
Our Founder
Lisa Wallis BEM 1982-2021
Lisa founded ChemoHero in 2014 after having treatment for breast cancer at the age of 30. Lisa loved spreading the word about her charity and her mission to support people at the start of their chemotherapy journey. In 2017 Lisa was the winner of the ITV Good Morning Britain Healthstar award, in 2019 she won the Pride of Britain fundraiser award for the South West region and in 2020 her work was recognised in the Queen's new years honours list where she was awarded the British Empire Medal for her voluntary work. Sadly Lisa passed away in August 2021 from her cancer. She has left a legacy that will continue to support those people starting their chemotherapy treatment for a very long time. .

Team
Trustee
NICOLA BADDICK
Nicola is a solicitor at a local firm in North Devon. She first became involved in ChemoHero when her firm chose to support the charity as their "Charity of the Year". Nicola said she was delighted to be asked to join the ChemoHero team as a new Trustee and is looking forward to helping ChemoHero continue its wonderful work.
Trustee
LAURA DAVIES
Laura joined the trustee team in 2019. Having been friends with Lisa for 34 years she was keen to support her in any way she could and decided to join the board of trustees this year to help carry Lisa’s ideas forward. Laura has worked in Rexel an electrical wholesaler for the last 6 years with this she brings her organisational skills, her ability to order stock and her fantastic communication skills. Laura will be found at every meeting, every box packing night and any fundraising event happening within ChemoHero.
Trustee
JO DOWN
Jo works as the Human Resources Leader for the Tarka Learning Partnership (Multi-Academy Trust). She got involved with ChemoHero after working with the founder Lisa for many years in the FE college where they both formerly worked. Jo supported Lisa through her employment ups and downs as a result of her illness. As a trustee of ChemoHero, Jo supports the charity with her HR knowledge, managerial skills experience and skills and love of helping people.
Trustee
SARAH DOWSON
My name is Sarah Dowson and I'm currently working at NDDH as a Reiki therapist in cancer services providing Reiki for patients, families and staff caring for them whilst undergoing chemotherapy or during an inpatient stay. I have also been a Registered nurse for 20 years and worked within cancer services for a large percentage of this time. When I first heard Lisa talk about chemohero a few years ago now, her passion and honesty stuck with me. I see the patients faces light up when they are given their box of kindness and I am very excited to be involved with this fabulous charity.
Trustee
HEIDI RILEY
Heidi works for Nike, with experience in business and team management. Her passion for ChemoHero began 3 years ago after listening to a presentation from Lisa and being inspired by the charity’s work. Heidi has since enjoyed supporting the charity and volunteering at various events and is incredibly honoured and excited to be joining the trustee team.
Trustee
LUCY WARNER
I am Lucy Warner. My work is as Young Workforce Facilitator for NDHT. I have volunteered in various roles locally for over 10 years now. More recently, I packed boxes and volunteered for Chemohero, I was delighted when Lisa asked me to join the team and am excited to do more for such an inspirational lady and the charity.
Trustee
ZOE SMITH
Zoe has been a serving Police Officer for the last 16 years. A keen runner, she has completed multiple marathons and ultra-marathons. In her spare time, she organises some of the most popular races in Devon including the Barnstaple Marathon. Zoe started working with the charity through the events that she planned and was inspired by the enthusiasm and energy of Chemohero volunteers. She became a trustee in 2021 because she wanted to be involved in making the charity sustainable for the future. She is looking to bring her keen analytic mind, her sense of fun and her planning skills to the charity.


PAUL BUTLER
ChemoHero Cancer Care Counsellor
I was initially drawn to Counselling as I worked for a period of around 35 years working with individuals with Physical and Mental Health challenges. As I did so I began to appreciate that it was often the feelings, relationships and emotional adjustment that were the most difficult areas to address. This led me to train in Counselling.
Prior to being fortunate enough to being recruited to work in the ChemoHero Cancer Care Counsellor role I had taken the opportunity to develop my skills as a Counsellor in Mental Health, Bereavement, and supporting Health/Social Care/ Education Staff during the pandemic.
It was with some apprehension that I approached the role as the ChemoHero Cancer Care Counsellor having had no experience in this area although having lost family members to cancer. I have however found that the fundamental skills of Person Centred Counselling including accepting, valuing, honesty transparency and empathy have been the best foundation of my work.
Over the last year I have had the privilege of working with 75 clients during the course of around 350 hours. This work I have found remarkably fulfilling and feel privileged to continue in this role.