Caroline joined Bliss as Chief Executive in November 2014; she also sits on the Executive Committee of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, and is a member of NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Clinical Reference Group and Maternity & Neonatal Stakeholder Council.
Before joining Bliss Caroline was the Director of Policy, Advice and Communications at Gingerbread, the single parent charity, where she led on policy and campaigning work as well as overseeing the delivery of multi-channel information and advice services.
Caroline was previously Deputy Director of Communications, Policy and Campaigns at housing charity Shelter. Caroline is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was a trustee of Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people, from 2014-2020.
Caroline says: "It’s a real privilege to work at Bliss and contribute to the great work achieved by Bliss staff, volunteers and supporters over many years to improve the lives of babies born premature or sick; and I particularly value each and every opportunity I have to meet the babies, families and neonatal health professionals that we support to hear first-hand experiences of how we’ve made a difference, and what more we can do in the future."
You can follow Caroline on X at @carolinemdavey.
Finance and Operations Director, Laura Campbell (on maternity leave Oct 25-Oct 26)
Laura joined Bliss in November 2024. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales having started her career with PwC. Prior to joining Bliss, Laura held a number of senior roles in the private sector, most recently as Financial Controller at ARA Venn and as Associate Director within the Capital Markets team at Funding Circle. Laura has particular experience in operational and system change and is responsible for overseeing Finance, HR, IT and facilities at Bliss alongside her role as Company Secretary.
Laura’s son, Jack, arrived extremely prematurely at just 24 weeks in 2022. Laura and her husband were able to spend 5 wonderful weeks with Jack before sadly having to say goodbye. It was on the neonatal unit where Laura was first introduced to Bliss, finding Bliss’ information and support services to be invaluable at a time when so many things were uncertain.
Jack inspired Laura to move to the third sector professionally, but also in a volunteer capacity as a Fundraising Ambassador for Evelina London Children’s Hospital and a Member of the Nomination Committee for Sands.
Laura says “Having experienced first-hand the support and guidance that Bliss can provide, it is a real honour to be part of the team and to be able to help those babies and families in need”.
Services Director, Peter Bradley
Peter joined Bliss in 2018, taking the Director of Services role in 2022. Previous roles included working as Head of Information and People Development at Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth, and senior management roles with Sova, a charity supporting people with convictions. He has an MA in International Development, and worked in volunteer programming roles at leading development charity VSO. He is the vice chair of governors at a local primary school.
Peter says: "I am delighted to be working with Bliss’ senior leadership team as we begin the next exciting stage of our work to help babies born premature or sick to have the best chance of survival and quality of life, and to work towards equity in neonatal care. I am inspired by the courage of families who face the most difficult of experiences, and the skill and dedication of the medical teams, support staff and volunteers helping them and their babies."
Fundraising Director, Julie Shield
Julie rejoined Bliss in 2024, as Director of Fundraising having previously worked with the charity earlier in her career in corporate and trusts fundraising. Julie leads the team responsible for delivering income across a range of fundraising streams, and she also serves as Data Protection Officer, ensuring Bliss’ activities comply with all regulatory standards.
Julie previously held senior leadership roles at numerous pregnancy and baby charities, where she led income growth, strengthened supporter engagement, and developed sustainable fundraising strategies. She also brings valuable commercial experience from earlier roles in business development, contributing strong strategic and operational expertise to her work at Bliss.
Julie is passionate about the voluntary sector and has served as a trustee at both Autism Unlimited and Hampshire Parent Carer Network and is also currently a mentor for two fundraisers just starting their career in the sector.
Julie says: “Having worked with Bliss over the years, I’ve seen first-hand the incredible impact the charity has on families facing the most challenging circumstances. It’s a privilege to lead our fundraising work and to collaborate with such a committed team to secure the resources needed to support babies born premature or sick and their families across the UK.”
