Senior Management Team

Our senior management team have day-to-day responsibility for leading WellChild and the delivery of our strategy, whilst our board of trustees provide strategic leadership and support to ensure that we’re doing what we set out to.

Matt James WellChild

Matt James

Chief Executive

Matt joined WellChild in 2015 following over ten years marketing in the technology industry. Matt has spent the last six years helping the charity to punch above its weight and become a leading voice for children and families across the UK. He has also been instrumental in driving forward the development of WellChild digital services portfolio, including the early stage development of a mobile app to help families manage complex medicine routines and launch of the charity’s online information hub for families. Matt has an MBA from Cardiff Business School and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). He is passionate about child health and social care and has a keen interest in the transformative potential of digital technology for social good.

Emily Henderson

Emily Henderson

Director of Operations

Emily joined WellChild in 2019, having worked in business management and operational roles across various sectors, concentrating on the health, social care and charity sectors more specifically in the last 6 years. Emily works across the organisation and manages the operational and support services including business processes, finance, IT, Health & Safety, Data Protection and front of house to ensure that WellChild runs smoothly, efficiently and effectively.  Emily is skilled at assessing the services that an organisation uses, such as IT, telephony and database to ensure they are robust, secure and effectively adhere to GDPR.  Emily has undertaken training covering leadership and management, IT, health & safety and business administration.

Abby Guilding

Abby Guilding

Director of Fundraising

Abby joined WellChild in 2020 and has worked in the voluntary sector for nearly 10 years. After studying dietetics, she found her place within the charity sector and prior to joining the team Abby headed up a Gloucestershire food charity. Whilst there, she was fundamental in the creation of flagship social enterprise projects; establishing relationships with commissioners and supporters; redefining the charity’s goals; and developing new income streams.

Abby is passionate about health and wellbeing and enjoys developing sustainable relationships to make significant impacts. As the newly appointed Director of Fundraising at WellChild, she will be working to establish a stable and ambitious growth in income to allow the organisation to deliver its new charitable strategy.

In her spare time, Abby enjoys cooking for family and friends, and can often be found on long dog walks across the Cotswolds.

Amy Mitchell

Director of Programmes

Over the last 11 years, Amy has worked for the NHS and various Charity organisations with a focus on delivering services which benefit those who are most vulnerable in society. While working for the British Red Cross, she managed support services within North and South London hospitals and gained valuable insight into the challenges faced by older people remaining independent at home. She worked alongside NHS leaders, to ensure that hospital discharge was safe, and considerate of both health and social care needs.

Amy has also led on the implementation of programmes from the UK to Australia and East Africa, predominantly to improve access to medical facilities. These programmes have benefitted children with blood cancer diagnoses, women with gynaecological health concerns and those who live hundreds of miles from health care facilities. She has learnt which delivery models provide the most impact and become skilled in negotiating resources for unmet need in a range of geographical and economic contexts.

After developing a keen interest in safeguarding vulnerable people, she took over managing domestic and sexual abuse services in Warwickshire and Wiltshire. As part of the Senior Management Team for First Light South West, she led on forensic and medical accreditations and became competent in her knowledge around civil and criminal remedies available to survivors.