Meet the team at Orchid! We’re a small, hard working team, committed to supporting men with male cancer. We are passionate about spreading awareness of the signs and symptoms of male cancer so that men are diagnosed early and receive the best outcomes.
Chief Executive and Director, Overcoming the Barriers to Engaging with Prostate Cancer Project
Ali has over 30 years of executive management experience in the field of Public Health, specialising in cancer prevention, HIV and within the third sector.
A trained nurse and qualified social worker, Ali is a BSc Honours graduate of Sociology Applied Social Studies with CQSW (Certificate of Qualification in Social Work). He is also a trained UK BSL Stage I & II (British Sign Language) interpreter from Durham University and holds a certificate in Training & Development.
Prior to Orchid, Ali worked for The British Heart Foundation (BHF), The Prostate Cancer Charity (TPCC) and NAZ Project London, where he oversaw national and regional strategies.
Ali is known for his innovative, mixed-media approaches to health messaging. He developed and produced the acclaimed short film, “A Letter to my Unpresented Self” to help healthcare professionals better understand diagnosis of prostate cancer in the black African and black Caribbean communities. He has also produced the short film ‘Uncle Mike’ which explores a young man’s mission to raise awareness of prostate cancer following the death of his uncle.
With a proven track record in procurement and fundraising, Ali is experienced in securing full cost recovery funding for public cancer awareness programmes.
As a passionate advocate of accessible and inclusive services, Ali believes the intersectional experiences of marginalised people’s lives must be recognised and addressed if the gap between poor health outcomes for different communities is to be reduced.
Ali is also the Chair of Cancer Equality, a charity committed to improving access to cancer information and support for BME and refugee communities.
Male Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Rob has been with Orchid for over 10 years. In his different roles he has met literally thousands of men affected by male cancer and gained a valuable insight into the information that they need. He is a firm advocate of both written and verbal information, having learnt from experience that both make a huge difference to patients and their families. Rob is well respected by peers within the male cancer field and our monitoring shows how callers to our Helpline value his expertise, understanding and support. He has also been the chair of a large prostate cancer support group based in Essex, PHASE, as well as supporting other peer support groups for testicular and penile cancer. Rob’s expertise led to Orchid working closely with eUROGEN a European organisation dedicated to improving the outcomes for rare urological conditions by enabling equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, and care for patients across Europe. Along with two independent patient advocates Rob is an advocate for penile and testicular cancer for eUROGEN. He also represents penile and testicular cancer advocacy on behalf of Orchid within the European Association of Urology, (EAU) Patient Advocacy Group. Both these roles have led to him giving talks at International Conferences including the EAU Congress in Amsterdam and Milan, the largest urological conference in Europe. This passion for improving support and outcomes for those affected by penile led to the creation of Penile Cancer International Awareness Day which now follows on from Orchid’s Male Cancer Awareness Week.
Rob qualified as a Registered General Nurse (RGN) in 1991 at Barking Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (BHR) where he had undertaken his training.
He began work as a staff nurse on the urology ward and continued to work within urology at BHR for the next 12 years, becoming Charge Nurse in 1997. He left the ward in 2003 and took up the position of a Clinical Trials Nurse with St Bartholomew’s Hospital, a post partially funded by Orchid.
In 2004 Rob became Uro-oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at BHR and remained in this post until 2013. He was the designated key worker for anyone diagnosed with urological malignancy.
He also leads the Orchid Patient Advocacy Group (OPAG).
In his spare time, Rob enjoys 40s and 50s music, reading esoteric non-fiction and strumming his Gretsch guitar.
Male Cancer Information Nurse Specialist – Penile Cancer
Sinéad began her nursing career at The Christie in Manchester, and it was during her 13 years in oncology nursing that she developed her interest in urology oncology and penile cancer in particular. Having completed her nursing degree and advanced Practitioner Master’s degree, Sinéad developed nurse led clinical services before moving to Maggie’s cancer support charity. She joined the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance during the pandemic as a project manager and later led services in urgent care.
Project Manager
The Project Manager for our ‘Overcoming the Barriers to Engaging with Prostate Cancer’ project. Julia is a qualified Sexologist. She has a wealth of experience with marginalised and BAME communities around sexual health, sexual orientation, gender identity and male specific cancers.
Julia specialises in counselling and developing educational programmes around self-esteem and body image for LGBTQIA+ communities. She has organised and delivered educational workshops, seminars and awareness events. These have been designed to help individuals to overcome misconceptions about various sexual health topics and prostate cancer.
Social Media and Engagement Manager
Rehana joined the team in July 2022, supporting us with multi-media content through photography, video and graphic design.
Focused at this point on the community outreach project, ‘Overcoming the Barriers to Engaging with Prostate Cancer’, Rehana hopes to build a bridge to the community through various social media platforms.
Rehana has over 10 years of experience enhancing the online presence of various businesses and institutions.
She gives her time and skills to charitable organisations such as the Aga Khan Development Network. As part of her involvement, she is collaborating with scholars from around the world to share their research on rare Islamic manuscripts and coins. Some of these artefacts have never been publicly displayed and the goal is to educate graduates, academics and the public. This project will mark the second in the series, which Rehana has been involved in since its inception.
Head of Fundraising
Marie has over thirty years’ experience in charities, mostly within the environment sector so this is the first time working within health. Marie has worked in several roles with WWF-UK including directing a campaign to make the links between people and nature. She enjoyed rebuilding Renewable World, a small and impactful renewable energy charity. Marie will look to support the Orchid team in growing its income that will achieve more impact for male cancer awareness and research.In her spare time, Marie enjoys gardening, dancing and walking her dog Bibi. She volunteers for her local music festival and her four daughters keep her on her toes.
Trusts and Statutory Manager
Margaid has been part of Orchid’s fundraising team since 2014.
She entered the voluntary sector after university and has worked in the sector for more than 30 years. With extensive experience, Margaid has worked for Help the Aged (now Age UK), Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK), UNICEF, and Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres.
Margaid’s role at Orchid is to work with Charitable Trusts and Foundations to encourage charitable giving. She is happy to provide tailored information about our work and to answer questions in support of applications.
Working part time enables Margaid to continue volunteering within her own community. She has spent many hours listening to children read and has helped young people access sporting opportunities. She has also gained charity governance expertise by taking on the roles of Chair and Company Secretary at two different Haringey charities.
Community and Events Fundraising Manager
Jo has been working in the voluntary sector for the past 12 years, after previously working in marketing for companies such as Boots the Chemists and BUPA.
She has experience of raising funds through Trusts & Statutory Grants, Community Fundraising and Events.
“I am excited to have joined Orchid and I am looking forward to planning a comprehensive range of activities to build the profile of Orchid across the UK”.
In my spare time, I love going to live music events, walking and football. My big passion is travelling and new adventures.
Office Administrator
Shreejit joined the team in September 2020 to handle general office administration including financial reporting.
He has 14 years’ experience within the NHS. This has included working as a Cancer MDT (Multi-Disciplinary Team) Co-ordinator within a variety of specialities including Urology. With over 12 years of administration experience, Shreejit deals with general queries and information distribution for a variety of clinical areas.
He enjoys music, travel and film.
Male Cancer Information Manager
Suresh has over 30 years of experience in cancer nursing, and extensive experience in cancer information.
He has worked for the NHS, Cancer Backup, Cancerlink, Prostate Cancer UK, Macmillan and Orchid. Throughout his career, he has worked tirelessly helping hospitals and other health facilities improve their service provision, making them appropriate and sensitive to the needs of patient religions, customs and culture.
Suresh’s area of specialisation is prostate cancer and he was the first person from a Black or Ethnic Minority in the UK to be appointed a Cancer Information Specialist (CIS). In 2013 he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution within the NHS and voluntary/charitable sector.
He has played a vital role at our Male Cancer Roadshows across the UK.
Male Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Katherine is an Orchid part-time Male Cancer Information Nurse.
Born in Zimbabwe, Katherine came to the UK in 1990. She trained at the Princess Alexandra and Newham School of Nursing and Midwifery – Royal London Hospital to become a Registered General Nurse (RGN). From the time she arrived in the UK, Katherine knew that she wanted to work as a specialist cancer nurse and moved into this area after qualifying.
Among many experiences of cancer nursing, Katherine has worked as a GRASP Project Co-ordinator for cancer services. GRASP is a workload measurement tool that assists in the management of nursing services. In 2000 she received a BENTLEY award for best nursing and best achievement at Barts and the London Hospital for her work with GRASP technology.
Katherine decided to specialise in Haematology Oncology Nursing in 2001. This gave her an interest in new cancer treatments. It also made her want to spend more time educating people and supporting cancer patients and relatives.
In 2004, she had the opportunity to work as Research Nurse funded by Orchid, specialising in prostate and testicular cancer. She continues to work for Orchid, providing advice and support to men with male cancer.
In her free time, Katherine enjoys gardening, sewing and DIY. She teaches bead jewellery making and sewing in the summer and half term holidays.
Male Cancer Information Manager
Elizabeth has been a registered nurse for over 40 years.
Following training at the Royal Marsden Hospital she became a Senior Charge Nurse in Scotland with cancer nursing within her remit. She also acted as advocate for a patient support group within her speciality.
Elizabeth retains her interest in cancer. She is particularly keen to support our work addressing the higher incidence of penile cancer in Scotland.
Male Cancer Information Manager
Evelyn has worked in the NHS for over 40 years.
She worked in the cancer unit in Edinburgh for 12 years, including further training at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
For the next 30 years, Evelyn worked in psychiatry, delivering health education and therapy to individuals and groups. This included working with others from different disciplines.
Evelyn is qualified as a Registered General Nurse, a Registered Mental Nurse, a Certified Paediatric Nurse and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. She retired two years ago but still retains her interest in cancer and those affected by the disease.
