Hide page

Meet the team

Founder

Mrs Frances Mary Lower MBE

A Nottingham magistrate, Mary Lower MBE, founded the first child contact centre for private law in 1985. She went on to form the National Association in 1991, continuing her involvement as President until she sadly died in 2017. Read the tribute to Mary Lower here.

Read the history of NACCC

Patrons

Stephen Wildblood KC
Our President

Stephen Wildblood KC

Stephen Wildblood KC became President of NACCC in 2026.

Stephen was called to the Bar at the age of 21 and practised at the Family Bar for 27 years, including eight and a half years in silk. He sat as a Recorder and Deputy High Court Judge before being appointed to the Circuit Bench.

For ten years Stephen was the Designated Family Judge for the Bristol area, stepping down in November 2023. He continues to sit part-time in the Family and High Courts and works across all forms of Non-Court Dispute Resolution in family law.

Stephen is also an author, playwright and member of Fractured Voices Theatre Group, which performs plays, including works written by Stephen, exploring the human impact of family justice.

The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Cobb, President of the Family Division
Patron

The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Cobb, President of the Family Division

The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Cobb became Patron of NACCC in 2026, following his appointment as President of the Family Division.

He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1985 and took Silk in 2003. He began his judicial career as a Recorder in 2004 before being appointed as a High Court Judge in 2013, assigned to the Family Division. During his judicial career, he has also sat in the Administrative Court and the Court of Protection.

In 2024 Sir Stephen Cobb was appointed to the Court of Appeal and, in April 2026, became President of the Family Division. Throughout his distinguished career, he has been widely recognised for his commitment to improving outcomes for children and families and for championing child-focused practice within the family justice system.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
Vice President

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Baroness McIntosh is a life peer and has been a Patron of NACCC since 2017.

Baroness McIntosh is a former Member of Parliament for Thirsk and Malton and the Vale of York constituencies as well as Member of the European Parliament.

She trained for the Scottish Bar in Edinburgh, before being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1982. Baroness McIntosh worked as an advocate with the Community Law Office in Brussels, before becoming a political advisor in the European Parliament.

Sir Mark Hedley
Vice President

Sir Mark Hedley

Sir Mark chairs NACCC’s Standards Panel and became a Vice President of NACCC in 2001.

Sir Mark is a British retired judge. He practiced as a barrister for many years in Liverpool.

He was appointed a full-time Circuit Judge in 1992 and from 1997 to 2002 was responsible for judicial training in family law.

Sir Mark was a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2013. In 2002 he was appointed a High Court judge, receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Family Division.

Trustees

Chair

Sharon Scott

Sharon joined NACCC in 2024 and brings a wealth of experience from working in the education and children's services arena for 35 years. Her passion is always to secure better outcomes for children, young people, and their families by ensuring that the services required to deliver better outcomes are delivered in the right way at the right time and in the right place.

Vice Chair

Angela Wellings

Angela joined NACCC as Vice Chair in 2025. With over 30 years teaching experience, she has worked at Director level in local authorities and served as Chair of the Board of Governors of a large FE college. Angela is a fervent believer in supporting children and families, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable, working to improve their life chances, so they can achieve the very best outcomes.

Company Secretary

Elizabeth Tarn

Elizabeth joined NACCC in June 2023. She is a barrister, and was called to the bar in 1995. For most of her career she has worked in combined legal and company secretarial roles, including at private and public companies operating in highly regulated sectors. Elizabeth also has experience of serving as a non-executive director and pension fund trustee.

Wales

Chantal Patel

Chantal is the Regional Trustee for Wales and joined NACCC in 2023. Chantal is a local magistrate, lectures at Swansea University and has devoted her spare time to various local community groups. She has an acute interest in medical law and ethics and supported the Welsh Government during the Covid pandemic. She is the Chair of the Family Glamorgan Development Centre accredited centre in Swansea and volunteers to assist children to reconnect with non-resident parents.

South Region

Lucy Glass

Lucy is the Regional Trustee for the southern region and joined NACCC in 2018. She is also a Director at Swan Family, an independent provider of child contact centres providing supported and supervised services for children and family members in the UK. Lucy oversees ten centres around England and Wales and supports a number of local authorities with their supervised contact services.

General Trustee

Julie Tisbury

Julie Tisbury joined NACCC in 2024. Julie has worked in children’s services across Social Care, Early Help, Education and SEND for more than 20 years. She is passionate about ensuring families receive the earliest support possible to bring about improved outcomes for children and young people.

General Trustee

La-Toyah Phillips

La-Toyah Phillips joined NACCC in 2024. She is an Associate Solicitor specialising in all family matters including children, financial remedy, divorce and cohabitation and is also a Solicitor Advocate. La-Toyah is passionate about supporting families and works closely with family support charities, such as the Safe, in Basingstoke where she serves as a legal liaison and volunteer.

General Trustee

Izzy Roberts

Izzy joined NACCC as a trustee in 2025, bringing a decade of experience in public affairs and campaigning in the charity sector, with a strong focus on health and care policy. Her work at The Fostering Network deepened her commitment to protecting children’s most important relationships and ensuring their voices are central to policy-making.

General Trustee

Sophie Jamieson

Sophie Jamieson joined NACCC as a trustee in 2026. She has over 15 years’ experience across marketing, commercial and strategic leadership within global organisations. Sophie brings a strong background in governance, long term resilience and strategic insight, and is passionate about applying inclusive leadership to help create secure, consistent and supportive environments for children and families.

Staff

Elizabeth Coe
Chief Executive Officer

Elizabeth Coe

Elizabeth has been the CEO of NACCC since 2012. Prior to join NACCC Elizabeth was a Director at Cafcass covering the East Midlands and later London for the public body.

She began her career as a Probation Officer before moving to the Family Court as a Welfare Officer. She has also worked as a Guardian ad Litem and served for 6 years on the Derbyshire Adoption and Fostering Panel.

Elizabeth is also a trained mediator and post traumatic stress counsellor and an approved Separated Parent Information Programme facilitator.   She graduated from Bristol University with a degree in social work.

Philip Coleman
Service Development Manager

Philip Coleman

Phil joined NACCC in 2013 working with us as an Accreditation Assessor and in 2018 he became Service Development Manager.

Phil is responsible for the delivery of NACCC’s standards and policies. He manages the reviews of the NACCC’s national standards and ensures the integrity of NACCC’s accreditation system, Phil also leads on safeguarding for NACCC.

He has a degree in Social Work from Staffordshire University. Phil is also a Qualified Practice Educator and has qualifications in child development. He keeps his practice up to date by undertaking paid and voluntary roles with the NSPCC.

Esther Bradshaw
Business Administration Manager

Esther Bradshaw

Esther Joined NACCC in 2019 as Business Administration Manager.

She reports to the CEO and works in partnership with the Service Development Managers to develop effective and consistent support processes that enable the delivery of services to members, government departments, and other relevant external agencies and partners.

Esther ensures professional front-line customer service for users and keeps Head Office running effectively and efficiently.

Administration and Finance Executive

Donna Ryder

Donna joined NACCC in 2002 and is the Administration and Finance Executive.

She provides comprehensive information and support service to internal customers of NACCC, ensuring consistency of service delivery. Donna oversees the maintenance of all accounting records and provides timely and accurate reports and information to the CEO and Trustees. She ensures NACCC meets all appropriate and current financial regulations pertaining to a charity.

Executive Administrator

Ruth Miles

Ruth joined NACCC in 2000. She ensures a professional and effective administration support for the charity, focussing on support, communications on behalf of the charity and customer service.

In addition, she collaborates closely with senior management and performs advanced administrative functions, supporting the charity with the collection of data as required by funding bodies.

Administrator

Ann Gorman

Ann joined NACCC in 2026, bringing with her a wealth of experience, particularly within the not-for-profit sector. Her background includes a strong focus on administration, coordination, and supporting organisations to operate effectively.

In her role at NACCC, Ann’s primary responsibility is to support the accreditation process for member centres, ensuring that all administrative procedures are carried out accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with NACCC standards. She plays a key role in maintaining clear records, coordinating communications, and supporting centres through each stage of the accreditation process.