Valerie Wilson

Trustee & Partnership Coordinator

Val has over 30 years’ experience in leadership roles in education and international development with a focus on capacity building, strategic development and project management.

Val supported teachers in the community to set up a Learning and Resource centre and registered Ndhiwa Community Empowerment and Development Project as a CBO in 2003. She remains actively involved as Twende Pamoja Treasurer.

Helen Hodgson

Trustee

Helen works at the National Audit Office as a Director of Value for Money Audit. She has extensive experience as a public sector auditor, including auditing the work of the former Department for International Development (DfID) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

Helen joined Team Kenya as a trustee in September 2023. Helen has spent time in Kenya and is passionate about supporting the ground-breaking education projects that support women and girls.

Neil Haddow

Trustee

Neil has an Economics degree from the University of Edinburgh and is a CFA charter holder. He is based in Edinburgh and works in financial services. Latterly, he has spent 3 years working in Corporate Finance across sub-Saharan Africa.

Neil joined Team Kenya as a Trustee in July 2023. He is a member of the finance sub committee and assists with forecasting and governance.

Jacky Quincey

Trustee

Jacky has over 30 years’ experience in education, starting her career as a teacher in East Africa and finishing as Deputy Head at a Northumberland High School. She became a trustee in 2012 after she retired and since then has been to Ndhiwa five times to get to know the projects at first-hand and to work with the staff, particularly in the Education area.

Jacky has also supported our grants fundraising and reporting throughout the time she has been involved with Team Kenya.

Tana Hunt

Trustee

Tana is a business and finance professional with over 15 years’ experience in both public and private sectors. She is currently Director of the Health and Mental Health portfolio at the Department of Treasury in Western Australia, working across government to shape policy and sustainable funding for essential services.

Passionate about international development and gender equality, Tana first connected with Team Kenya in 2014 while volunteering in Ndhiwa. Since then, she has supported Twende Pamoja’s financial policy development and became a trustee in March 2025.

Halinishi Yusuf

Volunteer | Twende Pamoja Partnership Group Enterprise Advisor

Halinishi is a development practitioner experienced in designing, coordinating, managing, and implementing projects on sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management. With over 15 years working experience from both private and public sectors; she is skilled in strategic planning, project management, community engagement, social assessments, policy analysis, negotiation, lobbying and change management. Her interest and experience is in socioeconomic empowerment, climate change adaptation, natural resource governance and mainstreaming gender. She is currently a PhD Researcher at Newcastle University, UK.

Terry Courtney

Treasurer

Terry is a qualified accountant and worked in industry, in particular manufacturing and engineering, over 40 years for various companies, most recently as Finance Director of an engineering business where he was responsible for all finance and most commercial activities.

Terry is now retired from full-time work but holds a non-executive directorship with a local design and manufacturing company and is a trustee of two charities in Newcastle and Darlington.

Chelsi Tolbert

Volunteer | Schools Partnership Coordinator

Chelsi, originally from small-town Idaho, began her education career as a primary teacher and gained international experience in rural Mexico and Tanzania during university. She earned a Distinction MA in International Development and Education from Newcastle University in 2021 and joined Team Kenya as a volunteer in October 2023.

Now based near Teesside, Chelsi works as a supply teacher and leads Team Kenya’s school partnerships. She enjoys exploring the Northeast, reading, and championing girls’ and women’s empowerment through education.

Lynda Evans

Volunteer | Admin & Finance

Lynda has had many roles at Team Kenya over the last 20 years. Having recently ended her term as Chair of Trustees, she now supports the charity as Admin and Finance volunteer.

Lynda was the former Head of Geography at Walbottle Campus and then Gosforth Academy before changing careers to work in the Sixth Form at Newcastle College, where she also managed the teacher training team. In 2013 she became Assistant Principal – Curriculum at Newcastle Sixth Form College. Lynda took early retirement in 2019 to spend with family, pursue her interests, and take up new hobbies.

Chantel Gray

Volunteer | Digital Marketing Manager

Chantel is a Digital Marketing Specialist with expertise in SEO and Digital Strategies. She works for a renewable energy company managing websites and digital marketing strategies across several European countries.

Chantel joined the marketing team in June 2024 and supports with the website strategy and management, technical and content SEO.

Maisie Dodds

Volunteer | University Partnerships Coordinator

Whilst studying physical geography at Newcastle University, Maisie was the secretary for the Team Kenya Society and traveled to Ndhiwa with other society members in 2023.

Since graduating, Maisie has continued to volunteer with Team Kenya and now oversees our partnerships with universities to engage students and staff in our vision and mission