Home-Start International is led by a Board of Trustees:

Marilyn Barnes

Dr Charlotte Heath After completing a degree in Sociology and a Graduate Diploma in Welfare Law, Marilyn worked with families in disadvantaged communities developing and implementing programs that supported parents and their children. In 1989 she joined Home-Start as a Coordinator for four years and then took on the role as National Director for Home-Start Australia in 1994. Marilyn has been involved in various forums, boards and committees that focus on the wellbeing of families and that strengthen and build community capacity. She has been a member of National, State and Regional groups including:

National Forum for Volunteer Home Visiting
Member of the NSW Home Visitors Research Group which was responsible for developing a framework for the evaluation of home visiting programs , laying the foundation for the Audit on Home Visiting, National Forums and the National Conference on Home Visiting
National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
Regional Representative for NSW Child Protection Council
National Association Support Services for Australian Families (ASAF) – Board Member
NSW Home Visiting Committee for Vulnerable Families (DoCs)
NSW Families First Good Practice Guidelines Committee

Home-Start as a preventative strategy values and respects parenting and it is Marilyn’s belief that while the rate of return in economic terms is impressive, early intervention has a more holistic undertow with far reaching effects into adulthood.

Tanya Barron

After several years spent working as a farmer, and then as a zoo-keeper at London Zoo, Tanya worked in international development for 18 years, mostly in the area of child protection and support, developing family-based alternatives to institutions, disability and education. Her jobs have included working for VSO for seven years, chairing the UNICEF NGO Committee on eastern Europe and the CIS for five years, and from 1999-2004 she worked as the first Director of Home-Start International. Tanya qualified with a degree in Social Science and a PGCE in Special Education and Politics, followed by a research year as a Senior Associate Member of St Antony’s College Oxford studying the reasons for child abandonment in Romania. After working on many different approaches to supporting children in difficult circumstances, Tanya believes that Home-Start provides the simplest and most cost effective means of ensuring good outcomes for young children, and has been a Home-Start International Trustee since 2004.

Greet Bourman

After training as a primary school teacher, Greet Bouman became Director of Community Affairs with the city of Zutpen. Following this, Ms. Bouman became CEO of Bureau Jeugdzorg Flevoland - the youth care office in the Province of Flevoland - a position she has retained since 2004, where she manages a staff of 220 people, mostly social workers. Besides her demanding regular job, she is also a member of the Board of MOgroep, the Inter-branch Association for Youth Care, a member of the Board o Home-Start Nederland and Chair of the Board of IrisZorg, an organization which provides addiction care and social care. She is a practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and trained at the Business University of Nijenrode in business process redesign. Greet Bouman joined the Board of Trustees of Home-Start International in 2009.

Dr David Bryer CMG (Chair)

David Bryer became Chair of Home-Start International at the beginning of 2008. He has worked in the voluntary sector in the UK and internationally since 1975; he was Director of Oxfam GB, Chair of Oxfam International and sat on the board of Oxfam America. He is currently on the board of Save the Children UK and is a member of the Advisory Council of Wilton Park and the Council of Voluntary Service Overseas. Dr Bryer has a particular interest in the Middle East, where he lived and worked for some years. Dr Bryer was awarded the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G) in 1996.

Jane Cotton

After a degree in geography at Cambridge, Jane joined the Civil Service graduate entry scheme. She became a transport policy advisor, covering topics from the channel tunnel to Stansted airport to rail privatisation. She first “dabbled” in personnel work in Department of Transport in the mid 1980s, and then gradually specialised in HR. Her roles have included Director of Resources for the Charity Commission and Director of Personnel and Change Management at Department of Environment, Transport and Regions. She moved to become Oxfam’s HR Director at the end of 1999. The HR challenges at Oxfam involve working with staff in over 70 countries, in many different contexts and cultures, and with over 20,000 volunteers in the UK.

Madu Dissanayake

Madu worked as Head of Outreach Programmes for Westminster City Council in Central London, UK. Whilst there, she became passionate about Home-Start and later volunteered with a Home-Start UK scheme in Brent. In 2003 Madu returned to Sri Lanka and set up Home-Start Lanka, working as Programme Director for several years before relinquishing the title and taking up a position on the Board of Trustees. After a spell in Early Years Development for the Department of Education and Social Services, and Advocacy and Campaigning for Leonard Cheshire Disability, Madu was appointed as a member of the National Working Group by the Ministry of Health in 2008 to work in collaboration with Government Ministries & NGOs to establish policy frameworks. In June 2009 she joined the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka as the Sexual and Reproductive health and HIV/AIDS Consultant and after three months was chosen to take over as Director. Overall, her target has been bridging gaps that exist in local and national policies as well as in service delivery through advocacy initiatives and community mobilisation.

Evi Hatzivarnava-Kazassi

Evi Hatzivarnava-Kazassi, a sociologist by training, is presently the Director of the Department of Research, Planning, Evaluation and Documentation at the Greek Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity. She was a member of the Council of Europe’s Expert Committee on Children and Families, and also a member of the bureau at the European Forum of Child Welfare. At present she is a member of the International Network on Leave Policy and Research. Evi has been involved in researching and planning and the assessment of projects primarily regarding families and children, and has written articles in books and journals. She has been also actively involved in the Greek national campaign against the corporal punishment of children. Evi was an early supporter of the Home-Start idea and has played an important role in its introduction to and propogation in Greece. She is at present president of the advisory committee of Home-Start Hellas.

Clare Roskill

Clare Roskill has a background in professional social work. Her career has concentrated on children and family work and on education and training, though she also has experience in mental health and the elderly. Clare has worked as a local authority social worker in the community and in a teaching hospital, where she specialised in child sexual abuse. As a senior manager she was head of childcare training at the Central Council for the Education and Training of Social Workers (CCETSW); and spent five years in The Children’s Society, responsible for social work policy and practice standards for 130 varied projects across England and Wales. Clare is now working part-time as a freelance consultant mainly for the Family Rights Group. She has recently rewritten its guide for relatives and friends raising other people’s children. Clare has also been commissioned to help develop a model for how local authority children’s services can work more effectively with fathers. She is giving time to being a trustee of a number of voluntary organisations, including Home Start UK, Action for Prisoners Families and the Policy Research Bureau. She is also keeping some time to pursue her interests in the arts and Italian language.

Ivan Seery

Ivan has worked for KPMG (formerly Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co) since 1984, where he is currently a Director. He previously worked in the Forensic Accounting department, assisting clients involved in commercial disputes, and currently specialises in mergers and acquisitions. He worked in the Brussels office from 1988 to 1990. Since 2003 Ivan has volunteered as an accountant for the charity Paintings in Hospitals and since 2006 for Westminster Arts (formerly City of Westminster Arts Council). He is interested in current affairs, politics and the arts and enjoys travelling cooking and swimming.

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