Step One Charity is led by a team of experienced and dedicated professionals, who are passionate about empowering people with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity to reach their full potential.
Our Senior Leadership Team is responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity, while our Trustees provide strategic oversight and governance.
CEO
Ben is the visionary leader and CEO of Step One. Under his direction and guidance, the charity continues to make strides in improving mental health and wellbeing services for all.
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Ben brings 20 years of leadership experience from the British Army, where he led a team of 500 people across 6 sites in the UK and 12 countries globally. He has a deep understanding of strategic planning and the importance of wellbeing in the post-pandemic era.
After leaving the Army in 2020, Ben gained commercial experience at J.P. Morgan and charity experience as a trustee of a local mental health charity. This balance of experience gives him a unique blend of visionary leadership and a people-focused approach to mental health advocacy.
Director of Finance and Business Services
Angela leads as the Director of Finance and Business Services, guiding the charity’s financial functions with smart planning, strong leadership and careful oversight.
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Angela trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte, spending 13 years working in their external audit practice, leading on the audit of listed companies and international groups. She went on to hold senior financial roles with international retailers, Neals Yard Remedies and Mulberry plc, before more recently spending five years as the Director of Finance and Corporate Services for Bristol Zoological Society. Here she helped to lead the charity through the financial challenges arising from COVID, development of its future strategy, and supporting the operational running of two zoo sites through a considerable period of change.
Having grown up in Devon, she has now relocated back to Exeter and is looking forward to using her charity experience and strategic and operational focus to support Step One on its future strategy.
Head of Operations
Ed oversees the operational aspects of Step One Charity, ensuring the smooth delivery of our services.
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Ed has worked in health and social care for over 10 years in a variety of services. At Step One Charity, he has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work across a number of commissioned services, mostly recently with the Devon Mental Health Alliance, developing and implementing the Recovery Practitioner service across Devon.
Head of Psychological Practice and Development
Chandanee leads on the clinical and psychological delivery aspects of the organisation, bringing strategic oversight and a commitment to high-quality, person-centred care.
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Chandanee brings extensive clinical experience across a range of mental health settings, including work with individuals with autism, learning disabilities, and children and young people. She is a strong advocate for equitable access to services and has supported organisations in developing inclusive and responsive approaches to care. Her work often sits at the intersection of clinical practice, service development, and social justice.
Alongside her clinical work, Chandanee has held senior academic leadership roles within university and training settings. She has led the development of postgraduate and professional programmes in psychology, leadership, and neurodiversity, with a strong focus on reflective, anti-oppressive practice.
She has also taken on leadership roles in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), working to embed equity across both education and service delivery. Chandanee continues to work across academic, clinical, and community contexts to support innovation, reflection, and equitable change in mental health systems.
Interim Chair of Trustees
Sue became Chair in 2018, bringing leadership, governance and management experience from her role in the NHS, along with higher education and charitable sectors.
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Sue has over 20 years’ experience of working at Board level for public sector organisations, including roles as Chief Executive at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UK Transplant (now NHS Blood and Transplant), and Executive Director of Operations, Nursing and HR at Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. Sue was also non-executive Chairman of the Board of Governors of Bournemouth University for six years, and is Pro Chancellor of Bournemouth University.
Sue originally qualified as a general nurse and midwife, and then gained post graduate qualifications in human resource management. She spent 40 years working in the health service until her retirement in 2010. She was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to organ donation and transplantation. Sue is also Vice-Chairman of Hospiscare.
Vice Chair of Trustees
Robert has been our trustee since May 2017. He is currently a director of a business advisory and management consultancy firm. Robert has over 25 years’ management consulting experience focusing on business transformation and organisational change.
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Robert was previously Chair of Governors for a large and complex special needs school (1999-2011) during which time he orchestrated and led the funding and development of a new state-of-the-art school, which opened in September 2010.
Robert has over 25 years’ management consulting experience focusing on business transformation and organisational change, consulting widely across blue chip global and public sector organisations. More recently, he has worked extensively in the health and life sciences sectors both in the UK and internationally. Robert moved with his family to the South West to support his son who has special needs, with his work, interests and friendships being in the area.
Trustee and Chair of Finance & Audit Committee
Dave was appointed as a Trustee for Step One in 2021. He joined the Devon Air Ambulance Trust as the Director of Finance and Infrastructure in 2014 and is currently an integral part of the governance structure as part of the executive leadership team for the charity.
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Dave qualified as an accountant with HW Fisher in London before working as an Audit Manager at BDO Sydney.
Following a return to England and a period of working for Capita as a Manager of the Investment Trust and Venture Capital Trusts team in Exeter, he moved into the charity sector as Director of Finance & Infrastructure at Devon Air Ambulance in 2014. He currently overseas the facilities and finance departments and is an integral part of the governance structure as part of the executive leadership team for the charity and a Director for its trading company. He is also a Director of the Institute of Legacy Management.
Trustee and Chair of Quality, Assurance & Improvement Committee
Kay was appointed as a Trustee for Step One Charity in 2022. In 2002, Kay founded Friends and Families Charity, and over the past 20 years, she has been involved in campaigning, developing and shaping both national and local strategy and provision for families with disabled children and young people.
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Much of Kay’s working life has been spent in social care, training and employment. She has been involved with projects and enterprises that work towards reducing social isolation, improving health and wellbeing, helping to prevent ill-health and striving for a society that’s accessible and allows equal opportunities to everyone.
Her interest in grassroots organisations, charities and community groups lead her to becoming a school governor to two special schools, regional committee chair for SCOPE, Director of Improving Lives Plymouth, Trustee for Plymouth Octopus Project, (POP), regional committee member for Children in Need, and Trustee for The Livewell Foundation. Through this work, she has gained extensive experience and insight of working within the charity sector, and has a wealth of knowledge and skills in charity governance, fundraising, networking and partnership working.
Trustee
Paul was appointed as a Trustee of Step One in July 2019. He is currently working (part-time) as Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for Devon Partnership NHS Trust. Paul has worked in the NHS for the past 40 years.
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Paul has gained experience in a variety of mental health services across the country including London, Oxford and Nottinghamshire. For the past 20 years, he has lived and worked in Devon. Paul’s clinical interest has been in developing services for vulnerable older adolescents, such as children in and leaving Care, supporting their transition into adulthood. As well as the clinical skills and knowledge developed over his career, Paul has significant managerial experience as Clinical Director in one NHS Trust before being appointed Medical Director in another.
Trustee
Mark currently works in communications for UK Research and Innovation, the national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK. Mark is passionate about promoting healthcare and advocating for everyone to speak freely about their mental health.
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In his previous role, Mark was Head of Communications for an NHS community services provider. Mark is passionate about promoting healthcare, advocating for everyone to speak freely about their mental health in a stigma-free society.
Trustee
Derek is a resourceful and adaptable senior leader with 20 years of experience in financial oversight, strategic planning, and team development. A qualified accountant and with an NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership, he is currently providing senior leadership capacity to the Inclusion & Learning/Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) corporate priority in Devon County Council.
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Derek has a track record of navigating high-pressure environments, specialising in financial planning, commissioning & contracting, governance, and risk management. Previous roles have included Locality Director at NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, Deputy Chief Finance Officer at South Devon & Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group and Head of Finance at Torbay PCT / South Devon & Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group.
Beyond his professional career, Derek is passionate about community involvement. He is the coaching assistant and Club Committee Member for Upton Athletic U11s and has held governance roles as a Foundation Trust Governor for Torbay & South Devon NHS FT and a School Parent Governor. He is also a Trustee for Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership (SASP). Amongst the volunteering roles, Derek enjoys football, running and cycling and is an active member of local clubs, both playing and supporting.
Trustee
Sam is a barrister and broadcaster currently based in Exeter. He works in the Court of Protection dealing with issues relating to mental capacity.
Trustee
A degree qualified Chartered Surveyor, Steve has over 25 years of commercial and management experience working at senior and board level within a number of key sectors. Having worked with several organisations of varying sizes this has given an insight to the challenges faced by the private and public sectors.
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He has over five years’ experience working within the Social Housing Sector for Mi-space (UK) Ltd and has also spent over 10 years providing services to the public sector within Environmental and Highways. From 2016, 3 years was spent in the South West delivering a fusion of contracting, housing and mixed-use regeneration schemes. This has included partnerships works in collaborative long-term arrangements with registered providers, local authorities and other stakeholders to build high quality housing and sustainable communities.
Steve worked on the Board of Westward Housing Group, initially joining the Board of Horizon Homes. He was then invited to join the main Board in 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of the sector and assisting the Executive Team in delivering the organisation’s objectives. From 2018, Steve worked on the Audit and Assurance Committee gaining valuable experience in Risk Management.
He understands the challenges in the current political and economic climate and demonstrates working in partnership with public sector organisations though vehicles such as joint ventures.
Steve’s key focus in any organisation relates to governance, effectiveness and efficiency, achievement of set goals and delivery of the bottom line.
Trustee
Matthew is a Chartered commercial leader with over a decade of senior experience across the public sector, including executive roles in urgent care and strategic positions within the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence.
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He has led major procurement and transformation programmes across health and defence, with a focus on driving innovation, value for money, and social impact.
Trustee
Rob is Managing Director at Optix Solutions, a B Corp-certified digital agency in Exeter, and founder of wavemind, a leadership consultancy focused on culture change and sustainable growth. With over 30 years’ experience, he’s worked with startups, charities, and FTSE 100 firms, helping leaders unlock performance through clarity, compassion, and culture.
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Rob was named in Campaign’s 40 Over 40 in 2024 as one of the UK’s most effective and influential leaders and led Optix to win Campaign’s Best Agency to Work For in 2023. A qualified mental health first aider, he’s committed to building healthier workplaces where people and purpose thrive.
He joined Step One’s Board in 2025, driven by both professional insight and personal recovery from a mental health crisis. Rob believes lived experience brings empathy, credibility, and a deeper understanding of the barriers people face—essential for shaping services that truly meet people where they are. He’s proud to support an organisation helping others regain stability, dignity, and hope.
