Our teams

Senior management

Gill Volans, Commercial Finance & Administration Manager

Gill is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) with more than 19 years post-qualified experience. Throughout her career she has worked at both large multi-national organisations and SME’s whilst also gaining several years’ experience working at Broadway Lodge in a senior management position. This has given her a good understanding of the Charity and challenges we face as a not-for-profit organisation, but she can also bring her wealth of commercial experience to help move the Charity forward and contribute to its growth. As well as managing the finance team, Gill also oversees the maintenance, catering, domestic and administration departments at Broadway Lodge.

Jodie Pickles, Human Resources Manager

Jodie is the Human Resource Management professional at Broadway Lodge and oversees the people function of the Charity for over 70 staff. She is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and is CIPD qualified to Level 7. She also gained her Masters in Human Resource Management and graduated from the University of the West of England (UWE) in 2022. Jodie has completed a Law degree, specialising in Employment Law and is a Charted Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) graduate. She joined Broadway Lodge in 2011 on an apprenticeship scheme, whilst completing her studies part-time and has progressed through the Chairty. Jodie manages a wide range of Human Resource functions at Broadway Lodge and enjoys helping the organisation harness the full power of their most valuable asset – their people.

John Aizlewood, CEO

John brings to Broadway Lodge many years of experience gained in the charitable, healthcare, retail and fundraising sectors as well as experience working in large corporations specialising in hospitality and finance. He brings a passion for developing and growing businesses sustainably, focusing on both the services offered as well as employee development. At Broadway Lodge, John will be using his wealth of knowledge and expertise to maintain the great reputation of the charity and to grow and build Broadway Lodge and its people to deliver excellence in client care for the coming decades.

Lee Ali, Registered Manager (CQC) & Deputy CEO

Lee is responsible for overseeing the highly skilled 24/7 medical team which includes Consultant Psychiatrists, Nurse Prescribers, General and Mental Health Nurses along with a team of Healthcare Assistants and holistic therapists. She also manages the Admissions and Referrals team. Lee is a Registered General Nurse and has gained over 35 years’ nursing practice. With her considerable experience in medical and care settings, Lee ensures that standards of care continue to meet and exceed the expectations of the Care Quality Commission. Her breadth of knowledge and understanding of the treatment sector, its staff and clients, means that everyone who comes into Broadway Lodge receives a level of care and support that is personalised and exemplary.

Markkus Trew, Head of Treatment & Counselling

Markkus is Head of Treatment and Counselling at Broadway Lodge and has extensive experience of working in treatment centres in North Somerset. He has a diploma in leadership and management, is a qualified counsellor (holding a higher diploma in counselling) and also has accredited professional registration with the National Counselling Society (NCS). Markkus is responsible for leading the counselling and support team and for developing innovations in the therapeutic programme that draws on evidence-based research and practice. His specialism is attachment theory looking at early parental relationships and early years’ impact on child development and addiction. Markkus’ previous career is in property – he trained as a surveyor and holds a degree in estates management that enables him to balance his therapeutic knowledge and skills with a commercial acuity. He brings to Broadway a passionate focus on improving the treatment experience for patients, driving up standards of care and reporting to a high level of quality, alongside making sure the business is run along exemplary lines.

Counselling

Our BACP-registered counsellors are highly experienced in supporting clients with addiction, manifesting in a range of areas including: drink, illicit drugs, prescription drugs, medication, gambling and eating disorders. They are also skilled in responding to conditions which can co-occur with and exacerbate addiction such as anxiety, depression, mental health issues and life transitions such as retirement, and bereavement. We offer a wide range of therapeutic approaches and use these flexibly, adopting what will work for each individual client at any given time.

All our counsellors are qualified to minimum Diploma level and some members of our team have worked with us for over 30 years. Some of our counsellors have personal experience of addiction and are therefore powerful examples of life in recovery.

We are also fortunate to have a team of support workers who provide day and evening cover to help ensure the smooth running of our 7 days a week programme, for example by taking clients to evening Fellowship meetings, local and national appointments, and providing other practical support such as a listening ear and guidance. Some of our support workers also have personal experience of addiction and have completed treatment at Broadway Lodge and are therefore able to pass on their knowledge and experience.

Medical

Broadway Lodge is one of very few addiction treatment centres in the UK with medical care on site day and night, 365 days a year. Our team includes specialist nurses, healthcare assistants and a consultant psychiatrist. The department can support clients with dual diagnosis and provide a detoxification service for pregnant women.

Support functions

Broadway Lodge is a large house and we strive to keep the accommodation and its surroundings as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Our housekeeping, maintenance and catering teams work tirelessly year-round so that residents have a clean and attractive environment to live in with fresh and nutritious meals and snacks provided every day.

Our admissions team ensure that referrals and assessments are processed as soon as possible and provide high standards of customer service to people seeking support, their loved one’s and other organisations we work with – their office is often a very busy area of the building!

Health Support Assistants and our selfless volunteers help with an array of duties including transport, personal finance and advice throughout the duration of their stay. Other support functions include reception, finance, human resources and marketing.

Some of these employees have worked at Broadway Lodge for well over 20 years and although they may not all be directly involved in the daily medical or therapeutic treatment, clients can expect to see and interact with them on a daily basis as they soon become part of their rehabilitation experience.

Trustees

Caroline Cole

Caroline re-joins the Board of Trustees after taking time out following her appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer for 12 months in 2017. Broadway Lodge is very close to Caroline’s heart and she has supported the charity for many years. During her career she has headed up research and implementation functions at Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt) and is involved in strategic and therapeutic development at Tom Harrison House in Liverpool. Her understanding of both Broadway Lodge and the addiction/recovery sector is outstanding and she is able to bring her passion and ideas to continue to help Broadway Lodge to develop.

Caroline is also a sought-after strategy consultant, university lecturer and inspirational speaker which allows her to share knowledge at institutions across the world.

Catherine Sparks

Cate firmly believes that Broadway Lodge is a place where miracles happen. She worked at Broadway Lodge for 20 years as Nursing Assistant where she spent many hours with clients helping them with their recovery and has first-hand experience and understanding of individual needs from the day of arrival until treatment completion.

Through her extensive experience in the addiction sector, Cate has an in-depth knowledge of what it takes for a patient to achieve a full recovery and brings this invaluable knowledge to the Board of Trustees to complement commercial strengths.

Chris Jelf

Chris formed Jelf Group Plc, the independent insurance broker and financial consultancy, which last year was sold to Marsh Group. He has served as a Non Executive Director at Thatchers Cider and is a serving Director of Bristol Rovers Football Club. Chris brings expertise in sales, service, and client/customer relationship and networking to the Board.

Colin Hall-Tomkin

Following university studies in Economics, Colin joined Barclays Bank on their graduate training scheme and remained in the banking sector for 14 years, his final role being as a Corporate Bank Manager in Bristol. He then moved on to work for the Jelf Group, who specialised in the insurance, financial planning and employee benefits sectors. Colin successfully set up the Commercial Finance division at Jelf before taking on the role of Client Management & Banking Director, which he undertook for 15 years, leaving the organisation in 2020. Colin now focuses on his property investment and financial consultancy businesses.

Whilst working at Jelf Group, Colin worked with Broadway Lodge in relation to banking and finance requirements and we are delighted that he is on board to support us in these areas in his role here as a Trustee.

Dr Paul Seviour, Deputy Chair of Trustees

Paul is a qualified doctor and mainly worked as a GP in medical centres throughout his career but has also been a GP trainer and he was the Medical Director for 11 years at a healthy living centre where he regularly met with people suffering with addiction. In addition, he worked part-time at Broadway Lodge for seven years until 2017 where he held a clinic for clients and prescribed detox regimes. Paul retired in 2019 but recently returned to practice working as a GP on the NHS 111 COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Service. We are delighted that Paul has joined the Board of Trustees where he brings a wealth of invaluable medical expertise.

Peter Davis

Peter is a retired Methodist Minister and also has a background working in therapeutic roles at Broadway Lodge. After a visit to Broadway Lodge to volunteer as a 5^th Step listener in the 1980’s, he felt called to train as an addictions counsellor, recognising how the Twelve Step programme had the potential to give people with addictions a new life. With his passion to help people become their true selves without using mind altering substances or harmful behaviours, he went on to work permanently at Broadway Lodge for almost 15 years as Secondary Care Co-ordinator and now continues to contribute his skills through his appointment on the Board of Trustees.

Stephen Lyttelton, Chair of Trustees

Stephen has an extensive and successful career background working at senior management level in the retail and entertainment sectors and is now a self-employed music consultant. Throughout his career he has gained valuable experience in public speaking and live event management.

Stephen is passionate about sharing the message that recovery really is possible for everybody and we are delighted that Stephen has joined as a Trustee, bringing his enthusiasm and wealth of business experience to support Broadway Lodge in excelling as a leading addiction rehabilitation centre. He said “The modern adaptation of 12 Step treatment and the integration of its principles into the business model has greatly impressed me. I am excited and proud to be a part of the next stage in Broadway Lodge’s journey.”