Senior Management Team

Tracie Coultas-Pitman – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

BSc. Hons; Dip. Conductive Ed; QTS; NPQH; MBA

Tracie has a wealth of leadership and management experience within the field of special educational needs and disability; she worked for Scope for over 20 years, where she held two headships and ultimately rose to the position of Regional Director for the South of England. More recently Tracie was Executive Head of the Autism Schools Trust where she led on setting up a Free School. Tracie has experience of developing early year’s provision, establishing outreach and training services, providing strategic leadership to schools and developing Post 19 and adult services.

Chris Pain – Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Chris joined BeyondAutism at the start of 2024 having spent 22 years serving with the Military. He comes to us having honed his skills in devising, leading and implementing comprehensive strategic plans to drive operational excellence and sustainable growth. He also delivers cross-organisation operational activities, across multi-disciplinary departments, and is excited to implement the cohesive, organisational vision. Chris has a proven track record of building and managing successful teams whilst fostering cultures of trust, respect and inclusivity. He wanted to bring his knowledge, skills and experience to an organisation that focusses on making positive impacts and credible change for and with autistic children and young adults.

Candice O’Sullivan – Head of HR

MA, MBA, Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Personal and Development

Candice joined BeyondAutism as the Head of HR in March 2024, bringing with her nearly two decades of multifunctional leadership experience in the Education and Special Education sectors. Her expertise spans strategic leadership, organisational development, training, and transformative HR practices. Candice’s proficiency in driving strategic HR initiatives, steering high-performing teams, combined with her adeptness in managing multi-location operations positions her as an ideal leader for the HR department. Candice looks forward to leveraging her comprehensive experience to enrich the organisational dynamics and harness the full potential of human resources at BeyondAutism.

Amber Woodward-Brown – Head of Fundraising

Amber joined BeyondAutism in 2023 after nearly a decade spent as a senior leader in Fundraising; she brings with her a wealth of experience from volunteer management to income generation strategies, having worked with organisations such as Make A Wish UK, Alzheimer’s Society and St John Ambulance. Amber has been privileged to work closely with the Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Commission around EDI in the charity workplace and community fundraising, she has led industry forums on supporting youth into fundraising and sits as a Trustee for a local women’s refuge charity. Amber is mother to 3 children, including her youngest who has autism, and is passionate about supporting the work of BeyondAutism to empower communities, support families and be there for every child who needs us.

Phaedra Charlton – Head of Marketing and Communications

Phaedra brings a wealth of experience to her role as Head of Marketing and Communications at BeyondAutism. A highly skilled communications professional, she excels at creating impactful messaging and driving strategic campaigns that engage diverse audiences. With a background spanning the charity, public, and private sectors, Phaedra has a proven ability to build strong stakeholder relationships, develop innovative branding strategies, and manage complex projects. Passionate about inclusion and advocacy, she is committed to amplifying BeyondAutism’s mission and ensuring its work resonates across all platforms.

Matthew Penhaligon – Head of Finance

FCCA

Matthew qualified with the ACCA over twenty years ago. He is experienced working in the not-for-profit sector with charities, cooperatives and unincorporated associations as well as private companies in health and leisure sectors.

Matthew’s sister has a learning disability, and his family helped with the creation of two charities: Penhaligon’s Friends, which is still active and provides support for bereaved children, young people and their families in Cornwall, and the David Penhaligon Memorial Trust that supported children with Special Educational Needs to continue in mainstream education. Matthew is excited to be able to bring his skills to support the financial sustainability of BeyondAutism.

Hannah Smith – Head of Fast Responder (on maternity leave)

BCBA, UKBA (cert)

Hannah is a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and UK-BA, and has worked with and supported autistic children and young people and their families for over 10 years. She has worked across a variety of settings including, an autistic school, on early intervention home programmes, SEN & mainstream schools, and most recently worked for a specialist NHS CAMHS team (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service).

Hannah joined BeyondAutism in January 2022 as the Fast Responder before becoming Head of Fast Responder in July 2023. Hannah is passionate about preventing placement breakdown, whether that may be at home or within education, and doing so by working collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team around the child or young person, whilst keeping the views and needs of the individual and their families at the forefront.

Marta Zelazko – Head of Facilities

Jackie has a wealth of experience in facilities management across various sectors, including non-profit organisations. With a strong background in overseeing operational efficiency and building management, she brings a strategic approach to ensuring optimal functionality.

Marta also holds a master’s degree in political science, which has enhanced her analytical and leadership skills, allowing her to navigate complex environments effectively

Sarah Larner – Head of Early Years (on maternity leave)

BCBA

Sarah joined BeyondAutism in September 2011 having worked in various capacities with autistic children prior to this. She joined as a Trainee ABA Tutor and worked her way through various roles across the schools, post-19 and outreach. In 2018 she joined the Early Years Team as the Behaviour Analyst before becoming Head of Early Years in June 2023.

Sarah completed a Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis through Bangor University in September 2016 and became a BCBA in February 2018.

She is passionate about helping autistic children succeed through learning communication strategies and gaining access and understanding within their local communities. She loves seeing the progress that the children make and celebrating these successes with parents and staff. Whilst Sarah has extensive experience working with individuals from 15 months up to 25 years of age, she is particularly motivated working with young children and their parents, focusing on early intervention and consistency across all settings from a young age to empower children to grow and succeed.

Marta Martin Perteguer – Head of Early Years (maternity cover)

Specialist Teacher

Having autistic children in her family Marta knew from very early on that she wanted to dedicate herself to supporting autistic children and young people and their families. She graduated as a SEN Teacher and completed two master degrees in Inclusive Education and Autism and Psychoeducational Intervention. Marta has worked with autistic children and young adults in different settings including in an autism specific primary school in south west London where she worked for over five years.

Marta has developed significant knowledge in Makaton, PECs, Podd and other language programmes to enable her to support pupils with a variety of communication methods. Marta teaches with a holistic approach, always celebrating her pupils’ personalities. She particularly enjoys developing an adaptable educational environment that ensures children thrive and succeed beyond expectations. Marta is particularly invested in parental mental health and supporting autistic children and young people to achieve happiness within their family units and communities.

Matthew Le Blanc – Head of Park House School

BSc QTS

Matt first began working at BeyondAutism in 2013 shortly after graduating with a degree in Psychology with Neuroscience. He started working as a Trainee ABA Tutor and immediately became passionate about the role from witnessing first-hand how much of a positive impact Behaviour Analysis was having in the lives of the pupils he was working with. Matt progressed with the organisation to be ABA Tutor, Senior Tutor and Class Instructor before deciding to train to be a Qualified Teacher.

Matt undertook his training at the Institute of Education, and has stayed with BeyondAutism in his new role as a Qualified Teacher, predominantly working with KS2 and KS3 pupils. He is also currently taking a masters in ABA with the aim of becoming a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. In September 2022 Matt took up his role as Head of Park House School.

Matt holds a real passion for promoting pupil independence and generalising functional skills learnt in the classroom to daily lives.

Carvey Francis – Head of Tram House School

MA

Carvey joined as Head of Tram House School in September 2024. Most recently, Carvey has been Deputy Principal and Interim Headteacher at Oasis Academy Enfield where she successfully led the school through its Ofsted inspection. Earlier in her career, she led on all SEND provision as an Assistant Head. She has an MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Warwick and has considerable experience training education leaders in a wide range of settings including secondary schools, sixth forms and special schools.  

Carvey has lived experience of autism from her own family and has a passion and commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for all pupils. She has significant experience in curriculum development, as well as a natural enthusiasm for staff development and creating a positive environment where all members of the community can thrive.

Melissa Wise – Co-Head of P19 (Operations)

Melissa is from Columbia, South Carolina, USA. She has been in the field of behaviour analysis since 2009. She received an undergraduate in psychology and visual fine arts. After graduating and working as a Tutor, Melissa decided to become a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She received a Masters in Education and Curriculum with an emphasis in Applied Behaviour Analysis and then became a BCBA in 2017. She has worked in home programmes, clinical settings, and schools as a BCBA. In 2020, Melissa moved to London to get a second Masters degree in Neuroscience. After completing her degree, she continued practising as a BCBA in London. Melissa has worked with a variety of learners with varying disabilities aging 2-25.

Sofia Rey – Co-Head of P19 (Consultant Behaviour Analyst)

Sofia has been working in the field of Behaviour Analysis since 2008. Her first experience was working at a Summer Camp in the USA. She was so impressed with the progress that could be achieved in only a week of consistent Behaviour Analysis, that on her return to the UK she decided to pursue a career within the field.

Sofia’s first job back in the UK was a Trainee Tutor at BeyondAutism in 2009. Since then, she has progressed to Co-Head of Post-19 (Consultant Behaviour Analyst), and during this time has completed a Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis and gained her BCBA qualification.

Chloe Watkins – Head of Therapy Services

MSc

Chloe has a strong history with BeyondAutism, having first joined the charity in 2000, as an ABA Tutor. She completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education before qualifying as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2004. Chloe has worked with children and young people, in a range of clinical, mainstream and specialist settings, specialising in Social Communication. 

Chloe is excited to be Head of Therapy Services, working with an exceptional team. She is passionate about supporting individuals to develop the functional communication and independence skills, that enable them to confidently access and enjoy everyday activities.