Our Senior Management Team consists of our Chief Executive, Mark Waddington, along with Pete Garratt, Brenda Kariuki, Mark Shadrack and Sally White
Together, they develop and, with Board approval, execute strategic and operational plans.
Read below to find out more about the experience and expertise they bring to Hope and Homes for Children, and what motivates them most about working to stop the institutionalisation of children.
Mark Waddington, CEO
Mark Shadrack, Chief Operating Officer
Brenda Kariuki, Director of Global and EU Advocacy
Pete Garratt, Director of Global Programmes
Sally White, Head of Human Resources
Mark Waddington
CEO
Mark Waddington has 32 years’ experience working in the humanitarian and international development sectors, of which 22 years have been as a CEO – eight years running War Child and 14 years running Hope and Homes for Children. He has served as a trustee on the Board of Barnardo’s, the UK’s largest children’s charity, and chaired the Barnardo’s Foundation Board. He also served as the Chair of Micaia for ten years, a hybrid social enterprise that develops innovative solutions to poverty prevention in Mozambique.
For the last five years, in an independent capacity, Mark has led a review of the effectiveness of the humanitarian sector. As part of the next phase of this work, and in recognition of the existential crisis that the sector currently faces, he is leading the design of a new humanitarian offering that will contribute to the development of a much needed new paradigm.
Since Mark joined Hope and Homes for Children in 2011, the organisation has doubled its income, trebled beneficiary reach, taken a leading role in negotiating a policy statement on the UK’s position on deinstitutionalisation of child care internationally, helped to author the Kigali Declaration which commits all Commonwealth member states to progressively eliminating orphanages, and has helped persuade the current government to take a leadership role in promoting global child care reform.
Hope and Homes for Children has been one of the leading organisations in reducing the number of children confined within the orphanage system in Romania, from over 100,000 to less than 650, in Moldova from 13,000 to less than 800, and there are only 180 children left to get back to family in Rwanda and two orphanages left to close in Bulgaria. The organisation is delivering similar systemic transformation of child care and protection in countries like Ukraine, India, Nepal, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.
As the CEO of War Child, Mark and his team more than quadrupled income, increased beneficiary reach by 1,200%, developed partnerships across the music industry to attract the attention of the media and politicians, and compelled action to address the prosecution of war on children at a time when the UK was heavily involved in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. They won the UN Grand Award.
In his spare time, Mark is writing a book that sets out to challenge the whitewashing of early Rock ’n Roll history as much as it celebrates the music itself. He enjoys outdoor cooking for his family and friends.
Mark received the CBE for services to global child protection in the 2019 UK Honours List.
Mark is clear about his motivation:
“Orphanages deprive children of their liberty. Too often they replicate the conditions of a prison. They regiment the lives of children, stigmatise and isolate them from their families and communities. They inflict violence and neglect upon them. In the worst cases, orphanages are engines of child trafficking. They are harmful and have no place in our society. Despite continuing resistance though, we have great confidence that change is in fact possible, and at scale. With every day, more governments, local authorities and organisations are recognising that helping to keep families together, and supporting alternative forms of family and community care and protection are not only more cost effective than concentrating and locking resources up in orphanages, but are actually saving lives and radically improving many more.”
Mark Shadrack
Chief Operating Officer
Mark has extensive experience in finance, governance, and operations across the commercial and charity sectors. He initially joined Hope and Homes for Children as a trustee in 2018. Having seen our work first hand, he was inspired by the opportunity to help some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families and became Chief Operating Officer in 2020. Prior to this, Mark enjoyed an international career in finance at Unilever which included leadership roles spanning operations, strategy, and change management. Mark is a Chartered Management Accountant, holds the ICAEW diploma in Charity Accounting, and has a Masters in Charity Accounting and Financial Management from Bayes Business School in London.
As COO, Mark leads the Resources team, covering Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, Risk Management and Governance. Their role is to provide strategic and operational support for organisational objectives, enabling effective and efficient work toward our vision.
When asked what motivates him most about his job, Mark said:
“Seeing our work in Moldova was a key moment for me. It highlighted the deep injustice of systems which place children in orphanages, but also the hope and inspiration of the fantastic, life-changing work led by our frontline teams. We have a unique opportunity to protect vulnerable children and enable many more of them to grow up with the love of a family, and I am delighted to be part of that.”
Brenda Kariuki
Director of Global and EU Advocacy
Brenda is a seasoned policy, advocacy and communications specialist, with over 25 years’ experience working in the development, public and private sector in Africa.
Brenda is passionate about issues affecting children. She has led and managed regional and national advocacy initiatives aimed at influencing policy change and holding governments accountable for children and women.
She enjoys the outdoors and spends her free time taking walks with her family. She is also an avid reader and enjoys landscaping, knitting/crocheting and traveling with her family. Brenda is also a chorister and a member of the Nairobi Music Society.
Brenda holds a master’s degree (MSc) in Health Policy, Health Economics and Management from the London School of Economics; a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management from the University of York; and a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) from the University of Nairobi.
Pete Garratt
Director of Global Programmes
Pete Garratt joined us in 2022, with over twenty years of experience in the international development and humanitarian response, including in the disability and child rights sectors. He has led global emergency response teams in some of the world’s toughest contexts with the Red Cross and served for the last eight years in director of programmes and operations roles with the Leprosy Mission and with Street Child. Holding a master’s degree in international development, Pete specialises in strategic programme leadership, organisational development, and promoting accountability and well-being across multiple programmes. This familiarity will be especially important to our future as we seek to continue to strengthen our resilience to ensure we’re able to work on long-term national systems change.
While working for the Leprosy Mission Pete gained vital knowledge on how to work on a systems response to the deep stigmatisation associated with leprosy which constantly leads to the terrible exclusion of those afflicted. This experience has given Pete an understanding of how children living with disabilities and their families may be similarly affected, leading to institutionalisation.
Pete’s consultative and participatory approach to leadership, alongside a well-developed emotional intelligence and a reputation for integrity, commitment and empathy are an asset to our teams and our overall objectives for our Global Programmes.
When asked what motivates him most about his job, Pete said:
“My heart breaks when I see the debilitating impact of injustice and locking up a child in an orphanage – no matter how well intentioned – is a terrible injustice. I’m so fortunate to get to work with similarly passionate and professional colleagues to make a difference in the lives of children and their families. There is no better feeling than knowing that we’ve helped bring about positive change and seeing the long-lasting smiles and joy that results.”
Sally White
Head of Human Resources
Sally is passionate about putting people at the heart of any organisation she has worked in, bringing considerable experience in HR, recruitment, learning and development and coaching from both charity and commercial sectors. Prior to joining Hope and Homes for Children she held senior roles with mental health charity Mind, Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust, and through her own business supporting organisations ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small businesses. Sally also spent three years at Oxfam in the Overseas HR team providing support to international humanitarian programmes. A qualified executive coach and fellow of the CIPD, developing people and creating inclusive workplaces has been central to her professional career.
As Head of HR, Sally plays a key role in bringing together our strategy, culture and operational HR delivery processes to support delivery of our vision, developing remarkable people to be the very best they can be.
When asked about why she joined Hope and Homes for Children, Sally said:
“It is truly inspiring to be part of a charity that carries out such incredible work and to see the impact our talented frontline teams have in changing the lives of vulnerable young children enabling them to move from institutional care to the love and safety of a family home. A lasting memory is seeing the impact of this work for myself in Bulgaria not long after the Global Charter for childcare reform was signed at the United Nations Global Assembly and to know we played such a central role in advising on this global campaign.”
