Meet the Team
Our Associates
David Schoon
— Family Mediator
David qualified in 2010 as an accredited mediator with the Family Mediation Council, and is a member of the Family Mediators Association and National Family Mediation. He is qualified to provide family mediation on all issues such as finances or child related issues and is also qualified to consult with children where there is a need for child inclusive mediation.
Before qualifying as a mediator, David practiced as a family law solicitor for around 15 years and was a member of Resolution and on the Law Society’s Family Law panel. Originally he intended to practice as both a lawyer and a mediator but he found that he enjoyed mediation more, mainly because of its holistic approach.
Anna Awad
— Associate Mediator
Anna has been an integral part of the MESH team since she started in 1999, and she has since held the vital roles of case manager, staff mediator and new staff mentor for MESH. Anna holds OCN Level 3 Mediation Skills and Theory Accreditation, as well as further training in Communities and Conflict Analysis, and attends ongoing regular accredited CPD courses.
At MESH Anna specialises in community and workplace mediation. She also provides Community Cohesion support and research for MESH and its partner organisations, as well as facilitating community dialogues for Who Is Your Neighbour and doing youth work for a local group.
Joy Justice
— Associate Mediator
Joy Justice trained in mediation and conflict coaching over 10 years ago and has been practising in a variety of community contexts- including neighbour disputes, conflicts within community groups and between people who are working on projects together. She is passionate about supporting people to find their own creative ways forward and creating a space where people feel deeply heard.
Matt Whitney
— Associate Mediator
Matt works as a mediator for MESH as well as other not-for-profit groups. He is also an integrative counsellor. He is passionate about social and environmental justice. He believes that to create a society that works better for everyone we need to accept that conflict is inevitable, and can be a beautiful opportunity for healing, transformation and growth.
Catherine Longstaff
— Associate Mediator and Conflict Coach
Catherine first started practising mediation over 10 years ago, and is now an Civil and Commercial Mediator (accredited by the Civil Mediation Council 2020).
Catherine has a very wide and deep experience of conflict and dispute resolution, through her life experience, and 20+ years as a lawyer and people manager.
She passionately believes in the transformative power of mediation, and enjoys facilitating dispute resolution on every level.
Cheryl Bamford
— Associate Mediator and Conflict Coach
Cheryl is a trained and experienced mediator and conflict coach. Skilled at supporting people who are stuck in unresolved and damaging cycles of conflict.
Cheryl provides conflict coaching and mediation for MESH within community and workplace settings. She also works for a local charity where she provides mediation and conflict coaching for young people and their families.
Cheryl is passionate about creating a space for those in conflict, to support them to understand their differences and find a peaceful way forward. She believes that choice, empowerment and responsibility can enable people to live peacefully together in a truly beneficial way.
Our Staff
Linda Gears
— Case Manager
As Case Manager, Linda is responsible for the day-to-day operations at MESH, overseeing case management across the MESH portfolio, producing regular reporting for contract partners like SCC, and managing MESH's administrative and procedural approaches. She also looks after MESH policy and regulation reviews and financial operations.
Linda has worked in an administrative/business support role for over 20 years now in both the private and public sectors; joining MESH in March 2019. She thoroughly enjoys working for MESH, especially the variation in her role.
Our Board
Ben McGarry
— Chair
Ben spent most of his working life in South Africa as a higher education and public health specialist. Working with national and provincial health departments during the transition from apartheid to majority government he saw first hand the need for conflict resolution across public services and between communities. Ben has been a trustee since 2018, and became Chair in 2024.
Jo Buchanan
— Treasurer
Jo worked as a General Practitioner and GP Teacher in Sheffield until her retirement. As a GP she often saw people whose mental health was badly affected by conflict in their lives. She believes MESH provides important work in this field. She has been the treasurer of MESH since 2021.
Elinor Harman
— Secretary
Elinor joined MESH’s Board of Trustees in 2021. She brings skills in strategy and policy development from her 27 years of work as a civil servant in central government, and experience in the voluntary sector from previous roles on local charity Boards. Elinor’s mission is to bring mediation skills to individuals and communities to help them address and heal conflict which so often blights lives.
Carol Borrill
— Trustee
Carol worked as an organisational psychologist as a researcher, lecturer and practitioner. She is also a trained mediator and coach, and has designed and delivered training in conflict resolution and coaching skills. She became a MESH trustee in 2015 and was the Chair from 2018 to 2024.
Luke Tilley
— Trustee
Luke joined MESH as a trustee in 2021. He has a background in biological sciences and project management, and currently works as a director in the science and charity sector, specialising in communications, policy and governance. Luke is interested in the vital role of third sector organisations that improve the quality of people’s lives.
Jess Ryan-Smith
— Trustee
Jess has worked across various industries, including tech, alternative dispute resolution and higher education, bringing with her expertise in digital enablement and process implementation. Jess joined MESH as a trustee in 2016 because she is passionate about the power of alternative dispute resolution in helping people resolve conflict and better people's lives.