Board of Trustees

Chair of Trustees

Nicola became a Trustee at Sheffield Women’s Aid in January 2017, now serving as vice chair.

She's a Matrimonial Solicitor with a decade of experience at Norrie, Waite and Slater, specializing in helping domestic abuse survivors. Her commitment to supporting survivors stems from her legal work, driving her to ensure accessible and secure assistance.

Nicola values Sheffield Women’s Aid's exceptional support and is proud to be part of such a remarkable organisation.

Treasurer

Jacqueline previously served as Treasurer for Equation Charity, where she actively contributed to governance and presented financial accounts to the Board.

She’s a qualified accountant MAAT ACCA with 40 years of diverse financial experience, ranging from grassroots accounting to executive roles. Jacqueline has spent 20 years in private construction, including 12 years as a Financial Director, followed by 20 years in the public sector, focusing on healthcare and clinical trials research financial project management. She is experienced in providing budget training to empower budget holders and am deeply committed to humanitarian values and equal opportunities.

Her personal connection to domestic and sexual abuse issues has drawn her to SWA.

To learn more about her role check out her blog post here.

Trustee

Clare became a Trustee in March 2022. She is a solicitor specialising in employment and discrimination cases.

She currently works for a charity helping people who would not otherwise be able to afford legal advice about problems at work. Clare sees the real benefits that listening to and empowering people can have every day.

She wanted to support and become involved with SWA in the knowledge that as well as providing the practical necessities of safe accommodation it focuses on delivering that listening and empowering support for families escaping violent and controlling situations

Trustee

Sarah joined Sheffield Women’s Aid at the end of 2023, with almost a decades worth of experience in the refuge and poverty sector through positions held in the British Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

Sarah is also the head of business development at the Refuge Council, focusing on programme modelling, statutory commissioner engagement and statutory fundraising.

Trustee

Nicola became a Trustee in October 2023. She has a wealth of experience from her 20 year career history working in the public and charity sector, with a focus on social inclusion and creating opportunities for people facing multiple disadvantage.

In her role as Director Support Manager at DWP, Nicola is responsible for managing the office of the Director for Health & Disabilities, leading a team of support managers to ensure the work of the function is delivered and the priorities of the business plan are achieved.

In her previous role as Head of Business Development at South Yorkshire Housing Association, Nicola was responsible for identifying and securing investment to deliver health, social care, employment and wellbeing services across South Yorkshire.

In her spare time Nicola enjoys cooking, walking with her family in the peaks and travel.

Nicola is inspired by the work of Sheffield Women’s Aid. She’s excited to bring her knowledge and experience of income generation and strategy development to the organisation to support its future development and further its impact.

To learn more about her role check out her blog post here.

Trustee

Gail is a relationship focused social worker and has been working directly with women who have experienced sexual violence and exploitation, domestic abuse, mental health, substance misuse issues and those who have experience of the criminal justice system since 2015.

Gail is driven by a desire for social justice and is committed to playing a role in reducing the impacts and possibility of childhood trauma.

Gender politics, the politics and pervasiveness of trauma and her understanding of the very necessary role of specialist organisations when working with those who experience interpersonal trauma, influence her involvement in Sheffield Women’s Aid.

Trustee

Jules joined the SWA Board of Trustees in 2025. Jules began her career as a teacher before moving into the charity sector, when she joined the national team at The WI. Jules played a pivotal role in delivering the 2024 WI Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall, which focused on the “No More Violence Against Women and Girls” campaign, and supporting the organisation’s wider advocacy work.

 Passionate about safeguarding, governance and social inclusion, Jules brings practical experience in strategy, community engagement and project delivery to her role as a SWA trustee. She is committed to supporting SWA in its work with women and children. 

 Outside of work, Jules enjoys being outdoors with her young family in the Peaks, and loves being creative through crafting and cooking.

Trustee

Zarah became a Trustee at SWA in December 2025 having extensive industry knowledge and experience within the Charity, Public and Health sectors over nearly two decades.  With a level 6 Diploma in Careers, Guidance and Development, Zarah has predominantly specialised in delivering an array of therapeutic employment services that support and empower vulnerable adults and young people.

 Leading on stakeholder engagement, service user experience, marketing and recruitment strategies in previous roles, Zarah is currently a Project Lead responsible for the integration and development of an NHS employment service in a primary care mental health setting. Zarah hopes to lend her passion for working with colleagues on the strategic and continuous development of client led services to the SWA board.

 Understanding the significant impact this charity’s support can have on survivors of domestic abuse, Zarah is proud and excited to have joined the SWA board of trustees.

Ambassador

Maureen has been a dedicated member of Sheffield Women’s Aid since the late-70s, bringing invaluable organizational memory to the team.

With a background in management and training roles focused on domestic and sexual abuse, including Violence Against Women & Girls, she served as the Sheffield Co-ordinator for strategic efforts against domestic abuse for 15 years starting from 1995.

Maureen's impactful career continued until 2022 when she retired as the Director of Vida Sheffield (formerly Sheffield Domestic Abuse Forum), a role where she pioneered trauma-focused therapy services for women affected by abuse.

Even in retirement, Maureen remains a passionate feminist activist, grandmother, and singer, persistently campaigning on issues related to Violence Against Women and Girls.

After many years of service as a member of our board of trustees she is now aiding the cause as an ambassador for SWA within the community.

Ambassador

It’s a true privilege to be an Ambassador for Sheffield Women’s Aid and a role I was delighted to accept. I have been a freelance journalist, working with women’s magazines and national news outlets for 30 years. During the last three decades, I have interviewed dozens of women who have experienced domestic abuse. Through my reporting, my only aim was to give these women a voice that had so often been silenced.

One of the women I have worked with since March 2015 is Claire Throssell, who is also an Ambassador for Women’s Aid. Claire’s children, Jack, 12, and nine-year-old Paul, who were cruelly murdered by their own father on a court ordered supervised access visit. 

I have continually worked with Claire to raise awareness around domestic abuse including her Child First campaign.

Claire’s legacy and campaigning led to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, repealing the presumption of parental contact in law. It was a huge honour to attend Downing Street with Claire as the Prime Minister promised to make changes to keep children safe.

As well as being a journalist, I teach journalism at the University of Sheffield. I am passionate about teaching trainee journalists about how to report on domestic abuse ethically and impactfully, to help create meaningful change.

I am now creating an interactive toolkit, which will be available to all journalists and journalism educators. I hope this will further help create positive change around the language and images used within journalistic reporting about domestic abuse.