The Board

Louise Hernon has extensive experience as a senior manager in operational management, quality assurance, and audit. She is a qualified social worker and has worked directly with families where children were at risk of harm. Throughout her career, Louise has managed social work teams and served as a senior manager for an independent fostering service. She has also led a team of quality assurance auditors, responsible for ensuring quality improvement and regulatory compliance across 200 services, including children's homes, special schools, fostering agencies, and services for adults with autism.

Louise has extensive experience in direct child protection practice and management. She has served as a policy officer for the Local Safeguarding Children's Board and has acted as a child protection chair for case conferences and complex strategy meetings. Through her work, she recognised the significant impact that Home-Start Erewash has in reducing risks for children and providing support to parents.

Dr. Ja Ryong Kim, CFA, is an ordinary father with a passion for helping parents facing challenges in raising young children. He understands the struggles and joys of parenthood, as he himself is a loving husband and a proud father of two children, aged 1 and 5. Dr. Kim strongly believes in the importance of providing support and guidance to parents in similar situations.

With a strong background in financial expertise, Dr. Kim brings his knowledge and skills to the role of Treasurer at Home-Start charity. As a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) and ACCA Affiliate, he has acquired a deep understanding of financial analysis and strategic planning. Dr. Kim holds a PhD in Financial Analysis from the University of Edinburgh and has been an Assistant Professor of Financial Analysis for nine years.

Beyond his financial expertise, Dr. Kim is also a technology specialist, certified in Microsoft Power BI and experienced in financial data analytics. He has been actively involved in teaching and researching these subjects at the University of Nottingham's Business School, where he is currently located.

Christina Ashcroft is a mother and grandmother, who has been motivated by her personal experience, to seek a different path for raising children and developed her strong interest in supporting families with young children.

For 45 years, Christina ran her own successful recruitment business in Derbyshire. Over time, she transformed the business from serving the industrial market to recruiting skilled engineers and various other disciplines. Christina held multiple responsibilities within the business, including finance, sales, and development. She particularly excelled in sales and marketing.

After retiring, Christina actively sought opportunities to utilise her skills and make a genuine difference in the lives of children. Christina feels a deep connection to Home-Start Erewash’s mission of ensuring families are supported and well-cared for. She values the philosophy of teamwork and believes that by working together, everyone can achieve more.

Alison is Director of Strategy & Engagement, and Company Secretary of Nova Education Trust. The trust is currently made up of 15 academies (five primaries, nine secondaries and one sixth form college). They also run a successful School Centred Initial Teacher Training Program. Alison has been an executive leader of the trust since 2017.

Prior to joining the trust, Alison worked for over 11 years as a Lead Project Manager for the University of Nottingham (UoN), where she led on a range of educational outreach projects for their academy sponsored schools (NUSA, NUAST and Firbeck), with the aim of raising community aspirations. Alison also jointly led, on behalf of the UoN School of Education, their PGCE volunteering project in South African primary and secondary Mamelodi township schools.

Sylwia Juranek is a dedicated parent who has a passion for caring for others in the community.
At the age of 21, she made the courageous decision to leave Poland and move to the UK, despite having limited English language skills. She began her career in health and social care as a support worker and has since gained extensive experience in the sector.

Throughout her career, Sylwia has held various leadership roles, including being a Registered Manager of residential homes, supported living, and domiciliary care agencies. Currently Sylwia works as a Project Manager for Local Authorities and gets involved in transformation projects.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Sylwia has written and self-published couple of books: one helping passionate people to set up domiciliary care agency and another one called "The Secrets of Wishing Well." The book recounts her childhood journey, the impact it had on her as an adult, and her mental health recovery, which had a positive impact on her son.