Meet Team Tiny Tickers

Jon Arnold

Chief Executive

Jon joined Tiny Tickers as Chief Executive in September 2013, after a career as a national media executive.

He is also a heart parent. Read his blog ‘I think your baby has a poorly heart’ – eight words that changed our lives.

Anne Rhodes

Head of Training

Anne is a specialist sonographer with a focus on fetal cardiac scanning. She has responsibility for our UK-wide training in fetal cardiac scanning techniques and works tirelessly to help train NHS sonographers to be able to recognise cardiac abnormalities in the antenatal period.

Gaynor Bearder

Head of Fundraising & Supporter Engagement

Gaynor has been an active fundraiser both as a volunteer and in a professional capacity, for various children’s charities, for over 16 years.

Gaynor’s youngest son was born with multiple heart defects and has had two heart surgeries so far. In the summer of 2021, she also had her own heart repaired after two previously unknown congenital heart defects were discovered.

Kym Kitching

Head of Fundraising & Partnerships

For the last 17 years, Kym has worked and volunteered for a range of charities before finding her feet in fundraising over six years ago.

Passionate about making a difference, Kym joined Tiny Tickers in October 2019.

Vicky Woodmansey

Head of Projects

Vicky joined Tiny Tickers in 2015, after a background in media project management.

She loves seeing ideas for projects become a reality, which is particularly fulfilling working for such a small charity with a big impact.

Carly Doswell

Project Support Manager

After working in the charity sector for the past 14 years, Carly has experience in project development, events and fundraising for various children’s health charities.

Her passion is to support and help people – once she started working in the charity sector, she never looked back.

Aimee Foster

Fundraising & Communications Manager

Aimee started volunteering for Tiny Tickers in 2014 and officially joined the team in 2018.

She is passionate about helping babies with serious heart conditions and their families after losing her second daughter, Grace, to congenital heart disease in 2012. (You can read Grace’s story here).

Nicola Brake

Finance Manager

Nicola joined Tiny Tickers in 2022 and has a background in accounts. She is excited to support the charity to grow and reach as many families as possible.

Nicola has personal experience of CHD as her youngest daughter was diagnosed at 8-weeks-old and had open heart surgery two days later.

Summer-Jade Smith

Administration Officer

Summer joined Tiny Tickers in October 2023 after a background in sales.

She’s passionate about helping babies with CHD following her son’s diagnosis at the 20-week scan and his subsequent surgery after he turned one year old.

Louise King

Communications Officer

Louise began volunteering for Tiny Tickers after her daughter was born with CHD, which required open heart surgery at six days old.

She is now extremely passionate about supporting other heart families and spreading CHD awareness.

Abigail Blackmore

Project Support Officer

Abby joined Tiny Tickers in 2023 after working in the travel industry.

She has been fundraising for Tiny Tickers since 2019 when her eldest son, Francis, passed away from complications with his congenital heart defect. She is now passionate about helping other families and babies with CHD.

Paul Schofield

Chair

Paul has worked for over 25 years in the City of London managing sustainable equity portfolios – funds designed to generate both financial returns and have a positive and measurable impact on society.

Paul is keen to use his skills to benefit others through his voluntary trustee role at Tiny Tickers.

Professor Alan D Cameron MD FRCOG FRCP (Glas)

Alan was a Consultant Obstetrician in Glasgow for 28 years. He retired from the NHS at the beginning of 2019. 

In 2020, Alan was appointed as a clinical adviser to the Healthcare Safety Investigation branch and is currently an obstetric adviser to Welsh Government.

Sonia Beard

Sonia was born with a congenital heart defect and diagnosed at 18 months old. She underwent open heart surgery and received a donor heart valve to fix the stenosis in 2015. Since then, she has graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in English Literature and has used her experience of heart surgery to become a tissue donation ambassador for NHS Blood and Transplant and join the NHS England National Youth Forum.

Julie Davidson

Julie is an advanced practitioner sonographer with 28 years post qualification experience, currently working in Alder Hey Children’s hospital and Aintree Hospital, where she performs and reports a wide range of diagnostic ultrasound examinations including paediatric intracranial, hip and small parts, plus general abdominal, gynae and obstetric scans.

Sally Insley

Sally has been a professional fundraiser for the last ten years, predominantly within the hospice sector. A committee member with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising in the West Midlands since 2014, Sally is passionate about supporting other fundraisers.

Sally’s daughter was diagnosed with congenital heart block during her 20 week scan.

Dr. Shuba Barwick

Shuba is a consultant Fetal and Paediatric Cardiologist at Leeds Congenital Heart Unit. Her area of expertise is Fetal and Paediatric Cardiology. She was appointed as a consultant at Leeds in 2007.

Nick Flanagan

Nick has been a barrister since 2004 and remains in full-time practice, based in Manchester.

He became a trustee of Tiny Tickers in 2016 and lives in Cheshire with his wife and two children; one of whom was born with an aortopulmonary window, requiring open-heart surgery at eight months of age.

Jane Fisher

Jane is Director of the charity, Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC). She is involved in directly supporting women and their partners, training health professionals, research, policy and media work.

Rachel Avison

Support Group Facilitator

Rachel joined Tiny Tickers in 2020 to facilitate our new virtual peer support groups. As a Clinical Psychologist, she recognises the huge value in people coming together to talk through their personal and shared experiences and forming close and supportive connections with others in similar situations.

Abbie Mitchell

Support Group Facilitator

Abbie has worked in the charity sector for over 10 years, delivering mental health, resilience and peer support programmes.

At her 20 week scan, Abbie found out her baby, Jasper, had CHD. She is now proud to be running our virtual pregnancy support group. 

Gill McBurney

Cardiac Liaison Nurse Specialist Advisor

Gill has worked in paediatric cardiology since 1992 and moved into the cardiac nurse specialist role in 2001. She is passionate about ensuring parents-to-be are fully supported and prepared for the journey ahead

Jan Forster

Consultant Congenital Sonographer

Sam Bainbridge

Fetal Echo Specialist

Angela Hobbs

Fetal Echo Specialist

Janette Keit

Fetal Echo Specialist

Jo Jones

Specialist Cardiac Physiologist and Paediatric and Fetal Cardiac Sonographer

Nicola Harding,

Fetal Echo Specialist

Sharon Clark

Cardiac Physiologist