Our team

The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, has been our Patron for several years now and we’re incredibly grateful for his support. Watch this video to see why he passionately supports Christians Against Poverty.

Before joining CAP, Paula held a senior role as Head of Production and Operations for BBC Sport where she managed all operational parts of the business. She was involved in delivering the Olympics, Match of the Day, Wimbledon, the World Cup and, well, everything ​‘sport’ that goes on at the BBC. 

Paula has considerable experience in leading teams and is a very creative and effective problem solver. With her entrepreneurial and leadership gifts, she has a whole range of experience including running a hotel, setting up sports camps across the UK for a charity, and even running a successful local business with her husband. 

Having been through their fair share of trials as a family, and after debt counselling saved her marriage, Paula joined CAP in 2018 as Executive Director. She is passionate about pairing her life experiences with her wealth of skills to make a difference to those still on their debt free journey.

Jon started his career in technology at a US investment bank before leaving to join the charity sector. He has managed projects and programmes at Christian Aid and the British Red Cross. Before joining CAP in 2014, he headed up planning and reporting at the Red Cross working with the CEO and Directors on charity wide strategy. Jon’s family were CAP Life Changers and, as time went on, he increasingly hoped to be able to join the CAP team. 

Jon is passionate about CAP working closely with local churches to bring hope, life and freedom to those who are desperately in need of it.

Ellie brings her personal brand of leadership to CAP, adding a clear people and culture focus. She joined CAP in 2005 with a background in the legal and financial sectors. She brings oversight to all CAP’s people policies and their implementation, the big picture of wellbeing for all CAP workers (health, career, voice, culture, job design), and takes the lead as we strive to build a culture centred on Christ. She has three sons and has been a working mum for the last 21 years. 

Ellie’s passion for CAP is that it brings people from desperation to hope for the future.

Having joined CAP in 2016, Angie is a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, with extensive experience of strategic financial management in the public sector. Through her previous post in the NHS she managed a varied portfolio, including contracting, quality, finance and analytics.

Angie’s passion for CAP started in 2009 when she was involved in opening the first CAP Debt Centre in Norfolk. She served as a Centre Manager for five years.

Dan joined CAP in a Debt Operations role in 2007, supporting clients on their journeys out of debt and later managing teams within the department. He then went on to work as Executive Assistant to the Founder and Chief Executive and was involved in a variety of projects charity-wide, including leading the launch of CAP Job Clubs.

In 2017, Dan took on the role of Director of Engagement. He works closely with CAP’s amazing supporters, external organisations, government and churches to ensure that together we can see even more lives transformed.

Jake joined CAP in 2008, bringing with him valuable experience from the commercial insurance sector of the finance industry. He began as a Debt Advisor, helping to lift the weight from our clients’ shoulders. Following this, Jake took on various management roles in different areas of the charity. He spent six months working on a project to strengthen our Debt Operations teams, after which he stepped into the role of Director of Debt Operations. 

Jake is passionate about building healthy, thriving teams that are equipped to set people free from challenging circumstances.

Lyn has led strategic transformation and delivered major change in the financial services sector with Bank of America, Alliance & Leicester and Equifax. Following her vocational calling in 2016, she became Director of Mission for the Diocese of Chester, encouraging churches to grow the church’s impact in the world. A year later, she was ordained as a Church of England priest. In 2019, she took up a national role with the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity as the Director of Church of England Relations, inspiring Anglican dioceses and churches to develop whole-life disciple making cultures. 

Lyn’s biggest prayer is to see an end to UK poverty. God really showed her the startling reality of its devastation whilst she was leading debt management in banking and her passion is to inspire a movement of change makers determined to eradicate poverty across the UK whilst sharing the Good News of Christ.

Tim has spent most of his career leading technology teams across the retail sector. From development to programmes to operations, he has worked with some of the UK’s most well-known high street retailers including Selfridges, ASOS and Whistles.

Tim’s connection to CAP began in 2019 in a mentoring capacity. In the past few years he felt the desire for faith and work to align and was delighted when he found there was an official role for him at CAP.

Tim is passionate about building teams and helping others to grow and develop. He is excited about supporting and enabling technology across the organisation and being a part of CAP’s future.

Sarah joined the Executive team at CAP in 2022. She has over twenty years of varied Human Resources management experience predominantly in manufacturing and engineering companies. She also brings extensive church leadership experience.

Sarah loves to build and lead teams that enable others to flourish in their God given purpose. She is passionate about deepening CAP’s Christ centred culture so that CAP can transform lives, end UK poverty and partner with thriving churches.

Roger brings a wealth of management experience to the board, having held board-level positions in both financial services and energy sectors, as well as being appointed General Manager of a social enterprise that provides renewable energy solutions to the world’s poorest people. Roger first came across CAP over ten years ago while working in the UK banking sector and was impressed by the professionalism and impact he saw. Roger joined CAP’s Board of Trustees in 2016.

Lisa is on the international leadership team of Open Doors, an NGO which supports persecuted Christians in the most hostile environments. She looks after all the Open Doors countries which mobilise prayer and advocacy, and which resource the field work. She also oversees their international advocacy and works to raise the visibility and voices of persecuted women in their plans and programmes. She previously led the UK and Ireland team of Open Doors, but comes from a business development background, having previously worked for Reuters and Virgin Media.

Matthew served as CEO of Tearfund for almost a decade, and previously worked for DFES and McKinsey, where he specialised in strategy and organisational leadership. He has served overseas with Medair in a leadership capacity and set up their aid programme in Afghanistan.

Jane is Tearfund’s Global Fundraising Director. She’s responsible for raising the income that enables Tearfund to work with churches and partners in areas of extreme poverty around the world. Jane has experience developing fundraising, communications and marketing strategies in the charity sector. Before joining Tearfund, she led fundraising teams at charities including World Vision, Oxfam and United Bible Societies.

A senior HR professional working in the NHS, Ema has a background in both public and private health care and industry experience in food retail and facilities management. She also works with HM Courts and Tribunals Service, participating in public hearings to resolve employment disputes and deliver workplace justice, and with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, making a real difference to the career and enterprise education of young people. Ema is passionate about empowering people to be their best and is excited to help transform lives by serving CAP.

Joy oversees Social Justice and Influence at Alive Church, a multi-site church in the East of England, and is Location Pastor of Alive Lincoln with her husband Paul. She has a heart for the restoration and transformation of cities through the mobilisation of the local Church and seeing people find wholeness and purpose in Jesus. Joy is the founding Director of Acts Trust, a Lincoln-based charity connected to Alive, which has the aspiration vision of poverty alleviation in the city.

Lisa has a technology background in Telecoms and a heart for community and working together with organisations to support those in difficult circumstances. She felt God put a passion for CAP in her heart when she heard John Kirkby speak, and this lead to her setting up the Newbury CAP Debt Centre in 2019. She loves the passion and hope that CAP brings and the privilege of seeing people blossom when encountering God’s love.

Dr John Kirkby CBE founded Christians Against Poverty in 1996, combining his 17 years’ experience in the consumer finance industry with his personal experience of being in overwhelming debt. His faith-filled journey through CAP’s early years is recorded in the book Nevertheless. His vision to see lives transformed and people set free from poverty led to CAP being built in the UK and around the world. He was awarded a CBE in 2018 for his charitable work and is an honorary Doctor of Bradford University. 

In 2021, after 25 incredible years at CAP, John felt that God was calling him to explore new opportunities and that it was time to move on. He remains an avid supporter of our work and will forever be held in high esteem as the foundation of everything CAP is today.

Martin Lewis OBE is an award-winning campaigning TV and radio presenter, newspaper columnist, charity founder, author and, according to Google, the most searched-for British man. He also founded the moneysavingexpert.com website. Martin has been vocal about his support of CAP – watch him recommending our services on This Morning here.