Our People – The Pickering Cancer Drop-in Centre

Centre Manager

Caroline McGibney

Caroline is a familiar face to people who visit The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre, not only meeting visitors but providing vital administrative support.

After a 30-year career in law in the City and training as a bookkeeper, Caroline left that world and trained as a clinical aromatherapist. She first walked through the doors of Pickering in 2017 and has become increasingly involved ever since.

Caroline says: “The Centre is personally important to me at many levels having been touched by cancer and the havoc it wreaks on those suffering and their loved ones since I was a young child. As Centre Manager I feel immensely humbled and privileged to be part of the everyday activities in the Centre and am grateful that I have the opportunity to help develop and secure the future of the charity in whatever way I can.”

In her spare time, Caroline enjoys being a grandma and various types of yarn and fabric crafts; growing flowers and working with them and their oils and essences and all things nature related.

Board of Trustees

Chair

David Bartholomew

David is a professional photographer, who has worked all over the world providing event, corporate, architectural, performing arts, food, product and travel photography. Over the years, his client base has included individuals through charities to SMEs and international companies.

He was previously MD of a local design business, which he ran alongside his wife Sarah.

David has supported and been involved with Pickering since its inception. He became a Trustee in 2016 and chair since January 2020, providing steady and trusted leadership.

David says: “Pickering has been an important part of my life for the past 20 years and having had a close family member and good friends who have used the charity, I have seen first-hand how much the Centre can help in a number of ways. I am very proud and honoured to have been a trustee, and now Chair, helping to steer this unique charity into its next phase.”

Photography is David’s passion, so as well as doing it professionally, he also enjoys taking photographs in his spare time. He also enjoys mountain biking, as well as walking and has tackled Hadrian’s Wall and The Three Peaks in aid of Pickering.

Deputy Chair

Angela Ward

Former journalist, Angela Ward – who has worked on publications ranging from The Kent and Sussex Courier and Acquisitions Monthly to International Tax-Free Trader and Travel Intelligence Middle East - runs a business providing local professional firms with PR, social media and content creation support.

She is helping Pickering with its social media and PR, as well as building our library of stories.

Angela says: “The support Pickering provides to patients – and their family and friends – makes a real difference. I am so proud to be part of the Pickering family as a trustee.”

In her spare time, Angela loves cooking, trying out new cuisines and travelling.

Secretary

Karen Dodd

Karen Dodd recently joined our Board as Secretary and brings with her extensive corporate experience, having worked at AXA Health (formerly PPP Healthcare) for 35 years. She started in customer service and then moved to a health and safety role, followed by an operational risk role and then business continuity planning.

Karen then moved back to customer service, where she managed a department responsible for customer service audit, quality assurance, data protection, vulnerable customers and complaint management.

“I enjoyed my career there and met some great colleagues,” Karen says. “Then, two years ago, I became a full-time self-employed mental health counsellor, which I find extremely rewarding.”

She first visited Pickering 15 years ago, as part of a company charity day, clearing our garden and helping with decorating. Since then, Karen has volunteered at the Centre for the last six and half years, as a mental health counsellor.

“The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre is an amazing place with amazing people and provides support and sanctuary for so many,” Karen says. “The energy and atmosphere are unique and I feel very passionate about the environment Pickering offers. I wanted to become a trustee to support Pickering, as I understand the ethos, the benefit of and need for the Centre.”

In her spare time, Karen walks a lot with her husband Tim and whippet Rodney and likes to explore different places in the UK.

Treasurer

Chris Maslin

Local accountant and tax adviser, Chris Maslin, established Maslins accountants 14 years ago, which is now a now an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Keen to share the benefits of EOTs with others, Chris launched Go EO in May 2022, which provides a transition service and support for owners looking to follow a similar path.

We appreciate his skills when it comes to understanding our financial figures.

Chris says: “I’ve been aware of Pickering for some time, offering a great service to both cancer sufferers and those close to them, so I’m keen to help where I can!”

In his spare time, Chris enjoys walks with his dog, Hamish, who can often be found at Maslins, where he is unofficially ‘head of shredding’.

Richard Moore

Past Pickering Chair and award-winning journalist Richard, is a former Sunday Mirror News Editor, BBC Radio Four Current Affairs Producer and Editorial Director of the Times of Tunbridge Wells. He was also Executive Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. He is well known in the community and is Editorial Director of the Tunbridge Wells Business Magazine.

Richard says:"To be part of the Pickering family is truly an honour and a privilege and those words are not used lightly. I am constantly in awe of the work of our volunteers in helping others in need." He has been a Trustee since 2012 and spends his spare time with his family (10 grandchildren), enjoying a pint with friends and playing golf (badly).

Dr. Jonathan Angel

Jonathan Angel is one of our longest-standing trustees, having joined the board around 15 years ago.

As a qualified doctor, he brings with him myriad medial experience which includes working as an anaesthetist in many different hospitals for ten years; a year in a Shell hospital in Brunei as anaesthetist and general physician; 20 years working for an assistance company as medical advisor and air ambulance doctor; 14 years as a local GP partner in his wife’s practice; and 35 years as a Forensic Medical Examiner (Police Surgeon). He hastens to add that some of these roles were concurrent!

In this spare time, Jonathan (who has lived in East Sussex with his wife for 45 years) enjoys the ‘rural lifestyle’ the county offers, which includes walking and working in the garden.

Dr. Rema Jyothirmayi

Dr Rema Jyothirmayi is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist specialising in breast cancer and gynaecological cancer and has been in her post at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust since 2003. She obtained her basic medical qualification in 1990 and trained in Oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, St Thomas’ Hospital, London and the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. Rema successfully completed the MRCP (UK) and received her FRCR postgraduate qualification in Clinical Oncology from the Royal College of Radiologists, London, in 1999.

She is a member of the multidisciplinary teams for breast cancer and gynaecological cancer and is involved in clinical trials and research.

Rema says: “I have seen first-hand the positive impact that The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre has on my patients and their families. The volunteers and therapists do a wonderful job, giving their time generously on an entirely voluntary basis. I am proud to be associated with the Centre as one of their trustees, and to support Pickering in any way that I can.”

In her spare time, Rema has a keen interest in exercise and physical fitness as well as wellbeing initiatives for patients. She is also the Kent regional ambassador for the 5K Your Way exercise programme for patients living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis.

Danielle Friend

Danielle Friend, owner of accountancy practice Create Balance, joined our board in 2024 and bought with her extensive charity experience. Through Create Balance, which is based just outside Tunbridge Wells, she provides Finance Director (FD) services to a regional air ambulance charity as well as previously being the FD of a Maidstone-based drug and alcohol charity.

Danielle was born and raised in Tunbridge Wells and attended Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School (TWGGS). She began her finance career as an apprentice in a local accountancy practice before heading for the bright lights of London. Danielle then found herself back in Tunbridge Wells in 2004 working for a local export business, before launching her own practice in 2013.

“Pickering is a charity close to my heart and I’ve wanted to be part of it for some time,” says Danielle. “In 2022, I lost a very dear friend to cancer and she had cared a lot about the charity, even before she was ill. To continue to see it thrive and help so many others will be part of her legacy. To serve as part of the Pickering board and be given the opportunity to shape the future of the charity, is nothing short of a privilege.”

Head of Volunteers

Janice Rees

Janice joined The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre as a volunteer six years ago and then, after the pandemic, she took on the role of co-ordinating our volunteers. After 30 years working in the City, she was on the lookout for an opportunity to volunteer and on a few occasions nearly applied for roles in other charities. Something always held her back and when she heard about Pickering, it seemed like the perfect fit and she is glad she waited for the right one!

As volunteer team leader, Janice organises the volunteer rota, interviews prospective new volunteers and arranges induction sessions for them. She organises each month’s rota a few weeks in advance, making sure there are enough volunteers for each session and a good balance of experienced and newer volunteers.

Janice also recently took on the role of Safeguarding Officer.

She says: “Volunteering at Pickering has brought me into contact with a diverse group of people both within the team of volunteers and amongst our visitors, which makes the role so interesting and the conversations so varied! It is great being part of the team and the Centre is a friendly, welcoming place where laughter is frequently heard. It’s a wonderful community where volunteers support visitors and visitors help and support each other. New visitors don’t know what to expect when they ring our doorbell but we hope they soon feel the warmth and the welcome.”

DBS Coordinator

Trish Fearnley

Trish has been volunteering here at The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre since 2018.

“I first found out about Pickering when I was working at Thomson, Snell & Passmore [a law firm in Tunbridge Wells],” Trish explains. “It resonated with me, as I’d had my own cancer diagnosis in 2003.”

Trish retired in 2017 and gave herself six months of being ‘properly retired’ before getting in touch with Pickering to discover more about becoming a volunteer.

“Now I come in most Wednesdays and enjoy chatting with our visitors, as well as helping out with some of the admin,” she says. “Having retired, I missed being ‘part of a team’ and the sense of belonging that comes with that. At Pickering, I’ve found that again. There’s a lovely warm feeling here; I enjoy talking to our visitors and hearing their stories which are often inspirational. I think they feel a little better when they leave and I feel I’ve done something worthwhile with my time.”