Meet the Team

Say hello to the staff who make up Jeans for Genes.  We’re a small, friendly team based at the charity’s main office in Paddington. 

Caroline Harding – Chief Executive

Caroline joined Jeans for Genes in August 2007.  A former Global Brand Development Director with Unilever, her inspiration to come to Jeans for Genes was her son.  He was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder in 2006.  Caroline brings passion and understanding of both genetic disorders and marketing to the lead role at Jeans for Genes.

Lina Abdulkarim – Campaign Executive

When you phone our main office in London, Lina is most likely to be the person you speak to.  She’s there to answer your questions and to help solve your problems (although we hope you don’t have any!)  She’s also the woman responsible for making sure Fifi zip-pulls are available for you to buy in your local high street.

Ruth Carnac - Campaign Executive

Ruth is also one of the first people you'll talk to when you 'phone us here in London.  She can help you with queries, questions and making sure you've got everything you need for your Jeans for Genes Day.  She's also key to our research and finding out how we can help you to make your Day bigger and better.

Georgina Cox – Campaign Manager

Georgi works alongside Laura to bring you materials that make it really easy for you to raise lots of money on Jeans for Genes Day.  She also brings you the great offers that you’ll find in our webshop.

Laura Pattison – Head of Campaign

It’s Laura’s job to make sure you get everything you need for a great Jeans for Genes Day.  She creates your fundraising pack and sends you lovely reminders so you’ll never miss the Day.  She’s also the person to talk to if you’re a company and you’re interested in a promotional opportunity with Jeans for Genes.

Caroline Sharp - Head Of Strategic Communications

Caroline is the ideal person to plan and manage our communications because she's so organised.  She's got a love of graphs and charts and more importantly, she uses them to great effect.  She has great ideas and is very generous with the chocolate and treats stored in the bottom drawer of her desk!

Lisa Pettifer – Communications Manager

Lisa used to be a journalist but then she decided to do something positive with her working life!  It’s her job to tell you about the children we help and to show you where your money is spent.  She’ll also help you to get publicity for your Jeans for Genes Day event.  Remember to upload your photos afterwards so she can put them on the website!

Dani Parry - Communications and Events Executive

Dani works alongside Lisa to get the Jeans for Genes message into the newspapers, onto the TV, the radio - everywhere in fact!  She's also there to support you if you're doing an event to raise money for us, whether it's a 5K run, the London Marathon or a denim dog walk.

Huw Bussell - Communications Executive

Hopscotch is one of Huw's specialties after working as a teaching assistant in a north London primary school.  Huw is responsible for developing our communications with schools and making sure they don't miss out on Jeans for Genes Day.

Doron Kristal – Head of Marketing Operations

Doron is the oracle of the office - if he doesn’t know the answer no-one will!  He makes sure all of the elements of the campaign run smoothly together and is an impressive deal-maker, ensuring we get the best value for your money.  Up until 2008, Doron was the least likely member of the team to do exercise of any kind, but he’s found a new skill in running.  He tackled the London marathon on our behalf in a time of just 3 hours 32 minutes and 40 seconds.  He raised more than £3,000!

Elana Levinson – Head of Genetics

Elana is a trained genetic counsellor from New York.  She joined Jeans for Genes in 2007 and she’s brought with her a wide knowledge of genetic disorders and how they’re inherited.  She works with us part time to create the educational materials for schools and to organise our school speaker programme, which both aim to increase awareness of Jeans for Genes and genetics disorders.  Elana is also responsible for our grant programme.

Ailsa Taylor - Genetics Education Officer

It's Ailsa's task to make genetics an accessible and interesting subject for children (and teachers!) across the UK.  Not only does she do a great job in compiling the educational materials for our school fundraising packs, she sources speakers to talk about Jeans for Genes in classrooms and school assemblies.  Ailsa also helps to bring you the genetics news on our website, in language you can understand.