Helen Hughes

Helen has 34 years' experience in the voluntary sector, going from homeless single mother to inspirational Chief Executive.

Since overcoming major health issues after being diagnosed with a tumour and hole in the heart and having four blood transfusions Helen has gone onto achieve Triathlons, Ultra Marathon and 5 Peaks and 10 peaks Climbing challenges .

Helen has worked in the charity sector in a number of roles, such as Director for Tenovus where she launched mobile units bringing patient services closer to peoples homes improving the lives of cancer sufferers in Wales.

In her current role as Chief Executive of Stephens and George Charitable Trust her role involves organising the award winning ‘Spread the Word Festival’ – the UK’s largest Childrens Festival impacting on 7500 children and bringing Wales to the forefront in the UK.

Helen has also been involved in an array of other projects such as ‘Baby Book Worm’ which supports parents to give their children a head start in school, to the creation of 15 community libraries in schools across Merthyr Tydfil and developing bespoke alternative education projects for young people expelled from schools - these initiatives were awarded Best Training and Education award at the Civil Society Awards in London, the first time the award came to Wales .