Staff
Sarah Batty - CEO
Sarah runs the whole charity and develops networks and partnerships working within the community.
Kelly Trixie - Project Manager
Kelly manages our day centre and all the challenges that come with it! She has a fantastic relationship with all our clients; she is approachable and always has time to spend with our guests.
Debs Beighton - Operations Manager
Steering the ship through the choppy seas of charity finances, a more capable pair of hands could never be found.
Alex Lumsden - Outreach Coordinator
Alex is a great fit with his knowledge of Sheffield organisations and experience. Find him on Outreach or supporting in the Day Centre.
Vern Edley - Project Worker
Project worker and our activities coordinator, Vern will do anything for anyone and do it with a genuine smile throughout.
Teresa Ravenshaw - Project Worker
Teresa joined the team after nearly a decade of experience working in third sector mental health. She is a fount of knowledge of mental health info, and always happy to spend time talking to anyone who comes her way.
Sean Mulligan - Outreach Worker
With over ten years of experience in working with vulnerable people, Sean joined our team and settled in quickly, he is friendly and approachable at all times.
Chrissy Evans - Project Worker
Will Daly - Project Worker
Starting as a volunteer, Will has quickly become a valued team member and welcoming spirit in the Day Centre.
Andy Stockton - Project Worker
Andy is trained in community development and has worked with many groups to improve health and wellbeing. Outside of work he’s passionate about music, is a DJ, rapper and runs a record label & live events.
Leah Byatt - Project Worker
Rui Ribeiro - Chef
Our Chef Rui ensures our hungry clients and staff enjoy a tasty and nutritious meal each day at The Day Centre.
Donald Beedham - Marketing & Communications Officer
Don is our Marketing & Communications Officer, who spreads the word about what we do and engages donors and grant funders.
Trustees
Ian “Ben” Sherman BEM
Ben is the ‘Ben’ behind Ben’s Centre! Ben worked as a police officer during which he supported a ‘self-help’ group which eventually came to be ‘Bens’ Centre’. Ben has worked tirelessly for our client group being an active member of our Management Committee for many years. Ben’s vision and compassion was foundational in the Centre getting started.
Alan Brailey
Having worked in events management, publicity, and marketing, he spent 20 years helping to promote Sheffield in this country and overseas. Looking for a challenge he joined Ben’s Centre in 2013 as a volunteer and has been a trustee since 2019.
Elizabeth Williams
Liz spent most of her 35 years in Sheffield at Tapton School as a teacher of the visually impaired. She has also volunteered at HARC and cooks once a month for the Sunday Centre. Liz was an administrator for the Buddhist Centre where she honed her skills around finance, bringing this knowledge to Ben’s Centre. She volunteers at Ben’s once a month which gives her an insight into the centre and the needs of the clients and staff.
Brian Wilson
Brian has long experience of both the commercial world and over 25 years in charity management and governance, half of which was as a charity CEO. He is Treasurer/Trustee at Baby Basics UK and also with his local parish church. He regularly volunteers at HARC and the Sunday Centre.
Andrew Ball (Interim Chair)
Andrew is an Interim Management Consultant with over 20 years of experience in the voluntary sector, serving on boards across the arts, health, and veterans’ sectors. Andrew focuses on financial oversight and ensuring that strong governance and future planning is in place and all risks are managed.
Sarah Rousseau
Sarah has over 20 years experience working in the charity sector, and currently works as a climate change Training Project Manager for the heritage sector. She's lived in Sheffield for over 25 years and has been involved in various initiatives including HARC and the Real Junk Food Project (now Food Works Sheffield), she also runs Sheffield PlantSwap.
Courtney Hancock
Chris Hanson
Chris Hanson is a chef and social entrepreneur. He is passionate about social mobility and has nearly 3 decades experience of working in the private and voluntary sectors. He lives in Chapeltown, North Sheffield with his wife and 2 daughters and joined the Ben's Centre board out of a desire to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities.