Team: Staff

Emma leads a team of people who are passionate about supporting the VCSE sector in Cornwall and the IoS.  With over 20 years of experience in the VCSE, NHS and local government, Emma advocates for the sector to be treated as an equal partner in the design, delivery and funding of services.

Emma is committed to ensuring that statutory partners listen to and value our experience in working with the most vulnerable people and communities.

Emma loves yoga, sea dips, walking her three dogs and spending time in nature and volunteers in her local patient participation group.

Kate Perkin is the Operations Director for Cornwall VSF and leads on innovation and process. With over fifteen years’ experience, Kate’s attention to detail ensures we are compliant and sustainable. She manages half of the team – the support functions of project coordination, admin, finance and communications.

Passionate about inspiring people to unlock their skills, Kate is an advocate of training and a lifelong learner. She’s currently studying a Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship. How does she fit it all in?

Lorna was born in Cornwall and spent her childhood enjoying the wonderful beaches in St. Ives. Lorna moved away to Buckinghamshire to study and remained there for a couple of decades where she built a career in customer service and administrative support, developing a passion for systems, process improvements and delivering a high quality service.

The call of home had been beckoning for many years when Lorna returned to Cornwall in 2020. Since then, she has been working in the not-for-profit and VCSE sector. In her role, Lorna hopes to make a helpful contribution towards delivering support to our members. Part of her role as Admin and Partnership Officer is coordinating funded training for people working in the VCSE sector.

In her spare time, she enjoys Hawaiian hula and belly dancing, listening to music, and expanding her vinyl record collection.

Alex joins us with nearly 20 years experience working in the public sector across health, education and housing. Alex is passionate about ensuring the right voices are heard in policy and service design and is excited to support this work across the sector. Having previously worked in regulatory environments and alongside statutory partners, Alex brings with her a broad range of skills to support the team in achieving our strategic objectives.

After spending 17 years away from Cornwall, Alex was glad to move back home in 2014 and likes to take every opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Cornish living from cream teas to coastal walks.

Matthew Kenworthy Gomes leads Cornwall VSF’s Engagement Team, championing inclusion and collaborative working across Cornwall. With over 20 years of experience advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and a background in community-focused leadership as the CEO of Cornwall Pride and trustee of Black Voices Cornwall, Matthew is dedicated to creating safer spaces for diverse voices within the VCSE sector. His role focuses on strengthening connections between statutory bodies and the community to advocate for inclusive and impactful partnerships.

Outside of work, Matthew enjoys exploring Cornwall’s coast, supporting local causes, and engaging with arts and cultural events. He believes in the power of community-led change to shape a more inclusive future.

Gemma was born and raised in Cornwall and is proud to call this beautiful county home.

Gemma studied within the county and attended her local college to gain further qualifications within administration.

Her administrational knowledge and understanding spans over 15 years, working with local and private businesses, as well as her work within the charity sector with, Cornwall Air Ambulance, where she was able to develop and gain new skills in fundraising, public speaking, community engagement and events plus, grow her passion and understanding for the charity and voluntary sector.

In her spare time Gemma loves walks, cycling, and spending time with family and friends. Her passion for gardening means Gemma will be at a local garden centre, buying plants for the garden where she hopes to create a home for wildlife and pollinators. Gemma also enjoys singing and is a member of a local lady’s choir.

Kirstie has about twenty years of voluntary sector experience, including setting up a Community Interest Company, leading Plastic Free Falmouth and working as a Research Fellow for Exeter University. She is a town councillor for Falmouth and the Mayor of Falmouth.

Having trained as a teacher, and as mother of six, Kirstie is an advocate for equity of access for all and challenges discrimination with empathy. She has written about invisible illness for The Mighty and has  lived experience with neurodivergence, mental health, sexual abuse, domestic violence and homelessness.

A keen paddle boarder, sea swimmer and beachcomber, if there are ever any moments when Kirstie is not working, she is by the sea.

Sarah supports our thematic alliances in mental health, community safety and wider Integrated Care Area in health and wellbeing. She helps to promote the VCSE sector and strengthen connections with local authority and NHS colleagues to identify opportunities for co-design of services and create conditions for improved health and wellbeing.

Sarah’s ambition for the future is for the public sector and VCSE sectors to work together to further enable prevention of ill health and for us to stop seeing less crisis need.

Sarah loves walking on Dartmoor, enjoying the north Cornwall coast and growing her own vegetables. A fact Sarah loves is that Launceston has the oldest (1350) surviving Cornish medieval bridge which she gets to drive over often.

Justin has had the privilege of having worked for a range of amazing organisations within the VCSE sector for the past 20 years. This has provided him with experience of working in a range of roles from business development to being a Trustee for a registered charity for eight years.

Justin was inspired by the voluntary sector’s contribution during Cornwall’s COVID-19 response and recovery. He had the privilege of observing this first hand by being part of the sector’s collaborative approach to finding solutions for local communities. This reinforced his view that collaboration and co-design of services will benefit not only sector organisations but most importantly the communities that we all serve.

Justin lives in the east of the county and has a passion for being outdoors – walking, mountain biking and photography. However, Justin’s main love developed when living in Cornwall in kayaking and being either on or in the sea.

Ellen leads the communications team at Cornwall VSF. With more than 10 years of communications and marketing experience in a higher education and charity setting, she loves consistency and can spot a typo from a mile away.

Having led on Cornwall VSF’s new website and refreshed brand, Ellen loves being creative and enjoys showcasing the work of the community sector through video case studies – particularly highlighting smaller grassroots charities.

In her spare time, Ellen loves being by the ocean where you can find her surfing, wild dipping, collecting shells or gently encouraging her dog Ruby to paddleboard with her. She also volunteers with the Wave Project and is a Trustee for West Cornwall Women’s Aid.

Emily supports both our internal and external communications at Cornwall VSF. As a queer woman with a background in ecology, she understands the importance of making science and policy accessible to all. She also recognizes how communications can be used to destigmatise people’s views toward minority groups (and animals – in short, sharks are awesome!).

Originally from Nottingham, Emily visited Cornwall lots as a toddler and has lived here for the past five years. In her spare time, Emily writes articles for science magazines and works as a freelance photographer, enjoying wildlife photography and film, birdwatching, rock pooling, and snorkelling.

Gemma is the Intelligence, Impact & Evaluation Lead for Cornwall VSF supporting VCSE organisations to understand how they demonstrate their impact. Gemma is seconded three days a week from Cornwall Rural Community Charity and has worked in the VCSE sector for 20 years. As a Social Value practitioner Gemma is passionate to enable the sector to increase awareness and understanding of the impact their work has on the people and places of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

An all round action woman Gemma loves weightlifting, CrossFit, hiking, sea swimming and yoga.

Naomi started her career as a volunteer youth worker in 2002, and likes to think of her experience as more of a journey than a career as she has learnt and grown so much along the way. Over the years Naomi has worked in a large variety of youth work settings at varying levels. She has spent time working in both the voluntary and statutory sector here in Cornwall and ‘up country’, and she is still just as passionate about youth work and creating opportunities for young people now as she ever was.

Naomi was born in Porthleven and grew up in the local area. She moved away to Kent for a few years which gave her a new appreciation for her home here in Cornwall. Naomi likes to spend time in nature and get out in her camper as much as possible.

Sarah is the Programme Coordinator for the People in Mind service offering mental health support to people living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Having lived experience of supporting family members who’ve struggled with their mental health over many years, Sarah is passionate about ensuring that access to mental health support is available as quickly and impactfully as possible.

Originally from Coventry, Sarah has lived here for 13 years.  She loves the sea and the calming affect it has on her, and therefore, walks her dog on Gylly beach as much as possible.