At Petals, we’re saying a heartfelt thank you to Professor Dee (Alison) Scadden, who is stepping down as our Chair of Trustees after six influential years in the role. Dee has been an incredible source of wisdom and support throughout her time as Chair and has played a huge part in guiding Petals through a period of growth and change, including proving the clinical benefits of our work through her dedication to the analysis and reporting of key data.
During Dee’s time as Chair, Petals has grown from delivering 2,971 counselling sessions a year to 6,759 this financial year. During her tenure we have also increased our NHS partnerships to 30 and our team of Petals counsellors is now 35 people strong. We’re incredibly grateful for all of Dee’s work and very glad that she will remain a member of our trustee team, continuing to share her insight and experience – as well as incredible cakes! – with us.
Our CEO and Founder, Karen Burgess, reflected on Dee’s contribution to the charity, saying:
“Since founding Petals back in 2011, I have had the privilege of working alongside some incredible women. Probably the most significant in shaping Petals into the charity it is today is the wonderful Professor Dee Scadden, who has been our Chair of Trustees since 2019. I am thankful for Dee’s presence and support, and know her commitment will remain steadfast. Dee is, without doubt, a cornerstone of our charity, and I am confident she will continue to be so for many years to come.”
We are delighted to share that current Trustee, Amy Butterworth, will be taking on the role of Chair of Trustees. Amy joined our board in 2020 and has been an active and thoughtful trustee ever since. She brings with her a wealth of experience and, having experienced first-hand the devastating impact of pregnancy loss, a genuine passion for our work. She brings experience from a successful career with organisations as varied as Jaguar Land Rover and the NHS, supporting individuals, teams and organisations themselves in both in-house and management consultant roles. We know she will guide Petals with both care and dedication as she steps into this new role. Karen shared:
“I am delighted Amy will be stepping up into the role of Chair of Trustees for Petals. Amy brings a wealth of valuable experience to the role and has been an active board member and a great support to me navigating the growth of Petals. I am looking forward to working more closely with her as we carve out our charity’s pathway and continue to develop and grow.”
Amy added:
“It is a privilege to take on the role of Chair for the Trustee Board of Petals. Petals is a truly special organisation, providing specialist counselling support for bereaved parents across the UK. In my role as Trustee I am continually impressed by the exceptional team of staff, counsellors and volunteers and all that we achieve together. We are ambitious for the future, as we know that there are many more families needing support who we are not currently able to reach, and I am looking forward to working with everyone at Petals as we continue to grow and develop our much needed services.”
We’re so grateful to Dee for everything she has given to Petals, and we’re excited to begin this new chapter with Amy leading our board. With both of them continuing to play such key roles, we’re confident Petals will keep growing with purpose, getting closer to achieving our ambitions while always holding bereaved parents at the heart of everything we do.
We are also pleased to share that Dan Fisher – another dedicated member of our board – has been newly appointed as Vice Chair. As Director of Strategy at RNIB, and having received Petals support himself, Dan brings strong charitable and strategic experience to this role, as well as an understanding of the need to make our service more widely available to everyone who needs it.