Employees and Management

Who does what?

We have a mix of employees and long-term contractors. Currently, we have:

Jen Bird (director and employee) - Business and Development Manager:

Oversees governance, strategy, platform development and financing. Also works on coordination of the Communication Service, is Head of Interpreting and is the Data Protection Lead.

Bio: is a geek, likes to code and play around with anything techy. Has 2 kids, Alex: 9 and Jake: 6. Likes to go for a walk in the woods, swimming, dinner with friends and enjoys singing in the local pop choir. When time, she likes yoga, the occasional run and watching films with her partner, Phil.

Mercedes Rodriguez (employee) - Business Administrator:

Works on governance, strategy, finance and administration.

Bio: an artist at heart, Mercedes would spend most of their time at the piano, painting watercolours and crocheting if they could... and so they do! They also spend much of their week dancing, be that at home or with friends.

Olive Lycett (employee) - Outreach and Membership Worker:

Works on outreach with the wider Deaf community and supports membership involvement.

Bio: Olive is a born and bred Londoner - moved to Northampshire but it did not gel well with her so uprooted and moved to the Wirral. Loving the life here overlooking Wales! Doing up my new home - it is taking a lot of my time. I otherwise love to be creative with craft when I can! Interesting Fact - I was one of the Torch Bearers for the London Olympics 2012!

Julie Connolly (employee) - Operations Manager:

Oversees the Communication Service and operations.

Bio: Lived in Liverpool most of my life apart from spells living in Germany and York. Loves to be organised, has a husband, grown up daughter and son and their partners, 3 grandsons and 3 step grandchildren. Likes to spend time by the river, can knit, interested in ancestry. Hates ironing.

Romy Bishop (employee) - Operations Team Leader:

Leads operations, supports the running of the Communication Service and works closely with Communication Professionals including the Worker Members.

Bio: Romy grew up on the South coast and lived in Sheffield for six years, where she studied International Relations and Politics at University and worked in Customer Services. Alongside her role, she was also involved in raising awareness for Mental Health issues and ran events and fundraisers for Mental Health charities. In her spare time, she loves walking along the beach, learning to cook new recipes, and drawing.

Day Lloyd (employee) - Bookings Administrator:

Works on operations, supports the running of the Communication Service and works closely with Communication Professionals including the Worker Members.

Bio: Day lives in Liverpool with his wife, their son, 7yrs, and their two dogs; Sid & Bella. Before laying down a foundation for a family in Liverpool, Day studied Sociology at London Metropolitan Uni. Where he completed his Dissertation on Homelessness. During this time Day worked at Wembley Stadium & Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

Tom Crush (employee) - Bookings Administrator:

Works on operations, supports the running of the Communication Service and works closely with Communication Professionals including the Worker Members.

Bio: Tom lives in Kent with his partner, Romy, and their two cats, Misha & Juniper. After living in London for nearly a decade, he has returned to the area where he grew up to be closer to his family, friends and the lovely countryside where he enjoys hiking on the weekends. He is also a keen fan of motorsports and all things tech.

Amanda Freeman (employee) - Senior Finance Administrator:

Leads on all things finance.

Bio: Lived all my life in Newton-Le-Willows Merseyside, married with one son. Favourite sports are Basketball and Liverpool Football Club as well as Glow and Zumba dancing. Love to travel and my happy place is Clearwater in Florida. I am a jigsaw fanatic and always have one on the go! Music is my passion, I love BOOM radio and going to concerts, my claim to fame is that I have met Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys several times and I even appear on one of his DVDs!

Wes Mehaffy (director and contractor):

Supports IT, security, platform development, UX (user experience), online training development and all things tech and digital.

Tech partners:

We work with external contractors on the booking platform, the video interpreting app, our CRM integrations and our data app.