A qualified Social Worker, Nigel joined The Island in 2009 as the Mentoring Co-ordinator, before becoming the Chief Executive Office in 2019. He has extensive experience in working with children and young people and is passionate about our mentoring programmes, which are transforming the lives of those we work with, their families and communities.

Outside of the work he does at The Island, Nigel and his wife, Rachel fosters children and young people for which they both received an MBE for in 2020. Nigel and Rachel now care solely for teenage refugees who have fled persecution and torture.  To find out more about Nigel and his work at The Island, click here.

Manager of Mentoring Services

Emma has been supporting children and young people for over 16 years.  Originally, a volunteer mentor at The Island, Emma was inspired to work with The Island having accessed youth services herself as a teenager which helped her to understand the positive impact that mentoring has in children and young people’s lives.

Emma was promoted to the Manager of Mentoring Services in 2020 after 8 years of service to the charity. 

Emma’s role enables her to work with both mentees and mentors, including developing the training and wider training and personal development opportunities for staff, volunteers and mentees. She also works closely with the CEO to improve the charity’s mentoring programmes as well as develop new services and initiatives.

Outside of The Island, Emma is the Chair of Trustees for a children’s playgroup which gives her the opportunity to further give back to the community. To find out more about Emma and her work at The Island, click here.

David Shepherd

Finance & HR Officer

Ella Barrie

Mentee Liaison and Office Lead

Ella’s role is to oversee the coordination of our referrals and staff team. This includes providing the team with support and guidance as well as creating bespoke mentoring support packages to support the children and young people who are referred to our services. Support packages include booking the mentees into group-based mentoring sessions, providing urgent support for mentees deemed most at risk and liaising with other organisations to further heighten the mentees health and wellbeing.

Ella has over five years of experience working with primary and secondary aged children and is currently studying towards a Level 5 Leadership Diploma in Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services. To find out more about Ella and her work at The Island, click here.

Lucy Nicholls (on leave January-July 2024)

Trauma Informed Practitioner

Lucy volunteered with The Island in 2018, where she supported the youth group provisions. She then went onto completing a BSc in Psychology before returning to The Island in 2021.

Lucy’s role is to coordinate the ASDAN educational support packages and support as well as delivering  The Island's life skill sessions and work experience programmes, which develops our mentees’ future prospects as they transition into adulthood.

In addition to this, Lucy is also responsible for re-establishing our school-based mentoring project which we hope will be back up and running from September 2023 onwards.

Outside of The Island, Lucy offers her support within schools and playgroups, working with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Shantelle Dickson

Mentee Liaison Officer

Originally, The Island's Mentor Supervisor,  Shantelle became our Mentee Liaison Officer in early 2023.  Shantelle supports Ella with the coordination of our referrals, including putting together support packages for young people that they are able to engage in and enjoy.

Shantelle has previously worked and volunteered supporting teenage parents and male prisoners. As the mother of two children with differing additional needs she is passionate about and recognizes the importance supporting the whole family.

Rachel Platts

Youth Support Worker

Rachel is one of our Youth Support Workers, and works alongside the wider team to facilitate our group based mentoring provisions. She has a real passion for working with young people and their families, and has experience with supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Rachel started out in Early Years settings and then moved on to Counselling, completing her level four diploma. 

Outside of The Island, Rachel helps with fundraising events and enjoys time with her animals. 

Andrew Tippman

After a 15-year career working as a prison tutor, Andrew joined The Island 2020 where he supports the children and young people with their studies.

He believes that games are a great way to learn, especially maths and uses this approach to help The Island's children and young people to fulfil their potential. To find out more about Andrew and his work at The Island, click here.

Michelle Fielding

Mentoring Administration Assistant

Michelle is local to York and has a strong administration background with over 10 years of experience in various office roles. 

She works closely with the mentoring team providing efficient clerical, volunteer recruitment and referral support.  To find out more about Michelle and her work at The Island, click here.

Sheena Jackson

Youth Support Worker

Sheena is one of the newest members of The Island team and supports the team with their youth club provision at Foxwood Community Centre.

Experienced in both detached and activity-based youth work, Sheena has extensive experience in youth de-escalation and behaviour management whilst demonstrating a caring side too.

Outside of work, Sheena is a keen cyclist and enjoys skiing, hillwalking and playing tennis.

Bethany Slater

Youth Support Worker

Bethany is one of the newest members of the team supporting The Island with their youth club based provisions at the Foxwood Community Centre.

A previous volunteer of The Island, Bethany has extensive experience in support young people with low self-esteem discover their self-worth through positive interventions.

Outside of The Island, Bethany is a student at the University of York where she is studying towards a degree in psychology.

Cara Jardine

Administration Assistant

Cara has a strong background of working with children and young people, from being an Au pair in Paris, running after school clubs and working in museum education.

Cara joined The Island in early 2023 and her role includes providing effective admin support to the whole team to help ensure the smooth running of the charity.

Stephen Cottrell

Archbishop of York

Stephen Cottrell is the 98^thArchbishop of York. He has previously served as the Bishop of Chelmsford, Bishop of Reading, Canon Pastor at Peterborough Cathedral and Diocesan Missioner for the Diocese of Wakefield. He served in parishes in South London and Chichester. 

He is a member of the Church of England’s Committee for Minority Ethnic Concerns, and Chair of Church Army, an Anglican society for evangelism and social outreach. He is a member of the House of Lords. 

He is a well-known writer and speaker on evangelism, spirituality and catechesis. His latest book, Dear England, addresses issues about how the Christian faith can shape the life of our nation. He is married to Rebecca who is a potter, and they have three sons and one grandson.

Laurence Beardmore

Chair

Paul Devlin

Treasurer

Elly Fiorentini

Trustee

Jonathan Barwick

Trustee

James Bishop

Trustee

Sarah Barwick

Trustee

Lee Vincent

Trustee