Our people
Our people bring together local knowledge, experience and specialist expertise, united by a shared commitment to giving every child the best possible start in life.
Our locally recruited teams work closely with families, communities and partners, supported by our central team, trustees and Advisory Council. Together, they provide the leadership, insight and expertise that help strengthen early years systems and create lasting change for children and families.
Our people
Our people bring together local knowledge, experience and specialist expertise, united by a shared commitment to giving every child the best possible start in life.
Our locally recruited teams work closely with families, communities and partners, supported by our central team, trustees and Advisory Council. Together, they provide the leadership, insight and expertise that help strengthen early years systems and create lasting change for children and families.
Aida Cable
CEO
Aida joined Thrive at Five after almost a decade at The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, most recently as its Chief Advisor. Aida led the Foundation’s early years work and managed its portfolio of mental health programmes. She moved into the voluntary and charity sector after a first career as a lawyer and is a Trustee of the London Marathon Foundation. Aida was a Trustee of Family Action for ten years.
In 2024, Aida received the Award of Honorary Doctor of Letters by Staffordshire University in recognition of her exemplary devotion, drive and passion in developing Thrive at Five and her outstanding contributions to the health and wellbeing of society.
Nicola Casey
Head of Partnerships and Development
Nicola has over a decade of experience mobilising major donor support for social impact across the UK, Europe, the US, and sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to Thrive at Five, Nicola was the Head of Philanthropy, Europe at mothers2mothers. Her career spans senior roles at the British Red Cross and Women for Women International, and includes leading international events and summits during Climate Week NYC and at the World Economic Forum in Davos—bringing together heads of state, global CEOs, and philanthropic leaders to drive collaborative action on global challenges.
Nina Gilbert
Early Years Health Lead
Nina is a passionate advocate for improving children’s outcomes in Stoke. As a mother of four, she understands the evolving landscape of service provision over the past 15 years, supporting parents from pregnancy to applying for nursery. Believing in the proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”, Nina connects families with the resources needed for their children to thrive.
Nicole Cassidy
Director of Programmes, Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland
Nicole brings a wealth of experience, having worked in frontline safeguarding for local authorities across the North East for the past decade. She has extensive knowledge in leadership, partnership, and collaboration, and is deeply passionate about putting children and families at the heart of service design. Nicole is especially excited to champion true co-production across the region and to help drive Thrive at Five’s mission forward.
In addition to her professional background, Nicole also serves as a local magistrate (JP), reflecting her personal commitment to advocating for underrepresented members of the community.
Imogen Hirsch
Director of Design, Development and Strategic Planning
Imogen has worked in the charity sector for almost 15 years, moving into the third sector after 5 years in the Civil Service. She joined Thrive at Five after 8 years at The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, most recently working as the Associate Director for Impact at the Centre for Early Childhood. Prior to this she led a number of projects focused on mental health at The Foundation, including as Head of Operations for the Heads Together campaign.
Chris Wellings
Director of Learning and Impact
Chris started his professional life working in central and local government. At Save the Children UK, he was Head of Policy and then Head of Children’s Communities. Most recently, he worked at the National Children’s Bureau as Assistant Director of London’s A Better Start site, the Lambeth Early Action Partnership.
Lucy Vidal
Director of Finance & Technology
Lucy joined Thrive at Five as Director of Finance and Tech after seven years in financial planning and strategic finance roles across the charity sector. Previously, Lucy worked for Health Data Research UK, the national institute for health data science, as Associate Director of Financial Strategy. Lucy sits on the Boards of Refugee Action and refugee befriending charity HostNation as Treasurer for both organisations. Prior to joining the voluntary and charity sector, Lucy trained in government and public sector audit with EY whilst gaining her chartered accountancy qualification.
Denise Coster
Senior Evaluation and Research Manager
Denise is a mixed methods researcher and evaluator with over 25 years experience of designing, leading and delivering research and evaluation projects in the charity sector. Denise has particular expertise in evaluating early years services, place based approaches and complex interventions and using methods which ensure that diverse stakeholder perspectives are included in research. Most recently, Denise worked at Depaul, a youth homelessness charity.
Sara Nelson
Head of Communications (interim)
Sara has more than 20 years experience building communications functions and delivering impact in complex organisations. Originally from Gateshead in the north east of England, she worked on regional newspapers across the north before moving into communications. Her career journey has included local authorities, public bodies and central Government, and she brings particular expertise in strategic planning, storytelling and team development.
Ellie Foreman
Head of Communications (maternity leave)
Ellie has over ten years in PR, marketing and communications, with the last five of these spent working with charities aiming to improve outcomes for children and young people. With experience both in the UK and internationally, Ellie’s most recent role was with social work charity Frontline where she led on communications, media, events and public affairs.
Dr Caroline Guard
Senior Strategy Manager, Parent Outreach & Engagement
Caroline joined Thrive at Five in April 2026, after spending 16 years working in higher education as a Senior Lecturer and Researcher. Her research has focused on the voice, agency and rights of very young children as well as workforce resilience and professional development. She has worked closely with the early years sector both in practice and in recent years as an ethnographic researcher. Most recently Caroline worked at The University of Oxford on the Best Start for Life Workforce Evaluation.
Lavinia Kaita
Finance Officer and Business Partner
Lavinia is an Accounting and Finance graduate and a mother of two who has worked in different industries including hospitality, NHS and recruitment. In her previous role as a Finance Officer, she built a whole finance department from the ground up, which included setting up systems, processes and procedures for the entire company.
After returning to work after maternity leave, she has embarked on a new journey bringing a wide range of skills and knowledge to the charity sector.
Dr Ellinor Olander
Senior Evaluation and Data Manager
Ellinor joined Thrive at Five in January 2025, after spending 15 years in higher education where she conducted mixed methods research and service evaluations focusing on maternal and child health and collaborative practice. She is an honorary Reader in Maternal and Child Health at City St Georges, University of London and part of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Active Pregnancy Foundation charity.
Kavisha Satheeskumar
Finance Assistant
Kavisha is a recent accounting and finance graduate with a strong interest in developing her knowledge and skills within the charity sector. Having graduated last year, she is excited to apply her academic background and contribute to the financial work that supports meaningful charitable causes.
Paige Sinkler
Trust and Foundations Manager
Paige has 25 years’ experience of fundraising, specialising in trust and foundations for NGOs like Marie Stopes International, Save the Children, Tom Harrison House, educational non-profits and others. She also has experience as a grant maker and charity director, and expertise in research and communications.
Jo Winstanley
Head of People (Interim)
Jo has worked in the third sector for 25 years, following an early career with FTSE 100 companies. She spent more than a decade at Addaction, now known as We Are With You, as Head of People, speaking at the Health & Wellbeing Conference about developing the organisation’s employment offer and later collecting the HR Management award at the Charity Times awards. Before joining Thrive at Five, she also worked with Terrence Higgins Trust, the Royal College of Surgeons, VIA and Place2Be.
Karla Capstick
Director of Programme (Stoke-on-Trent)
Karla has joined the Thrive at Five team after leading the multi award winning Nottingham, Small Steps Big Changes ‘A Better Start’ Lottery funded programme for nearly seven years as its Director. Passionate about early years, early intervention, coproduction and placing parent and community voices at the heart of service design and delivery, Karla brings extensive knowledge and experience of working in schools and Local Government for over 20 years mainly in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Previous roles include Head of Service for Early Help and Programme Manager for Service Transformation and Integration. Karla is also a trustee for a Health advocacy and patient voice charity.
Discover how our people make a difference
Our approach
See how Thrive at Five works alongside families, communities and local partners to strengthen early years systems.
Our impact
Explore the evidence, stories and results showing how our work is making a difference for children and families.
Partner with us
Discover how funders, policymakers and local organisations can work with Thrive at Five.