Helen Donohoe leads PACEY, championing the vital role practitioners play in helping children prepare for a bright future and working to ensure everyone in childcare and early years can provide high quality care and early education.

Helen joined PACEY as Policy Advisor in 2019, taking the role of Chief Executive in December 2022. She has almost 30 years of experience across policy development, campaigning, and senior leadership, including time as the Director for Public Policy at Action for Children and as a Parent Governor of Islington North Nursery. She is passionate about early intervention and ensuring every child gets the best start in life.

Working with PACEY staff, volunteers and members, she ensures PACEY provides information, advice and support to childminders, nurseries; pre-schools and nannies as well as families and others involved in childcare and early years; enables members to share their ideas and experiences with each other and represents and advocates on their behalf. Helen represents PACEY at the Department for Education’s Early Years Strategic Forum; Ofsted’s Early Years Consultative Forum and shares PACEY members’ views and experiences on other coalitions, at conferences and parliamentary forums, as well as to the media.

Amy ’s job is to lead on all PACEY’s technology and data systems, ensuring our website, member portal as well as our online training are accessible to members and other beneficiaries 24/7. She also leads PACEY data strategy, ensuring we meet all GDPR requirements and supporting us to use the data we have to inform and improve our work as well as grow our engagement with members and other stakeholders. Before joining PACEY, Amy was the Director of her own business working on implementing, managing and operating data systems and integrations across a variety of organisations in multiple business sectors worldwide. She has a passion for technology, and a natural aptitude for problem solving and identifying effective solutions.

Ka Lai’s job is to lead on ensuring all our members make the most of the great benefits that PACEY offers and to encourage more childminders, nannies, nurseries, and pre-schools to join PACEY. Alongside this, Ka Lai ensures PACEY’s communication channels and key partners promote PACEY’s brand and its work. She also leads on the sale of products and services in PACEY’s shop. Before joining PACEY, Ka Lai was Senior Loyalty Manager at the Royal Academy of Arts where she worked on a range of activities that supported the recruitment and retention of their 97,000 members. 

Victoria’s job is to lead on PACEY’s financial and people strategies. She ensures that PACEY’s plans are sustainable and that the funds the charity receives are managed properly. Victoria also ensures PACEY has the systems, processes, and advice it needs to support everyone working at PACEY. As part of this, the role is responsible for several compliance areas including company and charity law, employment law (including health and safety). Before joining PACEY, Victoria was Bursar, Head of Finance and Clerk to the Governors of Bethany School in Kent. There, alongside finance, Victoria was responsible for facilities, compliance, governance, and procurement.