Paul Hilly - Chair
Paul joins the board having worked in Fashion Retail / Wholesale and Financial Services sectors. He brings retail operational and financial skills from fashion brands such as : Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Alberta Ferretti, and Moschino. In the early 1990s, Paul volunteered in the residential unit at the London Light House and actively supported Crusaid with its retail store in Pimlico.
Since he retired from BNY Mellon in 2014, Paul now has more time to devote to working in the voluntary sector and will be an excellent contributor to the retail trading side of the Sussex Beacon.
Matthew Dendy
Having originally joined The Sussex Beacon’s Board of Trustees in 2022, Matthew has more than 35 years of experience in commercial and project management. More recently his focus has been on the analysis and approval of business development and project proposals. His expertise also includes risk management, helping small organisations compile and review business continuity and crisis management plans.
Matthew has supported not-for-profit organisations including The Food Chain and CancerBACUP) for more than 25 years, both as a volunteer and advisor.
Dr Richard Ma
Dr Richard Ma has been appointed to the Board of Trustees at The Sussex Beacon.
With more than 20 years of experience as a GP and working in sexual and reproductive health practice, Dr Ma is also a researcher at Imperial College London. His work includes publishing research on experiences of people living with HIV (PLWH) in general practice.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Ma said “I am very interested in improving the care and experience of people living with HIV. I have a number of people living with HIV on my practice list, so I am aware first hand of the specific challenges they face daily, navigating the health and social care systems. Highly effective anti-retroviral treatment and good access to HIV care have meant the majority of PLWH are now well and have similar life expectancies compared with those not living with HIV. The challenge now is managing other conditions that develop as people grow older; these include heart disease, cancer, and other ailments due to advancing years.
In addition to his work as a Trustee, Dr Ma is a keen runner and at the Brighton Half
Marathon 2020 he proudly wore the Team Beacon colours, finishing with an impressive time1 hour 58 minutes.
Jason Palmer
Born and raised in Sussex, Jason’s professional background includes working as a senior civil servant, in addition to roles in customer services, retail and the charity sector. In 2007, he joined the Sussex Heart Charity (SHC) as a volunteer advisor to the Board of Trustees. Jason subsequently became a volunteer Director and Trustee, then Vice Chair and finally stepping up to the role of Chair in 2020. Since July 2023, Jason has also worked part-time within the fundraising team for Family Support Work (FSW), a Brighton-based charity established in 1890 to help Sussex based families in crisis.
On a personal note, having trained for 12 months, Jason marked a milestone birthday by trekking on foot for three weeks in the Nepalese Valleys, reaching Everest Base Camp (17,600 ft), during which he also raised funds for charities close to his heart.
Dr Sonia Raffe
Dr. Raffe is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine at the Lawson Unit, part of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
With extensive clinical expertise, Dr. Raffe works across all areas of Genitourinary Medicine but specialises in HIV inpatient care, HIV/TB co-infection and renal disease in people living with HIV. As an alumnus of the Darzi Fellowship programme, Dr Raffe is interested in quality improvement and service development and is currently working with NHS Sussex to improve access to cardiovascular disease prevention interventions for those living with HIV.
Mark Roche
Head of Service – Imaging (RSCH, RACH, PRH, HPC) – further details to come
Ian Wilson
Now retired, Ian Wilson’s career history includes 35 years working in healthcare, including 27 years as a registered mental health nurse. Most of this time was spent working in the NHS, within a variety of sectors including Learning Disabilities, Substance Misuse Services and Forensic Mental Health.
Ian also has experience of commissioning health services, including posts where he was responsible for oversight of quality within healthcare services across Sussex. He also worked as a nurse for 4 years in the 1990s, in a specialist voluntary sector HIV residential service called the Griffin Project in London.
Jayne Phoenix
Jayne has over 30 years’ experience in the NHS , independent heath care, and Social care. She is an experienced Board-level manager and clinician with extensive experience in operational management, strategy and commissioning, service transformation, large scale change, financial management and recovery, policy development and implementation, and integrated governance. She has worked in a range of settings including provider and commissioning roles in community, acute, joint health and social care, mental health, learning disability and prison health care, ambulance service , and continuing care.
