Lewes District
Hello From Sarah Archer, Our CEO
I've been based in Sussex since 1999 and have been involved with community volunteering since 2001 when I volunteered as a mentor working with young people in East Brighton. I have spent my working career in the charitable sector leading projects that have supported a range of wide of people, communities and ambitions. I began my third sector career being part of a team that supported people who are at risk of homelessness and who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
I have managed numerous projects working with vulnerable young people and established a project that specifically worked with young refugees and asylum seekers. I later founded a charity that championed youth volunteering and youth action. For over 11 years I was CEO for a local organisation that supported and empowered autistic adults through the provision of range of holistic services. More recently i have worked for the Woodland Trust as their Weald and Downs Treescape Lead, working across the South East to support nature recovery at landscape scale.
I joined LDCA in September 2022 and I am incredibly pleased to have joined a team of highly skilled and professional staff and volunteers. I am immensely passionate and honoured to lead an organisation that has such a strong social purpose and huge positive impact for so many people in our local community. I'm proud of our staff and volunteers who provide an extensive range of advice for people who are facing difficulties and who need good quality unbiased advice.
Meet The Team
Sophie
Advice Service Manager / Deputy CEO
Committed to helping the local community, Sophie joined LDCA as a volunteer adviser in 2020 and has taken on a number of different roles in her time with Lewes District Citizens Advice. As Advice Service Manager, she heads up operations, managing the advice team and delivering services.
"LDCA is a fantastic place to work and it's a privilege to support our passionate, experienced advice team."
Jason
Welfare Rights Caseworker
Jason has worked at Citizens Advice for 10 years. He first started working in social welfare law as a Generalist Advisor 20 years ago and then specialised as a welfare rights caseworker. Jason is a very experienced caseworker, and deals with mandatory reconsideration of decisions and more complex benefit issues and regularly represents clients at appeal Tribunal hearings.
"I enjoy meeting clients and helping them enforce their legal rights."
Nicole
Rural Outreach Advisor
Nicole delivers in person drop-in sessions at rural locations across the Lewes District.
"As a volunteer or member of staff at LDCA, one feels completely supported and part of a brilliant team of people, working together to help people find a way forward."
Bekki
Welfare Rights Caseworker
Bekki has been a caseworker for 6 years. Prior to this, she was a volunteer adviser and was then employed as an Advice Session Supervisor. She works with clients at various stages of their benefit claims. This includes assisting them to make an initial application, resolving complex issues with entitlement and payments, right through to representing clients at appeal.
“I find it very satisfying working with clients to enable them to access the benefits that they are entitled to and therefore making a difference to their lives”.
Lorraine
Volunteer Advisor
Julie
Welfare Rights Caseworker
Julie joined the caseworker team in Newhaven in 2023, and has had a busy time getting up to speed with our complicated benefits system. She started at LDCA as a volunteer generalist adviser during the pandemic and before that spent many years working as a transport planning consultant.
"I loves getting to know my clients and helping them through the difficult times."
Mark
Volunteer Advisor
Hattie
Outreach Advisor
Hattie began her journey at LDCA as a volunteer and later advanced to the position of Outreach Advisor.
"I enjoy the variety of cases and the fact that there is always something new to learn."
Emma
Training Leader
Emma joined LDCA in 2017. She had a legal background as a solicitor and Open University Associate Lecturer, but started her career here as a volunteer. After 2 years as a volunteer she became a debt adviser. She is now head of the training team and designs and delivers training and support to the volunteers.
"I am so lucky to be working with such an incredible team of volunteers. They are the frontline of our service and it is the training team's job to make sure that they have the skills and support to best help our local community."
Meet Our Trustees
Julia
Trustee - Treasurer and Business Planning
Julia took early retirement in 2022, having moved to Seaford with her artist husband the previous year, and is a National Trust countryside volunteer at Sheffield Park and an RHS show garden volunteer.
“It’s a privilege to work with such a passionate and caring team who all strongly believe in a fairer and more equal community - a refreshing change from corporate life.”
Stephen
Trustee - Treasurer and Business Planning
A lawyer (now semi-retired) by background, Stephen was brought up in Brighton and has spent most of his life in East Sussex; he is married with two grown-up sons and now lives near Eastbourne.
"I am excited to be on the Board of LDCA, I see my focus as a Trustee to be to spread the word about the tremendous work that the charity does in the local community, and to assist in raising funds for the continuation and extension of that work."
Alison
Trustee
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Nicola
Trustee - HR Leader
Nicola is an experienced HR leader who advises large and small companies on transformation and scale-up across the world. She has lived in Lewes for 12 years, and has been a Samaritans Listening volunteer/Vice Director, Chair of Corporate Responsibility at a Global Bank, and pro-bono coach to various well-known Charities
"It is an honour to support the passionate staff and volunteers, who all work so hard to make Lewes District a fairer place through empowering people to find a way through their problems."