Lesley was thrilled to join Restore in July 2017.  Her role is to oversee the work of the whole organisation and to ensure Restore has the resources and capacity to deliver excellent services.  She was inspired to work for Restore because of the incredible range of services it provides, and its focus on recovery.

After a brief career in stage management, Lesley has spent the last 30 years in the non-profit sector, leading organisations delivering services to vulnerable people.  During her career, her work has covered homelessness, mental ill health, offending, substance misuse, and poverty. Before coming to Restore, Lesley ran the city’s largest homelessness service for over a decade.

Lesley has helped to develop a range of innovative services to take direct action to tackle the misery that these issues can cause, both at a local and national level.  She is experienced in campaigning, policy advice, charity governance, fundraising and partnership working, and has been a trustee of several organisations. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of Oxford in 2016, for services to homelessness.