Meet the team
Sam Sims
Sam Sims
Chief Executive
Sam is National Numeracy’s Chief Executive, joining to lead the organisation towards a new five-year strategy.
Sam brings a range of experience in helping to scale-up the reach and impact of charities. He was the Chief Operating Officer at social work charity, Frontline, and previously served as Director of Development at Teach First and as an Assistant Director of Research at the Yale University Office of Development.
Sam has held trustee positions at a number of youth development and humanitarian aid charities, and has degrees from University College London and the University of Oxford.
External Relations Team
Julia Day
Julia Day
External Relations Director
Julia leads the external relations strategy, team and activities, including communications, campaigns, content, marketing, fundraising and external affairs.
A journalist for many years, she has led communications, content, marketing and SEO in education settings, including Birkbeck, University of London and the University of Sussex.
Jade Brown
Jade Brown
Campaign Manager
Jade leads on the delivery of our campaigns, including National Numeracy Day and Number Confidence Week. She works in collaboration with our partners, funders and ambassadors to encourage individuals, organisations and communities to boost their skills and confidence with numbers by getting involved in our campaigns.
She has a degree in advertising and a master’s in multidisciplinary innovation. Over the last ten years, she has worked in communications, marketing and fundraising roles in third sector and for a local authority.
Roné Scheepers
Roné Scheepers
Project Manager
Roné leads on project management for the External Relations Team, including National Numeracy Day, internal projects and other campaigns. Roné ensures smooth running of our projects through careful planning and resource management, ensuring we hit our deadlines and project goals.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree and is currently studying towards an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy in her spare time. She has worked in the third sector for the last three years, previously working in project management and operations management for start-ups.
Maurice Tse-Leon
Maurice Tse-Leon
Digital Engagement Manager
Maurice’s role is focused on engaging working people with National Numeracy’s online learning tools and reaching new audiences through digital channels.
He has a degree in evolutionary biology and a masters in ecology. He has worked on digital communications within the third sector for 9 years, with an emphasis on education.
Puja Mistry
Puja Mistry
Digital Marketing Officer
Puja’s main focus is to maintain and enhance the digital presence of National Numeracy through developing new social media strategies, working on campaigns, interacting with our audience, and assisting with web and email content.
Puja has worked within the third sector for over four years and has a BSc Multimedia Systems degree.
Daisy Burns-O'Keefe
Daisy Burns-O'Keefe
Digital Marketing Officer
Daisy’s main focus is to maintain and enhance the digital presence of National Numeracy through email marketing strategies, working on advertising campaigns, and assisting with web and social media content.
She has a keen interest in communication and a diverse background centred around design and digital marketing, as well as a BA in Interior Architecture.
Milla Danelli
Milla Danelli
Senior Events and Celebrity Liaison Officer
Milla manages our events and is our celebrity ambassador liaison officer. Her role includes working with the External Relations team in the management of the logistics and activities of the charity's celebrity ambassadors and planning all of our events, working closely with many partners.
She has a master’s degree in public and corporate communication and has worked in communications and marketing for the past ten years.
Maya Metcalfe
Maya Metcalfe
Senior Creative Design Officer
Maya helps out with delivering marketing and communication campaigns and is involved in raising awareness for National Numeracy Day.
She has a media production degree and experience in production, marketing and advertising.
Billie Fletcher
Billie Fletcher
Creative Design Assistant
Billie supports Maya in the production of creative design work, creating assets for social media, programmes, and campaigns.
Billie has an undergraduate degree in Press and Editorial Photography and a master’s in Women’s Studies. She has completed an internship in design within the charity sector, and has also worked as a communications officer for a small wellbeing charity.
Lizzie Green
Lizzie Green
Communications Officer
Lizzie’s role is to provide support to the External Relations team. She works primarily on producing National Numeracy’s case studies and the planning of National Numeracy Day.
She holds a degree in English and a master’s in publishing, and has previously worked as an English and Maths tutor.
Siân Devine
Siân Devine
Partnerships Manager
Siân manages our strategic partnerships, exploring ways to collaborate with corporates and funders to change the narrative surrounding numeracy, upskill our nation and enhance social mobility.
With a history in the trade publishing industry, Siân brings together business experience with a passion for storytelling and championing inclusivity initiatives. Siân also has experience fundraising for small local charities in the Northwest of England.
Cassia Weaver
Cassia Weaver
Partnerships Manager
Cassia manages strategic partnerships with companies and funders, working together to raise numeracy levels and achieve client goals.
For the past 11 years she has focused on skills development and social enterprise growth, and led business development and corporate partnerships in charity settings with Business in the Community, Crisis, EngineeringUK, Lasa and Sustainability Trust.
Ellie Cornelius-Farrelly
Ellie Cornelius-Farrelly
Partnerships Officer
Ellie provides support to the Partnerships team, managing the relationships and communications with strategic partners and funders.
She has experience in retail and telemarketing with a degree in mathematics.
Operations & Impact Team
Kate Sumner
Kate Sumner
Operations & Impact Director
Kate is responsible for overseeing our Operations, Finance and Impact teams. With her team she is committed to building the foundations for National Numeracy’s sustainability and growth, as well as providing the bedrock of support for the entire staff team to do their best work.
Kate has over 15 years experience in operations and comes to us with previous leadership experience in the charity sector.
Paul Foss
Paul Foss
Head of Impact and Evaluation
Paul provides impact and data analysis in all aspects of the organisation, from Challenge statistics, educational projects and numeracy reviews, to surveys, working with external partners and helping to inform marketing strategy.
Paul was a freelance data analyst with over 20 years’ experience in the private sector, and a secondary school maths teacher for 6 years.
Lisa Duffy
Lisa Duffy
Data and Insight Officer
Lisa analyses data across all the activities of the charity and tracks progress against the organisational key results, also responding to queries for data reports from across the team and contributing insights to inform the learning cycle.
She has an Honours degree in Computer Science and experience working commercially as an analyst, as well as a teaching qualification with 5 years’ classroom experience.
Sarah Hayter
Sarah Hayter
Head of Finance
Sarah leads the finance function and provides business partnering support across the organisation.
She’s a qualified accountant with a background in charity finance, and also has experience as a secondary school science teacher.
Rachel Bignell
Rachel Bignell
Operations & HR Manager
Rachel leads in all elements of the behind the scenes operations and HR across the organisation with a particular focus on recruitment, training and personal development, GDPR and safeguarding.
She has a degree in Sociology and Criminology and has several years experience in transport operations and HR.
Abby Leadbetter
Abby Leadbetter
Operations & HR Officer
Abby, along with our Operations and Impact Director, is the first point of contact for trustees. She supports the Chief Executive and team with scheduling, and ensures a working environment that provides a supportive and agile team.
Abby started her career in the Royal Navy as a Writer Logistician in the Logistics Branch before heading over to the police to work in HR Operations, and later used these skills working with a Military Veterans Charity.
Programmes Team
Paul Milner
Paul Milner
Programmes Director
Paul has managed the development and launch of the Essentials of Numeracy and the National Numeracy Challenge; he now oversees the Programmes team working on the different development projects within National Numeracy.
Paul has a degree in Mathematics and over 20 years’ business management experience, including roles in buying, marketing and project management.
Cheryl Tanner
Cheryl Tanner
Project Manager
Cheryl manages the Local Authorities project, where National Numeracy works with authorities across the UK to help adults take their first steps to improving their numeracy skills and confidence with numbers.
She has an MBA and has held a variety of roles in local government, the Civil Service and the video games industry.
Sally Hilton
Sally Hilton
National Relationship Manager
Sally works closely with employers in the UK to put a spotlight on the issue surrounding numeracy in the workplace.
Working across sectors such as the NHS, retail and hospitality, she helps them explore attitudes to numeracy amongst managers and employees and the impact this has both on productivity and career progression.
Tamsin Roser
Tamsin Roser
Relationship Manager
Tamsin is a point of contact between National Numeracy and the Local Authorities that we work with. She speaks with organisations across the country to raise awareness of the impact that low numeracy can have on workplaces, families, and livelihoods.
She has ten years’ experience of managing relationships in the commercial sector, and now wants to use her skillset to help improve the lives of others.
Laura Hill
Laura Hill
Volunteering Manager
Laura manages our new volunteer programme that increases our positive impact on numeracy in the UK by engaging volunteers from our corporate partners to deliver activities in primary schools.
She has a degree in Biology and Environmental Conservation, has worked in local government and has several years’ experience managing community and corporate volunteers for small charities.
Beth Barnes
Beth Barnes
Training Manager
Beth leads on the delivery of our training, such as the 'Becoming a Numeracy Champion' programmes, as well as building our internal expertise on ‘confidence with numbers.’
She has a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology, and has previously worked as a primary school teacher specialising in both Maths and English.
Bryony Clark
Bryony Clark
Senior Training Officer
Bryony supports the delivery of our training, including the 'Becoming a Numeracy Champion' programmes and attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers and leads on the delivery of our Corporate Volunteering Programme.
She has experience in a managerial role, recognising development needs and supporting her team with CPD opportunities. Within previous Learning and Development roles, she has catered for the learner journey and created interactive learning resources that are inclusive and engaging. This is underpinned with the knowledge she has gained through her Learning and Development qualifications.
Iain Evans
Iain Evans
Training Officer
Iain supports the delivery of our training, including the 'Becoming a Numeracy Champion' programmes and attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers.
He has a degree in English and Media and has worked for over 25 years engaging disadvantaged learners in a range of contexts. Most recently he led the Functional Skills provision at an independent specialist college for adult SEND learners, and undertook educational research with Sunderland University focusing on supporting maths learning at pre-entry level.
Ishraq Li-Rahman
Ishraq Li-Rahman
Training Officer
Ish supports the delivery of our training, including the 'Becoming a Numeracy Champion' programmes and attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers.
He has experience working in an education charity, where he helped young people improve their confidence and work toward their chosen aspirations. He also has a master’s in Occupational and Organisational Psychology, where he explored the science underlying topics such as self-esteem, motivation, and learning in the workplace.
Amy Morris
Amy Morris
Programmes Officer
Amy supports the Programmes team in delivering activities and running programmes targeted at improving people’s confidence and skills with numbers in everyday life.
She has worked for the NHS and local government, supporting work across School Leadership and Governance.
External Consultants
Derek Huby
Derek Huby
Maths advisor
Derek Huby is an experienced maths educator, writer and advisor, having worked on projects both nationally and internationally. He is the author of a variety of successful textbooks and is a registered Apple software developer. He is particularly interested in adult numeracy, and the role of ICT in mathematics learning.
For National Numeracy, Derek works extensively on our adult education projects.
Sue Skyrme
Sue Skyrme
Schools and parental engagement expert
Sue Skyrme has extensive primary maths education experience, both in headship, leadership and advisory roles. She has worked nationally and internationally, including in numeracy curriculum development for the Department for International Development. She also draws on her teacher training expertise from working with South Coast SCITT, the University of Winchester, and University of Portsmouth.
Sue’s work with National Numeracy to date has focused on engaging parents in their children’s education.
