Our Office Team
One of the things that makes ADD-vance special is that all of our team members are parents or carers of neurodivergent children. We are unique in bringing a parent/carers perspective to our work while all team members are qualified and trained in their specialist area, to ensure that all our services are provided to a high professional standard.
Whenever you call ADD-vance, visit us for a QbCheck, book us for an event, request coaching or receive workshop resources, you will be supported by one of our friendly team members listed below.
Debbie Wood
MBA(Exe), BA(Hons)
Chief Executive Officer
Debbie is a passionate believer in the importance of local charities and the benefits they provide to individuals and families. She has devoted her whole career to working in the Hertfordshire voluntary sector in agencies that support people to fulfill their potential. The work of ADD-vance and the impact it makes inspired her to join the team in 2020, where she feels she has been given the privilege of leading the charity into its next phase of success.
Outside work, Debbie is a busy mum to her two children and when she is not being their taxi driver, she loves to bake anything with chocolate in.
Jennie Rayson
MSc Hons
Neurodiversity Services Manager
Jennie has spent most of her career as an Economist in the Civil Service working in many different areas. She took a career break in 2016 to focus on family and having benefited from ADD-vance courses has recently joined ADD-vance as the Neurodiversity Services Manager.
Outside of work Jennie is an avid tennis fan and has a very cuddly dog!
Gillian Wilson
CGMA
Finance Manager
Gillian worked in varied Finance roles in Scotland and London for several large UK and multinational organisations. After having her 3rd child she took some time out to focus on raising her children and benefitted from ADD-vance support for her neurodivergent son.
She returned to work in 2019 looking after the Finances for ADD-vance and loves working for a local charity that makes a real difference to families in Hertfordshire. Outside work, Gillian loves travel, pilates and chocolate, and is a busy mum to 3 children.
Sarah Hennessey
Social Media Officer
Sarah lives in Welwyn Garden City with her husband and daughter, although she is originally from East London. After working in admin jobs for money brokers and accountants in the City of London for 11 years, she took a break in 2001 to get married and raise her daughter. Sarah was involved with Spectrum Girls (before it became part of ADD-vance), looking after emails and admin, and arranging social events for members.
Sarah loves travel, reading, film and going to the theatre. Her whole family are passionate about football, Sarah and her daughter are members at Tottenham Hotspur and love to go to games together. After volunteering for ADD-vance for 6 months in 2021, Sarah now looks after all of our social media.
Andrea Horne
BSc Hons
Training Administration
With two teenage children (and a cat!) keeping her on her toes, Andrea’s motivation to work with ADD-vance comes from her desire to see families like her own supported to thrive. Having joined ADD-vance in 2013, Andrea is determined to ensure that we get all our processes and systems in the best possible shape to help us efficiently and effectively support our members. Drawing on her experience of working in account management and keen eye for innovation, she is always on the lookout for new ways to improve our back office support to keep everything up to date.
When she is not knee deep in statistics and reports, Andrea loves to travel the world with her favourite adventures being in the U.S.
Caroline McGoohan
BSc Hons
Marketing and Events Lead
Caroline has worked in the charity sector for 20 years. She is passionate about local charities and helping them reach the communities that they serve. In 2022 she became aware of ADD-vance after her daughter’s diagnosis, and signed up to a 6 week course ‘Understanding Autism and ADHD in girls’ as well as attending a number of workshops. She found these courses invaluable to helping support her daughter and for the family to be better able to understand her diagnosis.
She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two children, loves being outdoors – walking the dog or at her allotment attempting to grow fruit and veg, with varying success!
Jennifer Mould
Office Administration
Jen first connected with ADD-vance after attending workshops and receiving support when the team visited her son’s nursery. She found the journey overwhelming and had little knowledge of neurodivergence before her son’s diagnosis. The ADD-vance workshops made a big difference by giving her family knowledge and helping them feel supported. Now, she’s passionate about helping other families feel supported on their own journeys.
She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and son, loves spending time with family and friends, and finds swimming a great way to relax.
Bianca Travers
MSc Hons
Specialist Services Administration Lead
With her background in psychology, Bianca has always had a strong desire to understand human behaviour and to help people. Having worked as a business psychologist, she decided to take a career break in 2017 to focus on raising her young family. During this time, she personally benefited from some of ADD-vance’s parent workshops and has recently joined the team with a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of children and families with neurodivergence.
She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two children, loves practicing yoga and meditation, listening to health and wellness podcasts, and going for long walks in nature.
Have a question for the team?
Please email herts@add-vance.org and we will be in touch.
Neurodiversity Support Hub team
When you call or email our Neurodiversity Support Hub, you will be talking directly to one of our dedicated team members below.
As parents/carers of neurodivergent children ourselves, we bring genuine lived experience and personal understanding to every conversation. Combined with our professional training and knowledge of local services, we are here to listen, offer non-judgmental guidance, and help you find the right support for your family.
Donna Bullock
FdA Early Years, NASENCO
Neurodiversity Support Hub Manager
Donna lives in Hertfordshire with her 3 children and chocolate lab and cocker spaniel. She first became aware of ADD-vance in October 2018 when she attended ADD-vance workshops and received parent coaching whilst her son and daughter were on the pathway to getting their Autism diagnosis.
Donna has a foundation degree in Early Years and Early Years SENDCo training. She is passionate about children/young people having their needs met and parents having their thoughts and feelings listened to. Donna joined ADD-vance to offer families the advice and support that she valued so much at the beginning of her journey, to help with day to day battles and for parents/young people to know they are not alone.
Sam Angell
Neurodiversity Support Hub Worker
Sam lives in Hatfield with her husband and 2 of their 5 beautiful boys and is neurodivergent herself. She loves spending time with her family, singing and living life to the full.
Sam was first introduced to ADD-vance when she had coaching for her family and has been navigating the SEN world for the past 25 years. She is passionate about supporting parents/carers of neurodivergent children and sharing the knowledge she has gained over the years to support them on this journey.
Sarah Edun
Neurodiversity Support Hub Worker
Having qualified and worked in the beauty industry for over 20 years, Sarah’s passion has always been centered at the heart of helping and she has volunteered with many organisations in the past including ADD-vance. Sarah is an enthusiastic individual whose only child, (in her words “her favourite child”) motivates her to keep going and he was the reason why she changed her career to focus on the wonders of the Neurodivergent World.
In Sarah’s spare time, her happy place is in a spa where she tries to switch off from thinking about the next new recipe to cook or the latest beauty trend!
Hollie Khaladj
Neurodiversity Support Hub Worker
Hollie comes from an employment support background, working on various Hertfordshire based employment projects, aimed at supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families to overcome barriers and improve personal prospects and family dynamics.
Hollie has her own neurodivergent child and understands the rollercoaster of emotions and challenges that parents/carers of neurodivergent children face daily. Hollie was first referred to ADD-vance by the Senco at her daughter’s school and found she massively benefitted from the 6-week parent coaching course, which led her to join ADD-vance to help other parent/carers access the support available.
Claire Proud
Neurodiversity Support Hub Worker
Claire joined ADD-vance with a need to make a difference to families in Hertfordshire. Married for 27 years, and mum of two children now in their teens and a young adult, she remembers how emotional and isolating the journey is at times parenting a neurodivergent child. She is passionate about being there for other parents experiencing a similar journey and by providing support and advice, she wants families to see that they are not alone.
Claire loves spending time with her family and friends, retail therapy is her downfall, spa days are a must and long walks with her dog Bear is her daily exercise.
Have a question for the team?
Call 01727 833 963 or email support@add-vance.org
For full details of opening times and bookable Wednesday evening appointments please visit our Neurodiversity Support Hub page.
Volunteers
We are very grateful to our office volunteers for the time and dedication that they give to ADD-vance. If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities at ADD-vance, please email herts@add-vance.org and a member of our team will be in touch.
Catherine Ainsworth
Catherine was first inspired to volunteer when she attended the 6 week parent Time Out course and the rest, as they say, is history. Catherine’s background in digital marketing and being Yorkshire in no way prepared her for the trials and tribulations of life as the parent of neurodivergent kids but like so many others has found that you become an expert pretty quickly!
Catherine works behind the scenes on website improvements and other marketing projects.
Polly Crowther
MSt, BA Hons
Polly is a recent graduate, volunteering with us having completed a Masters in Medieval History. Outside of knowing fun facts about the past, she has years of experience with neurodivergent children and young people through tutoring, nannying, and teaching children with sensory challenges how to swim.
In her free time, she likes weekends away, playing the piano, and hanging out with her dog, Pip.
Lara Horne
BA Cantab
Lara is a recent Computer Science graduate, taking some time out before continuing to further study. She is using her skills to streamline some of our data monitoring processes, as well as helping to keep our training materials consistent and up to date.
Lara loves to read and spend time with her cat!
Meet the rest of the team!
Along with our office team, we also have a fantastic team of trainers, coaches, trustees and young ambassadors who all play a vital role in the work of ADD-vance.