Meet the Team
Staff Team
Team
Dave Perry
Chief Officer
Dave joined Seaview in Sept 2019 and is responsible for leading Seaview under the governance of Seaview’s board of trustees. Dave has a background in mental health and substance misuse, and has worked in front line delivery and commissioning within both voluntary and statutory sector contexts.
Hannah Hallett
Deputy Chief Officer
Inspired by her families commitment to provide security to children and adults within the social care system, Hannah has worked with forward thinking charities for 20 years supporting people with diverse range of needs including mental health, Autism and substance misuse, to achieve goals, increase independence and build strategies to overcome barriers. With over 10 years of experience managing teams across a range of residential and community settings, Hannah has a wide range of knowledge and experience to contribute to the management team, providing oversight to the service coordinators and HR operations at Seaview.
Sue Burgess
Projects Manager
Sue supports the Chief Officer and the organisation, leading on specific projects and representing the organisation on several networks. She also offers support for the activities of the fundraising group Awareness for Action, leads on community events and provides training for Seaview volunteers and new workers. Sue also provides oversight of our Rough Sleepers Outreach Service as well as support for several monitoring requirements.
Maggie Hawthorne
Wellbeing Centre Co-ordinator
Maggie oversees the daily operations of the Wellbeing Centre services, providing support to the centre support workers as well as overseeing the kitchen, maintenance and cleaning staff. Maggie has worked for Seaview for many years and has helped set up and manage the Seaview RADAR and Weekend Teams. Maggie oversees all facilities and resources within the Wellbeing Centre and coordinates a number of group activities such as the Men’s Mental Health Digital Group and Women’s Group. Maggie has an extensive background working with young people in care and mental health.
Hollie Taylor
SSORS / Alcohol Outreach / SASS Co-ordinator
Hollie has worked in the care industry for over 20 years, initially working with adults with behaviours that challenge and learning disabilities before moving on to working with people with autism and mental health. Hollie has 10 years’ experience managing a large team at Autism Sussex, supporting people with autism and comorbidities: mental health, Schizophrenia, addiction and psychosis.
Michele Laurens
Volunteer Co-ordinator
Michele brings over 25 years of experience in helping professions to support clients access the resources and services they need, including 5 years as a counsellor specialising in neurodiversity, trauma and addiction. Before her counselling work Michele spent 2 decades in the care field coordinating activities and overseeing care teams for clients with diverse needs. This extensive experience has honed her ability to understand complex support systems and advocate effectively for those she serves. Michele’s combined background in direct therapeutic support and care coordination allows her to take a holistic approach to navigation services, ensuring clients receive compassionate guidance tailored to their specific circumstances and goals.
Board of Trustees
Governance responsibility for Seaview lies with the Board of Trustees. Some of these have supported Seaview for many years, and bring a wealth of experience to the work. They are:
Anna Barnes
Chair of Trustees
Expertise in commissioning and service development. Anna worked within the NHS for over 30 years, focussing on programme management and governance in infrastructure projects like new hospitals. Anna is also a Civil Service reviewer for the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) and has undertaken external reviews of major capital programmes ranging from the House of Commons to the Prison Service. Anna started her career in the voluntary sector creating services for people who had been resettled from the psychiatric long stay institutions. Anna has a passion for using arts/heritage to design health care environments which contribute to the patient experience by conveying a message of caring and compassion as well as clinical excellence.
Beckie Cooper
Vice Chair
Expertise in nursing and the housing sector. Beckie is currently working as a practice nurse within a rural rother surgery. Prior to her latest role she ran a successful letting business for 10 years in the local Hastings and St Leonards areas. Her role as both business owner and property manager allowed her to see many different aspects of housing and hardship, and it was in this period that she became a trustee for Seaview.
Beckie brings the compassion and empathy from her nursing, and the business mindset to her role as a trustee, allowing her to have a good overview of the strategy behind running a successful charity, and always keeping the service user at the forefront.
Gary Rogerson
Treasurer
Expertise in finance and law. Gary was born and raised in Hartlepool, a seaside town with similar challenges of deprivation to Hastings. After a grammar school education he studied law at Oxford, then worked first as a solicitor and subsequently as a wealth manager. In both roles Gary advised successful business people on the managing and structuring of their wealth. This often included the allocation and use of part of their wealth for philanthropic purposes. When Gary retired, he wanted to become more involved in the local community and joined Seaview as a trustee in 2019. Gary’s and his wife moved to St Leonards early in 2026 and love the diverse and vibrant community it provides.
Duncan Tree
Expertise in policy and the voluntary sector. Duncan has been a trustee at Seaview since 2014 and has more than 35 years’ work experience in both the public and voluntary and community sectors, at national and local levels. He has worked for East and West Sussex County Councils’ Social Services, the Local Government Association, the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government and the charity formerly known as Community Service Volunteers, Volunteering Matters. Since May 2019, he has been a director at the national network and membership body for mental health charities, the Association of Mental Health Providers.
Marie Casey
Expertise in the statutory and voluntary sector. Marie has worked in the field of health and social care in both the public and voluntary sectors for her whole career. Marie was the director of Hastings Voluntary Action, chair of Hastings and St Leonard’s NHS Primary Care Trust, chief executive of Care for the Carers and SEAP Advocacy Service, now Advocacy People. She has always been passionate about social justice and reducing inequalities.
Ella Hancock
Expertise in homelessness and international housing models. Ella has over 15 years’ experience working in housing and homelessness across local government and the voluntary sector in the UK and internationally. Her background includes delivering EU funded programmes and managing UK Government grant funding programmes. She has also worked directly with people experiencing homelessness, including people leaving prison, supporting access to housing and stable tenancies. More recently, she has led a network of international organisations working to end homelessness, providing coaching, capacity building and grant funding to strengthen practice and support long term policy and systems change.
Alongside her practice work, Ella has undertaken international research into young offenders and inclusive cohousing models. She has a strong interest in housing-led and community-based approaches that offer stable, long term solutions. She joined the Board of Seaview in 2025.
Dominic Joyce
Expertise in business, and has lived experience of alcohol recovery. Dominic brings 25 years’ experience in the service industry to the table, having built a successful business. He is particularly focussed on “customer” satisfaction and team leadership.
He is a weekly volunteer in the Seaview Wellbeing centre, so interacts with service users regularly.
Dominic also has lived experience of active alcoholism and drug use and a prolonged period of recovery.
Gemma Hollingshead
Expertise in 3rd sector organisations and communications. Gemma has spent over 20 years working in third sector, public sector and higher education communications. She has led PR, media and marketing departments and supported campaigns and fundraising for a number of charities including St Mungo’s and Octavia Housing. Gemma moved to Hastings in 2022 and joined the Board of Seaview in early 2024.
Elise Liversedge
Architectural Designer and Fine Artist based in Bexhill on Sea – actively working within her local community encouraging inclusivity, and the development of low cost social housing. She has been on the Seaview Board since 2020.
Steve Sampson
Expertise in charity accounting.