Our Ambassadors.

About Trudy Warren

Trudy and is a wife, mother and grandmother, as well as a retired practice nurse. She has been a Christian since age 26 and currently lives in Plymouth with her husband Steve – also a Kintsugi Hope Ambassador: they attend Plymouth Christian Centre. Trudy spends her retirement divided between time with family , ballroom and Latin dancing with her husband, a bit of Zumba and managing a small Tropic skincare business. She also loves film, theatre and books and travels abroad when she can.

Trudy became inspired to the role of Ambassador after seeing just how valuable the Kintsugi course was to the people who attended the first course run at our church and recognizing that there are likely many, many more individuals who would benefit hugely from it

About Stephen Warren

One of 5 boys from a supportive Plymouth family, Stephen encountered the love of God at the age of 18, subsequently training in medicine & serving as a GP for many years. He loved being a family doctor, training medical students & teaching the history of medicine. Before retiring in 2020 he worked for the Royal Navy for nearly 3 years. He is married with 2 children & beloved grandchildren. He enjoys picture framing and baking bread. He has caught the vision that Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing Groups are an honest, inspired & professional way of helping so many with their mental health.

About Mandy Crotty

Mandy is married with two adult children and has been attending Plymouth Christian Centre for the past 20 years. She has been involved in Women’s Ministry, Prayer Ministry and leading Community Groups.

Mandy was inspired by Patrick Regan’s honesty on his visit to Plymouth Christian Centre, particularly when he said, “It’s OK not to be OK”, which stirred her interest in Kintsugi Hope, motivating her to train to be a Wellbeing Group Leader and now taking it further by taking on an Ambassador role.

About Heidi Nicholson

Heidi is a Bristol born South African who has mostly lived in Dorset, Somerset and Devon, as well as sizeable recent stints in Swaziland and Pretoria.

She has two jobs - one within the local council as Special Needs advisor and one within a local junior school as their Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo).

Heidi was part of the pilot Kintsugi Hope Well being groups pilot programme and has run face to face groups since then from her church, Yeovil Community Church.

She loves nothing better than a good chat over coffee and is interested in all things mental health and inclusion.

About Andie Fowler

Andie joined Kintsugi Hope as an Ambassador having long attended her local church and has been actively involved in various supportive community roles, including links with local Social Prescribers.

Her passion is to help support people’s mental wellbeing through spirituality and community, and believes communication and connection are fundamental to the healing process.

Andie is based in Southmead, Bristol, and enjoys drinking coffee and going to Christian music events.

About Amanda Ford

Amanda is a Science and Maths teacher, working in alternative provision with pupils across the country. She attends a church in Exeter and works with Rediscover Church to run Kintsugi groups online and in-person.

Amanda is passionate about reaching those who feel on the edge of church or their faith due to the fog of physical or mental ill-health. She enjoys reading, exercising, Bible journalling and being by the sea.

About Dianne O'Leary

Having spent many years in Further Education as a Communication Support Worker for Deaf people, Dianne now works alongside her husband in their local church, having numerous pastoral responsibilities.

Dianne described herself as ‘tenacious person' until she experienced incredible brokenness, weakness and vulnerability. With God's amazing love, mercy and grace and the wonderful support of her family and friends she was restored and filled with hope.

Her desire is to share the hope she received with others.

Dianne has been married to William (hubby) for 40+ years. They have five grown up children and eight grandchildren. Dianne loves photography and walking out with her husband and their dog 'Freddie'.

About Belinda Grant

After attending Cliff Bible College, I worked in the USA for three years as a children's Nanny. Most of my work life was spent in Music and publishing.

I am married to Ian, we have two adult children and a dog. Together we co-lead a Missional Community as part of our local Church.

I am passionate about helping people to know they are loved, accepted and valued for who they are. I believe giving hope to people and supporting connection is essential for us all to maintain good mental health and wellbeing'.

About Jo Topley

Jo lives in Romsey, near to Southampton with my husband, 3 children and dog, where they have lived for 5 years, and before that lived in Tanzania for 10 years training rural health care workers. Jo’s background is in General nursing: she was a ward sister in Chichester for several years, and now works for Freedom Church running their Foodbank and helping in other community projects. Jo has run 3 Wellbeing groups and each time have had the privilege of journeying with people through the ups and downs of life. She is passionate about people discovering who they are and realising their potential, and loves the moments in a group setting when people learn to be ok and accept themselves for who they are.

About Claire Hughes

Claire lives in Caerphilly, is married to Kelvin, has four wonderful children and co leads Gateway Church Caerphilly. She loves being with people and biking, especially in the mountains.

Claire used to be a computer programmer but now works for the church, looking to share God's love with the community that she lives in. When she heard Patrick share his story and the work of Kintsugi Hope she knew God was calling their church to get involved and has had the privilege of running many courses and seeing people supported, loved and helped to step forwards in life.

About Sara Allen

Sara Allen has joined us as a Kintsugi Ambassador in Northern Ireland and has real passion to connect with others and work together to enable people to find connection, hope and support in the areas of mental health. In her “day job” she is responsible for creating and communicating engaging, inspiring and informative content for all company messaging. She is the culture champion, constantly researching and delivering innovative ways to ensure that everyone on the team feels valued, connected and supported to be the best they can be. Sara is excited to be working with the Kintsugi Hope team to imagine what is possible in Northern Ireland.

About Jane Searle

Jane Searle is from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. She has two grown up daughters and lives in the country with her cats, chickens and whippet dogs. She loves to write poetry and read at story-telling events. She has been a Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing Group leader for three years and is passionate about sharing the work of Kintsugi Hope with others.

About Tony Britten

Tony is a retired Police officer, a Police Chaplain, and a member of the Christian Police Association in UK and overseas. He has been in the leadership team of a church in Braintree for 20 years and leads a homeless charity in Braintree. Tony is passionate about showing Jesus’ love to the poor and those on the edge of society. He has grown up children and six grandchildren, enjoys tennis and sailing, and lives in Felsted with his wife.

About Ian Beckett

Ian is a dedicated mental health wellbeing advocate who draws on his lived experience to support his community. Ian has worked in London for over 25 years and lives in his hometown of Harlow with his wife and teenage daughter.

Ian is an Authorised Lay Preacher in the Church of England, and delights in the fact that each day, he is able to discover something new about his faith.

About Mike & Anne Lees

Mike and Anne have been married since 1994 and have two sons. Mike is an engineer who loves music and films and plays keyboards at church. Anne is a languages teacher, an avid reader and loves visiting Germany.

Their passion is to see people freed from things that hold them back and to be the person God made them to be. They are not afraid to be vulnerable and share their story of the challenges they’ve walked through if this helps others.

Mike and Anne love getting into the outdoors as a means of wellbeing, and enjoy long (and often muddy!) walks with their cocker spaniel.

Ruth French

Ruth has been a member of Arbury Community Church, Cambridge, for 40 years. Having left her job as a primary school headteacher due to burnout, Ruth drew strength from the image of a piece of kintsugi as she recovered.

She was delighted to discover and then introduce Kintsugi Hope courses to her church and see the support and transformation they bring. Years of experience in networking as a headteacher made her want to reach out further and spread the news about Kintsugi Hope, so she is delighted to become an ambassador.

Pippa Roy-Chowdhury

Pippa loves being part of the Kintsugi Hope team at St James Church, where she, Jo, Debbie and Sue have been delivering groups together since September 2021, supporting their community and sharing God’s love. Pippa is a retired headteacher and has also led a team of Family Support Workers. She is currently the coordinator of Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth Street Pastors.

Pippa lives in Bishops Stortford and is married to Chas. They have 4 grown up children and 5 grandchildren.

Debbie Hoy

Debbie is passionate about mental health and wellbeing, having experienced times of anxiety and stress during her working life as a Primary School Headteacher. When the opportunity arose to train as a Kintsugi Hope Group Leader, she knew it was something she should get involved with. She has been leading termly groups since April 22, and loves sharing the work of Kintsugi Hope and the impact it has had on her life and the lives of others.

Debbie is married with two adult stepchildren and three grandchildren. She is a member of St James Thorley, in Bishop’s Stortford where she is Homegroup Coordinator and plays flute in the worship group.

Jo Tracey

Jo discovered Kintsugi Hope during the pandemic which inspired her to train to be a group leader. She is passionate about sport and exercise, especially how it can be used as a tool to boost our mental health.

Jo is a primary school teacher, cub leader and mum to three children. She has lived in various places across the country but is now settled in Bishop’s Stortford where her husband leads St James, Thorley.

Sue Sembhi

Sue has had a number of years experience supporting employee mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and decided to become a Kintsugi group leader in 2022 to help promote wider understanding and support in the local community. She loves seeing people experience lightbulb moments when conversations in the Wellbeing Groups really resonate with them. This is very rewarding and humbling.

Sue is an active member of St James Church, Thorley, is married with 3 adult children and enjoys singing, listening to music and walking in the countryside.

About Fiona Monk

Fiona has taught in the East Midlands for over 25 years with particular interest in children’s Personal, Social and Health Education. Recently, she decided to have a bit of a career change and is now a peer support worker with a local charity. This involves connecting people with the services and support to most effectively meet their needs. It is her firm belief that a healthy mind is one of the best things we have to offer but appreciates this can often feel like an enormous, ongoing, personal challenge. Through the ups and downs of life, she has learnt the importance of being honest with yourself and the immeasurable benefit of walking alongside others for mutual encouragement, support and inspiration. This is why she is an avid admirer & supporter of the Kintsugi Hope movement.