playing various racket sports including real tennis and is a passionate gardener.
Jane Winney
Trustee
Jane became a trustee in 2012. Her long and varied career in healthcare was spent working across and in the NHS and private and commercial sectors locally and nationally. Jane was involved in formulating national guidelines for specialised care and was a contributor to international conferences.
Mark Molyneux
Trustee
Mark lives near Monmouth on the Herefordshire border. He worked in London for much of his career, as a partner and senior leader in one of the very large accounting firms. After a change of direction nearly 20 years ago, he retired from the City and focused instead on his farm, travel, countryside pursuits and chairing and investing in a wide variety of privately owned and rapidly growing businesses. He has also chaired the Welsh National Opera and the finance committee of his alma mater, The London School of Economics, where he sat on the main board. He is delighted to be joining St Michael’s. He was inspired to do so by the work of another hospice which looked after his mother nearly 30 years ago, as well as by the vision and energy of our trustees and management team.
Paul Downey
Trustee
Paul became a trustee in 2022. A GP in the county for 36 years, he first visited the Hospice in 1985 and has worked with the education team here over the years. Paul was a partner in Ross for 30 years and later worked at Much Birch as a regular locum. Paul has also worked in various roles in medical management and training within the NHS.
Paul relaxes by spending time with his family, reading, running and playing five-a-side football. He also plays in a local band.
Associate Trustees
Diana Holloway BA (Hons) , ACA
Associate Trustee
Born just outside Leominster, Diana is a qualified chartered accountant with a degree in business studies and part of her early working life was in auditing and raising finance for small business’.
Holloways, her family business which specialises in retailing furniture nationally, was set up with her farmer husband Edward over 30 years ago.
She has and still is involved with several local schools as a governor and is trying to take more of a back seat now that her daughter Katie has joined the family business.
Laura Goodridge
Associate Trustee
Originally from Hereford, Laura is the Group CEO of a home care organisation, overseeing operations across several territories in the West Midlands and South West. With a background in health and social care spanning leadership, quality, and innovation, she is committed to improving quality of life for adults with care and support needs through compassionate, person-centred approaches.
Laura is actively involved in sector-wide development, including research collaborations and leadership coaching. Her strengths lie in strategic thinking, governance, marketing and building high-performing teams within complex care environments.
Outside of work, Laura enjoys wild swimming, yoga, and walking in the Herefordshire countryside with her husband.
Rebecca Kirk
Associate Trustee
Rebecca is a Partner at HCR Law specialising in Employment Law. Rebecca advises businesses and organisations of of all sizes with regard to people matters and has particular expertise in advising on issues affecting public sector organisations and those working with them, and issues which affect companies operating in the Defence and Security Sector, as Head of HCR’s Defence, Security and the Forces Sector. HCR is a top 60, full-service law firm with offices across the UK, including in the centre of Hereford and in Ross-on-Wye and Rebecca is a key member of HCR’s senior team. Rebecca moved to Herefordshire in 2014 and lives in Burghill with her husband and two young children.
Life patrons
Alister Walshe
Life Patron
Alister was made a life patron in 2021.
He began offering his experience to St Michael’s as a volunteer in the gardens before becoming a trustee in 2003. He spent 17 years on the board of trustees and was Chair for 11, during which time he made an incredible contribution to the Hospice.
Alister owns Hereford-based estate agency Stooke Hill & Walshe, and he runs a small farm as a hobby.
Jeffrey Kramer BEM
Life Patron
Jeffrey was made a life patron in 2018 in recognition of his dedication, commitment and hard work in founding St Michael’s.
He was one of six people, including Freda Pearce and Dr Richard Miller, who were the prime movers in getting the Herefordshire Hospice started in 1979. Jeffrey served as Chair of the Freda Pearce Foundation and then President until the Foundation joined the Hospice Trust to form the current charity.
Jeffrey came to Hereford in 1970 as the first consultant in Haematology to the Herefordshire Health Authority and remained until retirement in 1998. Jeff was awarded the prestigious British Empire Medal (BEM) in 2024.
Richard Miller
Life Patron (2018 – 2024)
Richard was made a life patron in 2018 in honour of his support and commitment to St Michael’s.
Along with Freda Pearce and Dr Jeffrey Kramer, Richard was one of the six people who met in his front room in September 1979 to launch the Freda Pearce Foundation to plan and raise funds for St Michael’s Hospice. He was a member of the Foundation until it merged with the Hospice Trust. Richard retired as a trustee in 2014 but remained deeply committed to the Hospice.
Richard came to Hereford in 1963 where he worked as a houseman at Hereford County Hospital for a year. He then entered general practice at Moorfield House Surgery where he developed an interest in end-of-life care. He retired in 1994 and sadly died in 2024.