MEET THE TEAM

​'in order of appearance'

Rachel Bentley OBE
​Co-Founder and CEO

Rachel strategically directs the global operations of Children on the Edge. This involves identifying overlooked children living on the margins of society and, in relationship with local partners, pioneering new initiatives to help these children thrive. 

She has been leading Children on the Edge for over three decades and has done occasional consultancy work for other organisations including UN agencies in the area of children's rights. Rachel has an MSc in Development Management and a Masters of Advanced Studies (MCR) in Children's Rights. In 2022 she was awarded the OBE for services to the protection and education of marginalised children worldwide.

She is accompanied by a mischievous chocolate spaniel called Zuma, who loves to excitedly greet visitors to the office. 

Ben Wilkes
Chief Operating Officer 

Ben leads the team in the UK that supports and resources the work of our international partners. 

​Whilst he is no stranger to the words 'communication', 'fundraising' and 'strategy' and spends a lot of his time in front of a computer screen, he has lived and worked on the projects we support overseas and continues to have regular input internationally.  
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He has worked for Children on the Edge since 2000 and comes to work with his dog Lola, our Happiness Coordinator.

Emily Dadson
Operations Manager

Responsible for the backbone of the organisation, Emily keeps it legal by ensuring the right HR, policies and procedures are in place and oversees the smooth running of the UK office. 

​Emily also provides all the logistical support and management for our fundraising events and volunteers. Emily has impressively ensured that every 'i' is dotted and 't' crossed for Children on the Edge since May 2003.

Esther Smitheram
Communications Manager

Esther leads our communications team and liaises with project partners to obtain the latest information about our work, in order to communicate it to anyone who will listen. Part of this is ensuring that the children and communities we work with have their voices heard and are able to tell their own stories. 

She works with Amy and Jemma to ensure that our audiences and growing team are resourced with communications that effectively reflect our brand, values and international programme activities.

Esther has an MSc in International Political Communication, Advocacy and Campaigning.  

Sarah Ndlovu
International Education Officer

Sarah has applied her talents to a number of roles at Children on the Edge and is currently responsible for the development of our education programmes. She works with our partner organisations to plan the curriculum and ensure effective teaching and learning for the children we support around the world. 

She's no stranger to our programmes and over the years and has supported the development of our Monitoring and Evaluation in Africa and the Middle East; including living and working in Uganda.  

She is a qualified teacher and holds an MA in Education and International Development.

Eloise Armstrong
Fundraising Manager

Eloise leads our fundraising team and helps build new partnerships with companies and brands who want to support Children on the Edge. 

Eloise has an MA in Social and Political Sciences and has worked in the charity sector for over 20 years. She loves living by the sea, and trying her hand at growing veg at the allotment. 

Amy Rook
International Communications Officer

Amy is an experienced rights campaigner who currently uses her skills to amplify the latest information from the international programmes we support. She creates bespoke communications materials to resource our team, refresh our online platforms and provide in depth updates for the press and our generous funders.

Amy has an MSc in Development Studies, and when she's not sprinting after her two wonderful children, can usually be found running, cycling or swimming in the sea. 

Sophie Poore
Grants Manager

Sophie is responsible for writing our grant applications and reporting back to all of our wonderful funders. She also researches new funding opportunities; ensuring we can continue to run our projects successfully. 

She has worked in similar Trusts and Statutory funding roles for a number of different UK and overseas charities since 2003.

Sophie has an MA in Arabic. 

Jemma Gilpin
Communications and Marketing Officer

Jemma keeps our Children on the Edge community up to date with all things digital. This includes campaigning and communicating the latest news about our programmes and fundraising activities via video, e-news and social media . 

She has a BA in Journalism and a CIM certificate in Professional Digital Marketing.
Jemma has over eight years experience in fundraising support, charity events and communications. 

Lisa Whitby
Finance and Compliance Manager
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​Lisa looks after all things finance, keeping an eye on all our amazing fundraising income and working with our international partners to keep things on track and compliant. 

When her head isn't buried in a spreadsheet or in our database, she loves to take a dip in a sea or run with her black labrador Pip.

​Lisa has a BSc in Social Policy & Administration.

Gemma Driver
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Manager

Gemma loves working at Children on the Edge so much she has two jobs with us! She not only creates beautiful grant reports for our donors, but works alongside our international partners to develop effective monitoring and evaluation systems for the programmes we support.
 
Gemma has an MA in Gender and International Development. 
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Ben Mumford
Finance & Data Officer

Ben works with Lisa to help keep our financial procedures and data in check and is a dab hand with anything IT or tech related. Ben moved with his family to West Sussex from Cornwall, where he worked for a children's mental health charity. He was so good as their Admin and Finance Manager, that he still works remotely for them alongside his role with us.

Ben has a degree in teaching and worked as a primary school teacher before moving to the charity sector. He lives with his wife, two children and their family dog and loves to run, far! Ben is no stranger to a marathon and once ran 55 miles in a 24 hour ultra event. He dreams of running the London marathon one day and hopes that one year, his luck will prevail in the ballot! 

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Pattie Gercke
Grants Officer

Pattie works with Sophie to build and maintain relationships with our amazing funders. She has over 10 years experience in the charity sector, including living and working in Haiti. 

Pattie loves to be by the sea and enjoys swimming, paddleboarding and running.  When she's not playing taxi driver for her two children, you might find her gardening, where she's joined by Nibbles and Bob the bunnies.

She has an MA in Development and Emergency Practice. 

Our Trustees
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Stuart Gallimore (Chair) - Retired as Head of Children's Services for both West and East Sussex County Councils, Stuart's long term experience and knowledge is perfectly suited to guiding our Board of Trustees
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Paul Suter - Paul was Finance Director of Harwoods Ltd for over 20 years and is able to bring essential financial skills to the organisation.

Helen Pattinson - Helen is the Co-founder of Montezuma's Chocolates. She brings a wealth of entrepreneurial experience in growing a bespoke brand into a global business.

Sarah Wickens - Sarah brings support and business expertise as the Director of Chichester based business, Store Property. She has been a vital supporter of our work since 2012.

Walter Jones - Walter has an extensive background in education, being headmaster of two schools for 18 years. He has also kindly given his time as a volunteer with Children on the Edge since 2012. 

The Dogs

Monty
Welcome Officer (In Memory)

Monty is named after our favourite chocolate company - Montezuma's - and was an essential part of the organisation.

​He came into work each day with our Co-founder and CEO - Rachel when his responsibilities range from greeting visitors, to bin clearance and providing foot warmth under desks. In his senior years, he was retired at home taking a well deserved rest. ​

Lola
Happiness Coordinator

Lola joins our Chief Operations Officer - Ben at work every day. 

Her boundless energy and frequent cuddles mean she's responsible for keeping the team happy and motivated at all times. She's yet to learn the art of self control, so we do have to hide our lunch, unless we want to share. Monty is working on developing her office etiquette.

Zuma
Trouble Maker

Zuma is Monty's younger brother, and the newest member of the pup patrol at Children on the Edge.

Zuma enjoys chasing Lola up and down the corridor before crashing out on his bed for a nap. 

Monty has welcomed the new addition to the family with much patience and grace.
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