Meet our team
Robes Staff
Lisa Moodie
chief executive officer
Lisa has worked in the charity sector for over 25 years, both in Australia and the UK. She is passionate about supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged people, with an aim to empower others to lead fulfilling and independent lives.
Lisa has supported people in various sectors, including the areas of: disability, migrant & refugees, and children & young people. Lisa has worked in the homeless sector since 2017. Before coming to Robes, she worked in homelessness prevention, and in rough sleeper outreach, coordinating teams throughout much of South West London.
Macey Osei-Kissi
INTERIM SHELTER COORDINATOR
Macey has extensive experience in operational coordination, planning and support. She was an administrator across several GP's in the Southwark borough during the pandemic, where her excellent organisational skills assisted in maintaining the smooth running of patient facing and back-office operations. Prior to this Macey was a support worker for individuals with learning disabilities and autism, where she led group activity programmes to support service users to gain independence, and assisted with personal care activities.
Macey has a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing. She also has a degree in Fine Art and does painting commissions in her spare time.
Alex Hagi-Georgiou
Advice worker
Alex has over 18 years experience working with within floating support services, hostels and supported housing settings. His specialties are complex needs, mental health and substance misuse, including crisis management.
Alex has a person centred approach, and a strong understanding of service user involvement. He is adept at managing challenging behaviour, and has managed to gain our guests trust quickly.
Natalie Blackwood
Advice worker
Natalie has 8 years experience working with young people and adults with complex needs in supported accommodation settings, day services and through floating support within the community.
She also has a person centred approach, and a firm understanding of service user involvement. Our guests are responding to Natalie really well.
Robes trustees
Paul Venning
Chair of Trustees
Paul took up his first Trustee role in the non-profit sector in 2012. In recent years he has worked with charities in a broad range of sectors including mental health & well-being, learning disabilities, refugee and asylum seekers, community welfare, homelessness and support for ex-offenders.
An experienced business advisor specialising in mentoring, marketing, recruitment & retention, primarily in the consumer financial services, e-commerce, digital payments and professional services sectors, he is also an entrepreneur with direct involvement in organisations providing services to technology based start-ups and is a parish councillor. His earlier career included American Express, IPC Business Press in Southwark and British Steel. Paul gained his MBA from London Business School and is a longstanding member of the Institute of Directors.
Wendy Thompson
Trustee
Wendy has been a committed volunteer for St Michael’s Church Stockwell for over seven years and a Trustee since 2013. Wendy is enthusiastic and a good networker, driven because she knows that compassion, love and professionalism mixed with respect and dignity transform the lives of both guests and the volunteers. She is kept busy juggling her voluntary commitments with being a mother of two small children while teaching at a Montessori School.
Asad Ansari
Treasurer
Asad is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant with over 40 years diverse experience primarily in the banking industry, covering areas such as business development and management, regulatory relations, audit, finance and risk management. Asad has a strong commitment to tackle homelessness and feels strongly that it is a human right to live in a home and not on the streets.
Neil Tryner
Trustee
Neil Tryner is Managing Director and Company Secretary of Co-op Home, a registered housing provider working across London.
Neil has over 20 years experience of working in the housing and care sector.
As a member of Southwark Cathedral he also volunteers as a team leader for Robes.
Sam Forsdike
Trustee
Sam is a documentary maker, producing and directing content through his company, Postcard.
He spent nine years working in homelessness in Camden where he managed move-ons into housing and employment for guests of a winter shelter. He currently volunteers with Home From Home, a hosting scheme where spare rooms are matched with those in need of short term accommodation to help them move on from homelessness.
Matthew Hanney
Trustee
Matthew has volunteered at the St John the Divine, Kennington, shelter for ten years and lived in Lambeth for fifteen years. He is a Partner at the Business Advisory company Flint Global, and previously worked in government and parliament.
Elinor Wakefield OBE
Trustee
Elinor became a Robes Trustee in 2021 after being a night shelter volunteer for several years and previously volunteering for other homelessness charities. She spent over 17 years working in Government on International Development and Climate Change Policy. Elinor recently co-founded Climate-i, a climate-tech startup.
Myfanwy Lloyd
Trustee
Myfanwy is a teacher who has specialised in EAL and SEND. She is passionate about supporting everyone to access and enjoy education. She is currently at stay at home mother.
She has been volunteering in the homelessness sector since 2013 with a focus on mental health support and helping vulnerable women. She helps run a shelter over the winter, linking guests with services and move on plans.
Sam Johnson-Hill
Trustee
After volunteering at the Tuesday Club Sam became a trustee of Robes in 2021.
He has worked in environmental derivatives markets since 2005. He lives in Lambeth, and is married with a young family.
Nick Hodgson
Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Nick has been Secretary to the Trustees since August 2022, and he and his wife have been shelter volunteers at St John the Divine, Kennington since Robes began in 2007/8. He spent 35 years as a government lawyer and in his retirement is also Church Council Secretary at St John's, Clerk to the Governors of St Gabriel's College, and Secretary of an Amnesty International local group.
Patrons
The Right Reverend Christopher Chessun
patron
Christopher has been the Bishop of Southwark since 2011 and before that was an Area Bishop in the Diocese of Southwark from 2005. He is particularly concerned for the quality of life of those who live in urban areas and he was Bishop for Urban Life and Faith from May 2010 until 2013. He is President of the Association for Promoting Retreats and has taken young people from the Diocese of Southwark on pilgrimage to Taize, France, in recent years.
In 2011 he launched ‘Faith, Hope, Love – Bishop Christopher’s Call to Mission’ and through this he has encouraged individuals and communities to consider how best they can serve their neighbourhoods and show the faith, hope and love that we find in Jesus Christ to others. At Pentecost this year Bishop Christopher’s Call to Mission drew to a close giving rise to Hearts on Fire, the next phase of his vision for the Diocese of Southwark and its work. Bishop Christopher continues to give strong support to the Robes Sleepout at Southwark Cathedral in providing shelter for the homeless and raising funds for the project. He is delighted to be Patron of the Robes Project and shares its belief that we can make a difference in the lives of many people.
Right Honourable Sir Simon Hughes
patron
Simon is the newest Patron of the Robes Project. After studying law and practising as a barrister Simon entered the political arena. He has held various political roles including Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and the Member of Parliament for Bermondsey and other parts of the north of the Borough of Southwark for over 32 years. Simon also served as a frontbench spokesperson on many subjects including education, energy, environment, health and home affairs. Simon has a keen interest in human rights and asylum, co-authoring a variety of publications on the subject. In 2015 he was awarded a knighthood for his political and public service. Simon is currently involved in numerous community projects in Southwark as a Trustee and Patron.
Roger Royle
patron
Although now retired Roger Royle has spent the past 52 years as priest, a broadcaster, a journalist and an author. As a priest he has served the Church of England in parishes, schools, and a cathedral. As a broadcaster he has appeared on both television and radio mainly with the BBC, the twenty nine years he spent doing Pause for Thought on Terry Wogan’s breakfast show being one of the highlights.
Over the years Roger has been associated with many different charities but he is very honoured to be asked to become a patron. “Sadly more and more people are needing shelter for the night, a good meal and the hand of friendship but it is great to see Christians in Southwark and Lambeth responding to that need. After all it is no good being so full of heavenly thoughts if you are no earthly use”.
Sunil Chopra
patron
Sunil Chopra is an elected councillor in the London Borough of Southwark. As an innovative thinker, Sunil has a gift for developing creative solutions. With a compassionate nature and a specialist in Community service, Sunil has developed vast experience in human resources, PR, education and as an entrepreneur.
As a former Mayor of Southwark, Sunil has previously nominated Robes Project as one of his charities of the year. Sunil is also a founding trustee of the Southwark Hindu Centre and has been involved in the local Rotary Club. He is passionately involved in raising funds and awareness for clean water projects in Africa and India.