Meet the Team

Sheffield Carers Centre was established in 1993 and is the city’s leading provider of support services for adult unpaid carers. We are a member of the national Carers Trust network and currently employ around 20 people (full-time or part-time) and also have 20-30 volunteers contributing to our work.

Kerry Jones Kensah: Chief Executive Officer
Kerry has responsibility, working with the Board of Trustees, for the overall leadership of the Centre and ensuring it delivers its mission for carers. She has over 20 years voluntary and public-sector experience with a proven track record of uniting people to improve stakeholder’s lives and deliver organisational goals.

Sylvia Smith: Head of Business Operations
Sylvia has responsibility for managing all of the Centre’s administration functions. This includes the office facilities, IT systems, finances and the reception team. She has a wealth of experience from working with a wide range of businesses in Sheffield.

Alaska Bailey: Involvement and Diversity Manager
Alaska uses her knowledge and experience of working in the sector to develop the charity’s Involvement Network of current and/or past carers. She works with the network to develop policies and practices in a range of settings that actively promote diversity, equality and inclusion.

Imelda Bennett: Human Resources Manager
Imelda is a HR professional with responsibility for a range of general HR issues across the organisation, including recruitment, policies, and procedures. When not at work, she enjoys walking, especially in Derbyshire, knitting, Pilates, and spending time with friends.

James Barlow: Deputy Assessment and Advice Service Manager
James is the Deputy Manager for our Carers Advisor and Assessment team. He has a wide range of experience of providing assessment and advice services, having previously worked in various organisations covering areas such as mental health, homelessness and substance misuse.

Sarah Murphy: Carer Advisor
Sarah has worked for the Sheffield Adult Social Care team plus the Burton Street Advocacy Project and South Yorkshire Housing Association. She studied at Bath and lived in London before returning to Sheffield to raise her family.

Saphina Munir: Carer Advisor
Saphina is the Carer Advisor working with Urdu/Punjabi speaking carers from ethnic minorities, as part of the wider team. She is a parent carer for her disabled son and has vast experience of accessing and engaging with Social Care, Education and Health plus other statutory services in Sheffield.

Alex Newman: Carer Advisor (Triage Role)
Alex began her involvement with Sheffield Carer Centre as a social work student on placement in 2019. She used the placement to build on her knowledge of the services offered to carers in Sheffield, before applying and becoming an official member of the Carer Advisor team in March 2020.

Gareth Johnstone: Carer Advisor
Gareth has previously worked as a Commissioning Manager in Public Health and the voluntary sector, as well as working in Civil law and marketing. He has been an unpaid carer for his late Mother-in-Law and is also the Chair of Darnall Well Being, a local community health and wellbeing organisation.

Rachel Woodhead: Carer Advisor
Rachel joined the team in November 2022. She has worked in healthcare most of her life and is passionate about supporting carers. She knows from personal experience, how challenging the role can be and is currently caring for her father and her Neuro-diverse adult children.

Melanie Pearson: Carer Advisor
Mel has a background in community development and has organised dementia-friendly cafes for Age UK. She has been a carer for her mum and brother who both had Huntington’s Disease. Mel still campaigns for that Association and for carers’ rights and has published a book about her caring experiences.

Yllena Abdul Kader: Carer Advisor
Yllena’s background is in Special Educational Needs, Psychology and Mental Health Services. She is skilled in fostering inclusive environments and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. Yllena is also committed to promoting independence and enhancing the quality of life for individuals with special needs

Emily Henthorn: Carer Advisor
Emily's background is in the social care sector. Before joining the Carers Centre, she worked coordinating and providing support to enable young adults with disabilities to access higher education and work experience. She settled in Sheffield 7 years ago after studying in Cambridge and Leeds.

Naomi Hopewell: Carer Advisor
Naomi has a background in immigration, having worked in both the public sector and private practice for many years. She has extensive experience providing advice, managing a caseload, and fostering good relationships. She returned to Sheffield, where she cared for her late father before becoming a Carer Advisor.

Stephanie Lowe: Business Support Officer
Stephanie developed and managed the popular Carer Card operation for Sheffield Carers Centre. She has extensive experience in Funded Training for the Health & Social Care sector, Theatre and Television. Stephanie is also a carer and joined our Business Support at the start of 2023.

Anna James: Business Support Officer
Anna’s responsibilities include staffing the Carer Centre's reception, along with general administration and support for meetings of the Centre’s Trustees. She has a background working in both voluntary and private sector organisations.

Claire Zanelli: Business Support Officer
Claire’s responsibilities include helping to staff the Carers Centre Reception, supporting the Carer Advisors with administration tasks and general office duties. She has a background working in the private and voluntary sectors.

Lisa Hands: Finance Clerk
Lisa is responsible for the day-to-day financial operation of the Carers Centre. She has broad range of experience that enables her to provide general clerical and administration support for many aspects of the Centre’s work. She is a former carer.

Jan Outram: Activities Development Coordinator
Jan has strong links and great experience of with working with organisations around the city including those with ‘People Keeping Well’ projects. She helps to set up then oversee carers’ support groups as well as running the Carer Café plus our programme of Activities and Workshops for carers.

Gill Ryder: Health Liaison Officer
Gill was the Regional Development Officer at The Lullaby Trust. Her role with us includes supporting the delivery of the Carers Strategy for Sheffield by working with key NHS organisations, services, teams and individuals to increase the identification, support, signposting and referral of unpaid carers to the Centre.

Terry Billingham: Communications Officer
Terry works with the rest of the team and other organisations to provide trusted information for carers via the charity’s range of communication channels. This includes digital elements such as the website, monthly Enewsletter and social media pages plus printed materials such as leaflets and posters.