Our team
Meet our senior leadership team.
Gemma Sherrington
CEO
Gemma joined Refuge in March 2025 from Save the Children UK where she had worked since 2007 following previous roles at the NSPCC, Cardinal Hume Centre and WaterAid. A dedicated advocate for social justice with over 20 years’ experience in the charity sector, Gemma held a number of senior positions at Save the Children UK, ultimately serving as Executive Director of Fundraising and Marketing before becoming interim CEO in February 2024. As CEO, she was responsible for delivering a new long-term vision and 2025-2027 strategy for the charity and is now eager to make a lasting impact at Refuge, the UK’s leading provider of specialist domestic abuse services. Gemma says: “I am deeply committed to driving meaningful change and ensuring that Refuge continues its crucial work in supporting those impacted by domestic abuse. The current epidemic of VAWG is intolerable and must not be allowed to persist.” Gemma is a proud Trustee and Deputy Chair of London’s Air Ambulance. In her spare time, she is an advocate of mental health awareness and well-being and enjoys the gym and long, muddy walks with her family and dog Ziggy.
Vicky Fallon
Director of Fundraising, Communications & Policy
Vicky joined Refuge in October 2025 as Director of Fundraising, Communications and Policy. She leads the team to grow sustainable income, raise awareness of domestic abuse and Refuge’s life‑saving services, and drive policy change shaped by survivors’ voices. With over 20 years’ experience leading high‑performing fundraising and marketing teams, Vicky has overseen more than £100m income portfolios, delivered ambitious growth strategies, and guided teams through transformational change. Vicky is the proud sponsor of the Women’s Equality Network Group. Outside work, Vicky enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walks in the countryside, and discovering new places on her travels.
Denise Brown
Director of Service Delivery
Denise joined Refuge in 2011 as a Senior Operations Manager before becoming Head of Services in 2021 and in 2024 Refuge’s Interim Director of Service Delivery. Denise leads Refuge’s operational services including refuge accommodation, community-based services, children’s services, Refuge’s flagship tech and economic abuse service and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, Client Engagement and Development team. Denise has 30 years’ experience of working in senior roles in the charity sector, and before her time at Refuge was the Director of Operations for Carr-Gomm, a national charity and TPAS awarded supported housing provider and delivered multi-agency domestic violence training for The Leeds Inter-Agency Project. Denise is a designated safeguard lead and sponsor for the Families Engagement Networking Group, drawing on 15 years’ experience as a foster carer, adoption support worker and was a member of the Leeds Adoption Panel.
Jayne Thorpe
Director of Corporate Services
Jayne Thorpe is an innovative, collaborative, and results-driven leader with a passion for transformative change and social impact. At Refuge, she leads strategic functions including Finance, Technology, Data, Transformation, Property, Risk, and Environmental Sustainability—ensuring the organisation is resilient, future-ready, and mission-aligned. With experience across private, public, and start-up sectors, Jayne brings deep expertise in strategy, finance, and programme delivery. Jayne holds an MBA from Oxford, an MSc from LSE, and is a qualified accountant with certifications in Agile, Leadership, and AI. Known for her high-energy, resilient, and empowering leadership style, Jayne excels at uniting teams across complex, matrixed environments to drive cohesive action and deliver bold, impactful change. Passionate about organisations creating positive social impact, she thrives in scale-up and transformation contexts—turning bold visions into reality.
Reema Malhotra
Director of Organisational Effectiveness
Reema joined Refuge in September 2025 and leads on organisational effectiveness, strengthening alignment between strategy, systems, leadership and culture so we can deliver greater impact for survivors. She also acts as executive sponsor for our anti-racism and migrant workers groups. Before this, Reema was at Save the Children for 10 years, overseeing the charity’s strategy, internal communications and diversity, equity & inclusion teams. She also spent a year working on advocacy, communications and fundraising in Lebanon. Reema started her career in the civil service, focusing on policy and research into youth employment. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling (especially going home to Spain!), hanging out with her cat and getting involved in local mutual aid work.
Marcia Weekes Spears
Interim Director of People and Culture
Marcia joined Refuge in October 2025 as Fractional Interim Director of People and Culture at a pivotal moment in the organisation’s journey. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team and the Senior People and Culture team, she is leading the shift from a primarily transactional HR model to a strategic People and Culture function that drives organisational effectiveness and deeper impact for survivors. With over 25 years’ experience in the HR arena, beginning her career as a generalist and moving into organisational transformation, leadership development and cultural change, Marcia brings a systemic lens to Refuge’s people agenda. Her work focuses on strengthening leadership capability, redesigning policies and processes to be leaner and more human-centred and embedding a Culture of Impact aligned to the wider transformation programme. Known for her coaching-led, direct and values-driven approach, Marcia supports the organisation to surface root causes, build accountability, and create an environment where people can do their best work in service of survivors. In her spare time, Marcia is a Board Trustee for Future Leaders and a long-term mentor at her local high school through the MCR Pathways programme, supporting young people to recognise and realise their potential.
