Directors & Trustees

CEO

Jane Burns

Jane is the Chief Executive Officer at Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
Jane has worked in the Third Sector for over 30 years and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. She has held several roles as Director of Income Generation often combined with Marketing and Comms in very different organisations and for very different causes. They have included Help the Aged, the MND Association and YMCA England. She has been CEO at Rainbows since September 2023, having previously been Director of Income Generation and Marketing.
Jane is passionate about the support that Rainbows offers to babies, children, young people and their families across the East Midlands and the difference it can make. She is committed to ensuring that we deliver on our strategy to increase our reach and provide the Rainbows experience wherever it is needed.
Jane is also a Priest in the Church of England and is licensed to two parishes in Kettering in the Dioceses of Peterborough.

Executive Nurse & Director of Clinical Operations

Julie Taylor

Julie is the Executive Nurse & Director of Clinical Operations at Rainbows Hospice for Children & Young People. Julie has been nursing for 35 years and has built a wealth of experience in large complex organisations in a variety of sectors. Julie is a registered Adult & Children’s Nurse with specialist qualifications in Paediatric Intensive Care, Advanced Neonatal Nursing & Healthcare Leadership. She has spent the majority of her career in Children’s & Neonatal Services within the NHS in Leicester & Birmingham. All of Julie’s senior roles in recent years have incorporated leading on the Safeguarding agenda for the organisation. She has advanced training in Safeguarding children & adults and is the Executive Lead for Safeguarding at Rainbows. Julie has a particular interest in Research, Quality Improvement, Safety & Governance & Leadership Development.

Director of People

Julia Bates

Julia is the Director of People at Rainbows Hospice for Children & Young People.
Julia is an FCIPD qualified HR generalist with over 25 years experience in HR, and for the last 12 years in the charity sector.
At Rainbows, Julia oversees the People, Facilities and Deputy Executive support functions. Her passions lie in organisational culture, inclusivity and developing a workforce fit for the future.
Julia is currently Chair of the University of Leicester students union, a role which enables her to continually develop and support the next generation of students.

Director of Finance

Josie Lee

Josie has a BA (Hons) in Management Studies with French from the University of Nottingham and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Josie qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Nottingham, working on wide-ranging clients in the Audit department before transferring to work in industry. Josie has worked for Supply Pilot, an IT software business helping major retailers to engage with and collect data from their suppliers, for the last 11 years, becoming CFO and a key member of the management team in 2018. Supply Pilot successfully gained 2 rounds of private equity investment in 2016 and 2021 and after the business grew and diversified its customer base Josie was a key player in its sale to a US company in the Autumn of 2023 and has been helping the transition and integration of the businesses since then. In her personal life Josie has been married to James for 21 years and has 3 teenage daughters Harriet (18), Rebecca (16) and Eliza (13) as well as a very cuddly cockerpoo, Murphy. She is a regular gym goer, skier, sings with a female vocal ensemble (Mirabile) and is a long time member of Trent Vineyard Church in Nottingham, where she volunteers with children with additional needs. Josie is also always up for a challenge and recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Director of Digitally Enabled Transformation

Samuel Massiah

Sammy has 27 years’ experience running IT services, mostly in universities. He specialises in digital transformation, is a qualified Project Manager and specialist in data governance and IT risk management. Sammy’s IT career started in customer support, working for an accounting software company. He gradually progressed through the ranks with roles as Technical Architect, IT Manager, Applications Group Manager, Medical School IT Director, IT Director and Chief Information Officer. Outside of work Sammy lives in London, is married to Sheila (for 32 years) and they have three children: Ashleigh (26), Nathaniel (22) and Ethan (14). He is an avid musician and singer, writes and publishes original music and leads a gospel/jazz band called Quintessential. He is very active in his local church, occasionally giving the weekly message, leading the gospel choir, helping in the AV team and serves on the Church Board.

Director of Income Generation & Marketing

Sally Benton

Sally is the Director of Income Generation & Marketing at Rainbows Hospice for Children & Young People. Sally has worked in the voluntary sector for fifteen years leading fundraising, marketing and communications functions at national charities. As Executive Director of Fundraising and Comms at the Forward Trust she led work to diversify its income streams and a national campaign to break down addiction stigma, alongside wider projects with the Royal Foundation such as its Homewards campaign to end homelessness. As a Director at the Design Council she worked to secure long-term funding and led research programmes on the Design Economy, housing, ageing and skills. At crime reduction charity Nacro, Sally led its fundraising portfolio, corporate relationships and public affairs, leading national campaigns on housing, mental health and education. Sally has led major government programmes on mental health, addiction and criminal justice on behalf of The Big Lottery and NHS England. Prior to the charity sector Sally worked in central government leading work on post 16 education, child protection and policing. Sally is a mum to two daughters and after work when she’s not busy with children’s clubs and school runs, she can be found on the terraces of West Bromwich Albion as a lifelong supporter.