MEET THE TEAM
A team dedicated to creating healing homes
Photo of the Furnishing Futures team at their offices
Our founder and CEO

Emily Wheeler is a registered social worker with over twenty years’ experience in frontline social work. She has worked closely with women and children experiencing multiple disadvantages alongside the combined challenges of severe domestic abuse, poor housing and inequality, and as senior leadership she chaired multi agency child protection conferences for Local Authorities across London.

Emily is also a trained interior designer and a respected interiors writer and stylist who has written for The Sunday Times Style, Guardian Weekend, Stella, Ideal Home, Red, The Simple Things, Elle Decoration, Grazia and many others, and she is the author of Creative Living London (Thames & Hudson). Emily is passionate about wellbeing and sustainability in interior design and her expertise, knowledge and experience in social work and interiors gives her a unique perspective on how our homes affect our wellbeing and the positive impact that safe and comfortable homes have on people and society as a whole.

Our team
Emily Wheeler
Chief Executive Officer
Claire Kelly
Head of Operations
Rebecca Hodgson
Head of Fundraising and Partnerships
Em Brogden
Homes Designer
Aisling O'Connor
Specialist Support Worker
Charlotte Beevor
Studio Partnerships Coordinator
Megan Schiller
Events and Marketing Manager
Salma Jafar
Campaigns and Events Assistant
Holly Smith
Finance and Admin Manager
Jarek Tomkiel
Carpenter and Joiner
Our trustees
David Smail
Chair of the Board
David Smail is an entrepreneur, mentor and coach who has worked with the School for Social Entrepreneurs. David brings a wealth of experience to Furnishing Futures in helping us to achieve our vision and strategic aims. David has worked with more than 50 social enterprises and charities, developing their strategic, management and leadership skills. David is also a trustee of Chance for Nepal and is on the advisory board of Talk 4 Health.
Alison Stewart MBE
Secretary
Alison worked in public libraries and cultural services for 40 years, being awarded an MBE for her service. In 2012 Alison set up Suffolk Libraries IPS Ltd, an independent charitable mutual which took over the running of Suffolk’s public library service. Alison retired from her role as CEO in 2018, and since then has been an advocate for literacy, social justice, the arts and learning.
Sarah Marsh
Sarah Marsh is an experienced and highly qualified community worker with over 20 years’ experience working with vulnerable and isolated families in grassroots and frontline services. Dedicated to advocating for and supporting children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds, she is the lead manager at Lloyd Park Children’s Charity baby bank in East London, where she works tirelessly to support vulnerable families. Sarah is an expert in supporting women in complex situations with compassion and empowerment.
Jojo Barr
Jojo Barr is Creative Director at House Nine Design and runs her interior design practice from her studio in Notting Hill. Her team designs high-end residential properties, large developments and hotel projects across the UK and overseas. Jojo’s work features in the House & Garden List 2023 and The Expert, an online platform offering one to one design consultations with the world’s top designers. Jojo brings her expertise and experience in interiors to Furnishing Futures.
Nigel Lawmon
Treasurer
Nigel Lawmon is Chief Commercial Officer for Sephora UK, and supports Furnishing Futures with strategy and finance as treasurer. He has spent over 25 years in retail across multiple formats and categories in commercial and general management roles and brings his skills and experience to Furnishing Futures’ business development, financial planning and governance.
Geetu Bhan
Geetu is CEO of a grant-giving family foundation handling its day to day operations. She also sets the strategic direction and provides support to its beneficiaries, with a particular focus on monitoring and evaluation and supporting smaller charities with maximising impact and sustainable growth. Prior to this, Geetu was a lawyer and has extensive experience as a commercial and privacy lawyer with a background in developing strategic initiatives and advising on complex regulatory compliance. Geetu previously led teams at Aviva and DAC Beachcroft LLP and understands the importance of robust governance and strategic planning.
Victoria Papworth
Victoria is CEO of Natwest Social and Community Capital. Victoria’s career has focussed on designing programmes of funding for local enterprises and charities, around asset transfer, service redesign, neighbourhood planning and social investment. Previous roles include leading the philanthropy team at Coutts advising UHNWs on their strategic philanthropy, national grant programme design, and running a non-profit consultancy for Locality, using practitioner consultants to support social enterprises across the UK.
Join our team
Junior Designer
We have an amazing opportunity for an enthusiastic and talented Junior Designer to assist our Homes Designer in creating a wide range of trauma-informed homes for beneficiaries and their children.
Read more
Volunteer with us
We value regular volunteers who are able to support us at our warehouse in East London.
Find out more
Photo of a dining table and two chairs next to a bright window
Support our work
You can support our work by making a regular or one-off donation. Any donation you give makes a positive difference to the lives of women and children escaping domestic abuse.
Donate