Leeann Stevenson
Executive Director
Parent to adult daughter with SMS
Leeann Stevenson has been a dedicated member of the SMS Foundation UK team since it became a CIO in 2020. Before joining as a staff member, she served as a trustee for eight years. Initially stepping into the role of Communications and Information Manager, Leeann played a key role in shaping the foundation’s brand and managing its digital presence. More recently, her focus has shifted towards development strategy, leading two key programmes that provide vital support to parents and carers of individuals with SMS and help families navigate the complex SEND system.
Helen Hargrave
Programmes Manager
Helen joined the Foundation in 2020, after 10 years of prior experience in the charity sector, holding a range of senior management positions for a variety of charitable causes, incorporating small local charities including Richard House Children’s Hospice through to national organisations including Maggie’s, Shelter and Diabetes UK. Prior to joining the Foundation, Helen served as Director of Victim Services at Brake, the road safety charity, where she led the victim services team in the funding and delivery of the organisation’s national freephone telephone helpline, the police liaison programme, and their project Sudden, supporting bereavement professionals and anyone bereaved by a sudden death.
Within the third sector, Helen has worked across a number of causes all with vulnerable people at their core, and helping vulnerable people is of massive importance to her. Helen specialises service delivery and funding, with her experience as a senior fundraiser enabling her to hone her skills in building a compelling story and understanding donor motivations.