Carolyn Merry
Director
Carolyn has been fascinated about the concept of peace since childhood and before joining Place for Hope, spent over 25 years working in the humanitarian, international development and peacebuilding sectors around the world, often in places of war, extreme poverty, repressive discrimination and exclusion of those most vulnerable. Her passion for peacemaking in its most holistic sense, is deeply rooted in her Christian faith and experiences around the world living and working beside people with different faiths, cultures, beliefs, worldviews and life experiences. Although Carolyn grew up in Australia, she settled back in her native UK in 2014 to focus on local peacemaking and conflict transformation and loves the 4 different seasons here (& really loves snow), cycling, and time spent with God and nature on long daily walks with her dog, Pace (Italian for peace).
A quote I love...
Peace, in fact, is not the absence of anything, but rather the ultimate affirmation of what can be. – Rabbi K. Cohen
Our Staff
Our Staff
Katie Bradley
Reconciliation and Mediation Team Manager
Combining a passion for people with a head for strategy and process, Katie will develop a new reconciliation and mediation service for the Methodist Church and lead a team of practitioners in 3 pilot regions. She has extensive experience of project management within faith contexts and training in initial ministerial education as well as a background in academic theology. Katie loves being outdoors with her family and especially enjoys collecting rocks and shells with her daughter Ailsa for their games and craft projects!
A quote I love...
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and thumb the squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it. – Digging, Seamus Heaney
Helen Boothroyd
Business Development Manager
Helen’s passion for justice and peace has underpinned her development work for various ecumenical organisations over many years. Her role focuses on strategic planning, sustainability and fundraising. Helen is a member of the Methodist Church and lives near the sea in North Lancashire. She loves walking and birdwatching around Morecambe Bay, and at holiday times she and her husband can be found in their caravan anywhere in the UK!
A quote I love…
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King (quoting Theodore Parker)
Neil Wykes
Administrator and Bookkeeper
Neil is responsible for many day-to-day tasks - from the smooth running of the virtual offices to booking venues, tracking finance and fixing spreadsheets! Having worked full-time for several years within the voluntary and corporate sector in Scotland, managing offices, databases and accounts, Neil now works part time with Place for Hope. He spends the rest of his week as a wedding photographer, and Lego Master Builder alongside his young son.
A quote I love...
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
Abdul Rahim
Training Manager
Abdul is a mediator, facilitator and trainer with over ten years experience in facilitating complex multi-party, multi-issue dialogue processes within and between local authorities, the third sector and communities. A practicing Muslim, Abdul has worked across England, and more recently in Scotland using civic mediation processes to build understanding and relationships across communities where racial and cultural tensions are evident. He has experience of international conflicts, working with survivors of the Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka, and with marginalised Roma communities in Slovenia.
A quote I love...
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Gilda Radner, actress and comedian (1946-1989)
Natalie Barrett
Communications and Client Care Manager
Natalie looks after words, websites and people! She is the main point of contact for those reaching out for support or training and ensures that the work, ethos and message of Place for Hope is communicated in a clear, accessible way. Natalie lives by the sea with her photographer husband and their sons. She plays roller derby and loves nothing more than a day cycling, sea swimming and a trip to the woods to build a den with her boys!
A quote I love…
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea. – E. E. Cummings
Related Articles
Reconciliation:
To Repair with God
An article by Nancy Adams, featured in ‘Inspires’ exploring the art of reconciliation and the dynamic of conflict.
Place for Hope: The Need for Reconcilers
An article by Hugh Donald, featured in ‘The Edge’, discussing the call to reconciliation and the journey of Place for Hope