the amaze team

Sally Polanski

I provide senior management support to the Compass Register and Card, Amazing Futures project, and strategic and hosting support to the Brighton & Hove Parent Carers' Council and East Sussex Parent Carer Forum, helping ensure a strong voice for parents carers and their families.  I lead on internal developments within Amaze and work with the management team to develop services, new projects and opportunities across Sussex.  I work part time usually Monday to Thursday. Direct email

Ros Cook

I am the overall manager for Amaze’s advice, information and support services for parents and young people including the SENDIASS helplines and casework for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, , the DLA project and Face2Face befriending scheme; also our publications and courses. My role is to help the Amaze team offer the best service they can to parents and young people, and keep things running smoothly. But I like to keep a direct link with parents so you may catch me on the helpline sometimes or meet me running a workshop or training course. I work part time usually Monday to Thursday.

Zoe Brinkworth

I am Finance Manager and Quality Controller for Amaze with responsibility for purchasing, invoicing, accounts and payroll. I work part time, usually Tuesday to Thursday. Direct Email

Hannah Allbrooke

I am responsible for raising money for and awareness of Amaze and what we do. The work of the Fundraising & Marketing team includes working with donors, fundraisers and supporters (like you!), businesses, the press, trusts and foundations and more. I work part time, usually Monday - Thursday.

Lizzie Batten MBE

I manage the DLA volunteer team who offer parents one to one help with making claims for DLA and PIP. As well as being a bit of a disability guru, I am passionate about helping parents to get the support they deserve. I offer advice through our helpline and, as our longest standing member of staff, get involved in lots of different aspects of Amaze work. I work full time. Direct Email

Liam Ryan

I manage the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information , Advice and Support  (SENDIASS) services for East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. Our advisors operate an advice line Monday-Friday, we also have caseworkers and a team of volunteers.  The service is open to young people with SEND and to parent carers with queries about education, health, social care and other issues related to special educational needs. Please contact SENDIASS on 01272 772289 or sendiass@amazesussex.org.uk

Charlotte Moroney

I manage this website and all our print publications. My work is very varied and includes writing, editing, design and layout, but I am most passionate about giving parents information that is clear, accessible and friendly. I work part-time, generally Tuesday to Thursday.

Sue Winter

I run the young people’s Amazing Futures Project. Amazing Futures offers one to one peer support to young people with SEND aged 14-25. I train and supervise a team of young people aged 18+ who are volunteer peer supporters. We run group peer support activity sessions for young people aged 14-25 as well as for young women 14-25. We also offer a self-advocacy group that we run jointly with Speak Out, for young people with learning disabilities aged 16-25 years. Young people aged 14+ with SEND can also help Amaze develop our work with young people. Young people or their parents can call me directly on 07483 111648 or email: sue@amazesussex.org.uk I usually work Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.

Nicky Cruttenden

Nicola Keene

I provide admin support for our DLA and PIP project.  

Rose Fenge

I assist Charlotte Moroney with managing our website and print publications, and work with our Amazing Futures Project to get information directly to young people with SEND in an accessible and approachable format. My work is very varied, from writing and editing to photography and liaising with young people, but mostly I focus on providing information to parents and young people in a clear, understandable form. I usually work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. My pronouns are she/her.

Vicky Baynton-Williams

I work in the communications team,  handling social media, and ensuring we share relevant and interesting content with our audience. My job involves social posts and marketing for Amaze, PaCC and the fundraising team, working part-time, generally Monday to Thursday.

Marie Baker

As well as managing the delivery of the Face 2 Face project across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex (supervising the project workers, overseeing befriender training etc). I work with Compass and Carers’ Card Partners, negotiating new offers and maintaining current offers across Brighton & Hove.

Shelley Bennett

Amaze has been incredibly supportive to my family and helped us to navigate the new world we find ourselves in with a daughter with special needs. Amaze’s provision for so many families, like mine, across the region is invaluable and therefore I wanted to give back to this incredible organisation by giving time and sharing my communications expertise to promote their vital work.

Sav Kanagasundaram

Our service aims to help improve parental support for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex families throughout the neurodevelopmental pathway.  NHS Sussex teams in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex commission Amaze to coordinate this service for our local parent carers.

Michelle Bond-Howland

I offer information advice and support to parents and carers on the helpline.

Gaynor Entwistle

I offer information, advice and support to parents and carers on the advice line and help deliver SENDIASS workshops. I also work as a Benefits Assistant, supporting the DLA project manager with helping our families to claim DLA or PIP for their child or young person.

Lyra Edmonds

I offer information, advice and support to parents and carers on the helpline and follow up conversations with extra resources and contacts if required. I also attend local authority meetings and Amaze workshops related to SEND to further promote the service we offer.

Siobhan Aggarwal

Sally Cristin

I am the SENDIASS worker for young people with SEND under 25 years old. I give information, advice and support to individual young people around their education, health care and social care. If I can’t help, I try to find someone who can. I also provide information, advice and support to parent carers too.

Boo Vaughan

Paolo Boldrini

I work with PaCC to enable parent carers to be more involved in the way services for families with children and young people with additional needs and disabilities are commissioned and delivered across Brighton & Hove. I run coffee mornings for parent carers and organise consultations on different topics. I am not a parent carer but have extensive experience of supporting various groups to access mainstream and specialist services. Email: paolo@paccbrighton.org.uk

Vanessa de Guzman

I work for PaCC as a Participation Worker using my background in public sector research to highlight the real-life experiences of parent-carers and their children.  Communicating issues of importance to our families helps those shaping policy better understand our lives, in the hope that services can better reflect our needs.  My role includes a focus on children with learning disabilities and their carers. I am carer to two teenage children with special needs; my eldest has Down syndrome and Autism and my younger child has ADHD and Autism.  Advocacy for me is about championing voices that often go unheard. vanessa@paccbrighton.org.uk

Becky Robinson

As Chair of PaCC, I consult with parent carers and feed back their views to professionals at the local authority and in health services.

Kathy Johnson

I deliver the Face 2 Face project in East Sussex, working closely with the Face 2 Face Manager, managing a team of befrienders, taking referrals and matching parent carers with befriender volunteers.  I set up and run our Face 2 Face groups in East Sussex – the Kids Squad, Escape and the Brunch Club.

Claire Piper

I run the young people’s Amazing Futures Project for East Sussex. Amazing Futures is a free project to improve support for young people aged 14-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) going through transition to adulthood. I have been working in community-based arts projects in East Sussex for many years, am a parent carer of a teenage son with SEND and I am very excited to part of the Amaze team. Call me directly on 07484915038 or email: claire@amazesussex.org.uk. I work part time Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.

Louise Howe

I help deliver the Face 2 Face project in Brighton & Hove, working closely with the Face 2 Face Manager, to manage our team of volunteer befrienders, taking referrals and matching parent carers with befriender volunteers.  I also run our regular Face 2 Face ASC group and Breakfast Club in Brighton & Hove and oversee the running of the Dads Group.

Leila Erin-Jenkins

As Participation Facilitator at PaCC my role is to ensure parent carer views are represented by increasing awareness of who we are and promoting what we do, thereby boosting our core membership and encouraging parent carers to actively participate.  My role includes a focus on children with neurodivergent conditions and I have experience of Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia and Tourette Syndrome within my own family. leila@paccbrighton.org.uk

Lesley Whittal

I assist the Finance Manager with the Accounts and HR duties for Amaze as well as general office administration.

Charlotte Ayres

Dara Russell

I run the Amazing Futures Careers project at Amaze for young people aged 14-25 with additional needs in Brighton and Hove and across the county of East Sussex. I work with young people to prepare them for work by helping them to identify their skills, develop their job seeking tools (e.g. CVs, applications and interviews) and learn about support - and their legal rights - at work. I deliver support mainly through one-to-one sessions and sometimes run group workshops too. I usually work Monday to Thursday and can be contacted at dara@amazesussex.org.uk or 07485 345903.

Ruth Price

Ruth is part of the Face 2 Face team, with a focus on the neurodevelopmental pathway (NDP). Her role includes taking referrals and matching parent carers with befriender volunteers throughout East Sussex. She also runs parent carer support groups and helps facilitate workshops, as well as helping to run the numerous WhatsApp peer support groups.

Zoe Luther

Zoe is part of the Face 2 Face team, with a focus on mental health. Her role includes taking referrals and matching parent carers with befriender volunteers throughout Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. She also runs parent carer support groups, wellbeing sessions for parent carers and helps facilitate workshops, as well as helping to run the numerous WhatsApp peer support groups.

Ellie H

Laura Tyrell

Jhuma Sharma

Kacey Malony

I gather and record messages from parent carers and young people and ensure their queries are passed to the different services at Amaze, mainly the SENDIASS team.

Sue McMillan

I offer information, advice and support to parents and carers on the helpline. I also attend local authority meetings and Amaze workshops related to SEND to further promote the service we offer.

Hugh Clench

Being a parent or carer of a child with special needs brings many challenges and rewards. Whether or not you are a parent, being a trustee of a highly valued and respected organisation such as Amaze is a privilege which enriches the lives of all those involved. The role carries a number of set responsibilities, but also provides the freedom to contribute as and when best fits with your own busy life.

Debby Norris

I joined Amaze because I have an autistic daughter and also a background in Accounting. This charity has been a great support to my daughter and my whole family. Its a pleasure to be in a position to give back and support Amaze.

Fungi Woolnough-Murau

I enjoy seeing children smile and laugh. Every child has the ability to contribute to the community they live in. Children of limited abilities need support and encouragement to reach their potential. Amaze offers the platform for parents to navigate services to allow special needs children to lead a fully inclusive life, and it makes me proud to be able to contribute to such an inspirational organisation. An organisation that has supported me as a parent raising a wonderful daughter with special needs.

Siobhan Cox

I joined the Board of Trustees in January 2011 and really enjoy making a contribution to the great work of Amaze. I am a Partner in a local firm of Solicitors.

Alison Plant

Dan Barfoot

As a teacher, sports coach and youth mentor with over a decade's worth of experience working with practitioners and young people from a wide variety of backgrounds, becoming a trustee of such an important charity as Amaze seemed like a positive and natural step forward. My alternative provision provides services to many young people with the same needs and requirements as those young people cared for by Amaze and so I was keen to bring our innovative educational ideas together to serve such an important service.

Moe Hamdhaidari

Being very aware of the fantastic work that Amaze does, it is an honour to have been appointed a Trustee. I am delighted to support the ongoing journey while giving back to my local community. My background is digital media and marketing.

Annabel Giles

"I don’t know where I would be without Amaze. There is plenty of help available for our children with special needs, but virtually nothing for those who look after them. Many’s the time I’ve got into a panic about something or another, and Amaze have calmly helped me through. We are so fortunate to have this charity in Brighton; I will do anything I can to help keep it going. And if we can have fun in the process – well, all the better!" Annabel is an author and TV presenter, as well as a fully qualified counsellor/psychotherapist.

Angela Pell

"I have used Amaze many times since our son was diagnosed as being autistic, so I felt very honoured to be asked to be a patron of the charity. We continue even now to go on courses (excellent art classes) run by Amaze and see and hear from my own special needs community, time and time again, how people have been helped, lifted and supported by their services. I help Nicky with fundraising events and am mainly involved in The Big Cheer which I always find to be hilarious. It is the highlight of my year!" Angela is a screenwriter, with credits that the feature film Snow Cake.

Henry Normal

"My wife and I were approached to become patrons of Amaze and we were both delighted to accept. We had used their services and taken advice from them in the past when our autism journey (with our son) first began. They are such a positive and supportive organization. We help with the annual comedy fundraiser, The Big Cheer." Henry is an award-winning and BAFTA-nominated writer, producer and poet. He founded Baby Cow Productions Ltd together with comedy superstar, Steve Coogan.

Julia Donaldson

"Since moving back to the Sussex area, I was keen to support a local charity that works with children and families and I was impressed with all the things Amaze does to help families with children with additional needs." Julia Donaldson, Children’s Laureate 2012-13, is a much-loved and universally renowned children's writer of such classics as The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale and The Singing Mermaid. Julia heard about Amaze from a good friend who has been one of our trustees for many years.

Angela Barnes

"I became aware of Amaze and the work they do through taking part in their brilliant BIG CHEER for Amaze comedy night at Komedia. They are such a dedicated team who really care about supporting families with children with disabilities and additional needs, and the difference they make to the lives of the people they support is so vital. The enthusiasm and joy that Amaze brings to what they do is really infectious, so when they approached me about being a patron, I was delighted to say “yes please” and to lend my support in any way I can. Amaze is truly Amazing and I’m so honoured to be involved."   Angela Barnes is a well-known stand up comedian and TV star, regularly appearing on shows like Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo.

Joe Wilkinson

We enticed Joe into becoming our patron by spying on him and putting a begging letter on his car! He took part in our annual Comedy Event BIG CHEER for Amaze, and the rest is history. Joe is now a firm friend who helps Amaze bring positivity and humour to our service users and supporters. Joe Wilkinson is a well-known comedian, writer and actor.

Helen Albea

Eliph Haddert

Diana Boyd

Georgina Clare