Meet the Team
The Friends for Life team is made up of a small number of staff, and a Board of Trustees. Together we look after our growing team of volunteers. If you would like to join us, please get in touch.
Terri Harrington - Chair
Terri leads our board and directs the management of our small staff team.
Terri is married with 3 children, 2 stepchildren and 7 grandchildren. She retired from National Highways in March 2023 where she was a Sponsorship Director overseeing the delivery of multi billion road schemes. Her primary skills are in Project Delivery, Governance and Evaluation.
Terri’s main hobbies are building and decorating dolls houses and crocheting what seems like an endless supply of baby blankets.
Pauline Carter - Volunteer Lead & Trainer
Pauline trains and leads our growing team of volunteers. She has extensive experience in nursing, social care and the chartable sector.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, Pauline would love to hear from you.
Alison Flashman - Administrator
Alison works part-time to support our small staff team and our board across all of their activities.
Kathryn Hughes - Fundraising Lead
Kathryn has been leading our fund-raising work for several years. She’s recently returned from maternity leave and an integral part of our team.
Neil Khandke - Trustee
Neil is married with 3 children and 3 grandchildren. He had a career in Quality Assurance/technical management working for some of the biggest brands such as Unilever, Cadburys, Dairy Crest and Walgreens Boots Alliance. His roles involved leading large Global teams in the areas of quality management, regulatory, product safety, health and safety, sustainability and ethical sourcing. Most of his roles have involved driving significant change in the function and led strategy development and business integration. Having to spend a lot of time away from home Neil now enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and his hobby of photography. He does have a guilty pleasure which is playing PC games and he enjoys building and upgrading PC’s with my 2 sons.
Mike Elliott - Treasurer
Mike became the Honorary Treasurer for Friends for Life over a decade ago. He keeps a very close eye on the charity’s finances and makes sure we adhere to all the rules and requirements of a registered charity.
Keyur Bhatt - Trustee
Keyur changed profession just over ten years ago after having the opportunity to run a Care business. He has since been primarily involved in the Social Care sector. His knowledge from the frontline is vital to us.
Dominic Carter - Trustee
Dom has years of experience in nursing and social care. He has a deep knowledge of how care homes are run and how best to provide support and care through our volunteers to residents in need of companionship.
Michael Ridley - Trustee
Michael has lived with his family in Bedford for more than 20 years. He brings with him 27 years of experience within the civil service, most recently at the Department for Education where his policy responsibilities included governance within the further education sector. He was appointed as a trustee at Friends for Life in November 2023, and chairs the board committee focused on governance, risk, and policies. Outside of his trustee responsibilities, he enjoys cycling, sailing, and swimming, and is also trying to improve his French.
Helen Wheatley - Trustee
Helen uses her professional expertise as a Human Resources consultant to support Friends for Life in ensuring our team is set up well and supported with all the appropriate governance and policies.
Sarah Walker - Trustee
Sarah is a communications and stakeholder specialist, having worked across a number of sectors from housing to major infrastructure. A former journalist and broadcaster she uses her media expertise to help shape Friends for Life’s communications and profile raising activities.
Nafiz Hasnat - Trustee
Nafiz brings over two decades experience in banking and corporate finance in both the UK and Bangladesh.
