Our people
Meet the dedicated team and trustees
Sarah Lamptey (Founder and CEO)
Sarah Lamptey MBE set up ShowerBox in 2018. She was a volunteer for Simon Community, a charity which works to support people experiencing homelessness, when she was told of the huge need for showers in the UK, as they have in other parts of the world. She published an article on this on HuffPost in July 2018, discussing how powerfully transformative a shower can be, for physical health as well as emotional wellbeing. In 2023, she was awarded an MBE for services to people facing homelessness. As well as heading up the charity, she is also a presenter and actor, most recently seen on BBC’s Morning Live.
Peter Young (Chair)
Peter is the global leader of Arup’s Ventures program and the CEO of Arup Digital Products, with decades of experience in the charity sector. His charity focus began with his role as a project logistician for Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), where he was responsible for running a 100 bed hospital in a very remote region in Sierra Leone. Later, he served on the Board of MSF in the UK and on the governing Council of MSF’s Operational Centre in Amsterdam. Before joining ShowerBox, he was Chair of the Trustees of an arts and mental health charity and is also a trustee of The Lant, a long-standing charity supporting local communities.
Claire MacNeill (Founding trustee and Secretary)
Claire MacNeill has over 20 years of experience in managing complex projects, producing dynamic theatre events in diverse settings and sectors. She holds a PhD in Applied Theatre from The University of Southampton, has published a book, written and directed numerous plays and is the founder and director of MashUp! Productions. She is a founding trustee and Secretary of ShowerBox.
Caroline Allouf (Founding trustee)
Caroline Allouf is an outreach manager and support worker, with many years of experience dedicated to supporting people facing homelessness. Caroline makes links across London with organisations to raise awareness and develop the range of advice and support that ShowerBox can offer people. She is a founding trustee and shift leader at the Central London project and provides vital operations support.
Alexandra Lewis (Trustee)
In her words, Alexandra was drawn to be a trustee at ShowerBox “to help spread the word about our small yet determined charity and ensure we can keep delivering a brilliant place for our guests to feel clean, confident and connected”. She has supported homelessness charities for many years but wanted to make more of an impact. Now she is committed to bringing over 20 years’ experience of marketing and communications to help boost awareness of our charity’s mission.
Sam Bodmer (Trustee)
Sam Bodmer is a Public Health Specialty Registrar, currently on placement with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and he has an MSc in Public Health. For over ten years, he has led a mixture of public health, sports development and community engagement projects in London and the West Midlands. His experience in the charity sector includes working for the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint and for a youth and sports development charity, where he gained experience in frontline delivery before leading on fundraising and development.
David-Jack Hanson (Trustee)
David-Jack Hanson is Lead Trustee for Safeguarding and Compliance at Birmingham Christmas Shelter. Each year, he oversees a volunteer-led organisation supporting over 400 guests, many experiencing homelessness alongside complex challenges such as substance misuse and mental health issues. Previously, he spent a decade working in management for youth organisations, charities, and education, overseeing safeguarding for thousands of young people, including designing bespoke programmes for SEN and asylum-seeking participants.
Paul Taylor (Treasurer)
Paul Taylor is a retired NHS Finance Director, with many years of experience working in the NHS at local, regional and national levels. He was the recipient of HfMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. Paul is currently Vice-Chair of Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board where he chairs the Finance and Performance Committee. He has previously been a Trustee to Coventry and Warwickshire’s Myton Hospices, and joined ShowerBox’s board of trustees in 2022 as our Treasurer.