Trustees

SNAP is governed by an Executive Board of 11 trustees who have a balanced mix of parents of children with disabilities and other members of the community, with experience in finance, health, law and education.

Mandy Carr (Chair) is an experienced HR Consultant and has previously worked within logistics, retail, IT, entertainment, manufacturing and catering industries. Mandy established her own HR Company in 2008 and also has experience as a School Governor/Academy Trust Director and as a Pension Fund Trustee.

Michael O’Connell (Treasurer) is a retired solicitor and Notary Public.

Suzanne Davies is a retired accountant who has worked in the adult training sector.  Previously she was a partner at a firm of Certified Accountants and worked with a wide range of charitable trusts and institutions.

Paula Hills started a music therapy charity for pre-school children with special needs in 1993 and she is a founder member of SNAP. Paula previously coordinated The Essex Forum for Support Groups/Organisations. Paula’s second child Oliver is multiply disabled.

Julia Gray has worked for the last 4 years as an Office Manager supporting families for an Essex based Therapy Centre which specialises in sensory OT. Previously she was a full-time mum looking after her two sons; one of whom has additional needs. Before having her family she worked in City for over 20 years for several financial companies.

Paul Deller Ray is a Registered Social Worker with 30 years experience across Children, Adults and Families Social Care, both in the statutory and voluntary sectors. He has worked in a variety of settings including Fostering & Adoption, Youth Offending, Children with Disabilities and currently 6 years working in Community Learning Disabilities Teams (Adults) in two London Boroughs.

Stuart Hulbert is a Chartered Insurance Broker and Joint Managing Director of a Chartered Insurance broking firm based in Brentwood. Stuart specialises in advising and arranging insurance for the care and social welfare sector.

Richard Bareham is a Chartered Management Accountant with 30 years of finance experience, 17 of which have been in senior management roles within the charity sector.  Richard has worked for healthcare and welfare charities in East Anglia, London and Sydney ranging in size from £2m to £300m revenue. He is currently the Head of Finance for a large Hospice charity in Essex.

Kate Scola has two sons and works as an economist at the Competition and Markets Authority.

Vince Wooding retired in 2022 following a successful career of almost 50 years. He is an experienced business leader having built and led businesses in the Financial Services and Outsourcing Industries. During his career Vince has been a board member of various leading companies in UK, Australia and Japan.

Steve Sawyer has worked within the health, social care and charity sectors for over 20 years at local, national and international levels. Steve brings wide experience of organisational development, systems and governance, coupled with a decade-long personal experience of the support and services SNAP provides.

Discover more about our team

“Thanks SNAP – you are a wonderful charity with excellent friendly staff and volunteers who are so much help to families.”