WHO WE ARE
We’ve been there too
It’s impossible to know what it’s like behind NICU doors unless you’ve walked those corridors, scrubbed your hands, heard the alarms and felt the fear of losing the most precious thing in the world to you. We get it because we’ve been there too.
The Smallest Things is led entirely by parents who’ve had premature babies. And that’s exactly what inspires us to support families, raise awareness and instigate change. We believe in a better world for families of premature babies. A world in which parents have the time they need before returning to work, without money worries; the support they need after they leave the hospital; and the reassurance that they are not alone on their journey. Because prematurity doesn’t end when you leave NICU.
Meet our team
Founder and Director of Policy & Campaigns
Catriona is a charity leader and children’s occupational therapist, with over 25 years’ experience working with children, young people and families. She is former Chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section for Children and Young People and founded The Smallest Things premature baby charity in September 2014 following the premature birth of both her sons.
Having worked in NHS hospitals, including neonatal intensive care units, for nearly two decades, Catriona now works in her charity role as well continuing her professional practice in schools across South London. She combines her professional experience and strategic leadership, also serving on the Executive Committee of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) as Family and Advocacy lead.
Read Catriona’s story.
Catriona Ogilvy
Sarah Miles
Founding trustee and Director of Communications & Marketing
Sarah cut her teeth as a journalist at the BBC in 2002 and worked in content marketing for global brands with a focus on lifestyle, health and family before becoming Head of Content at Mind, the mental health charity.
As Editor of Tesco Magazine she oversaw Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life magazine and ran communications workshops for charities. Sarah gave birth to identical twin girls at 28 weeks in 2011 and spent over six months in NICU before her youngest, Eva, died from surgical complications.
Chair of Trustees
Kerry works in financial services and spent 15 years at Allianz insurance followed by five years at Gallagher across a variety of leadership, sales, operations and change management roles.
Now working at Aviva, Kerry is responsible for running commercial teams across South East England.
Kerry gave birth to her son Alfie at 26 weeks while on holiday in Boston, USA where they lived for three months while he was in NICU. After returning to the UK, Kerry reached out initially as a volunteer for The Smallest Things and became one of our Trustees in 2022.
Kerry Myles
Trustee
Lynne is a Digital Marketing Consultant with over 15 years experience working in digital communications, including previous in-house roles at UK Hospitality and the young person’s charity the Youth Sport Trust. A mum of two boys, Lynne’s second son Max was born unexpectedly in 2018 at 24 weeks’ gestation – on her eldest son Oliver’s birthday no less!
Max spent four months in Neonatal Intensive Care at The Rosie Hospital, Cambridge and has a number of diagnoses due to his prematurity, including Global Development Delay. She is passionate about raising awareness around premature birth and parental mental health, particularly when it comes to the post-NICU journey and navigating support for the family.
Lynne Peachey
Trustee
Michelle lives in Cardiff and has worked in public affairs and communications for over 20 years. She is Director for Wales at Learning and Work Institute and has worked in higher education and the third sector during her career.
Michelle’s daughter Audrey was born prematurely at 26 weeks in 2019 as a result of pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Audrey had a number of problems with her breathing and feeding, resulting in a four and a half month NICU stay and a follow-up procedure on her heart when she was two. Michelle is an advocate for improving perinatal mental health support following her own difficult experiences in accessing help after Audrey came home from hospital.
Michelle Townsend
Trustee and Treasurer
Sarah is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years’ experience in global investment banks, hedge funds and independent schools, having worked at Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers, and co-founded her own accountancy practice. She is currently Chief Operating Officer of a boutique hedge fund administration firm and a School Governor.
In 2010, Sarah gave birth to twin girls, Isabella and Jemima, at 28 weeks. Isabella sadly passed away at just 18 days old, while Jemima spent nine weeks in NICU before coming home — she is now a healthy teenager.
Having received little support during her own neonatal journey, Sarah is passionate about ensuring no family feels alone during or after time in NICU, and soon after her own experience she organised a sponsored pram push for St Peter’s Hospital’s neonatal unit. Sarah joined The Smallest Things as Trustee and Treasurer in 2026, bringing her financial expertise to help the charity remain sustainable and reach more families.
Sarah Hill
Komal Bhatt
Trustee
Komal’s passion for supporting premature babies and their families began when her son, Prem, was born unexpectedly at 30 weeks’ gestation in 2017 following a spontaneous premature birth. Their journey, and the challenges they continue to navigate, inspired her to help make a difference for others.
Komal has worked in marketing for over 20 years across the recruitment, engineering and agency sectors and now works as part of the senior management team at Blaby Dental Practice in Leicestershire.
Having been a proud Ambassador for The Smallest Things since 2025, she is delighted to take on the role of Trustee, bringing both her professional expertise and lived experience to support the charity’s mission.
Trustee
Richard is a director at CIL Strategy Consultants where he works with organisations to develop and deliver growth strategies. Richard has around 20 years’ experience across consulting and industry roles including as Head of Strategy at PRS for Music and Chief Commercial Officer at transport technology business Ticketer.
Richard and his wife Sophie are the proud parents of two premature sons: Russell and Louie. Both boys had challenging journeys during and after NICU. Russell was born unexpectedly at 26 weeks and spent four months in NICU, coming home on oxygen. Louie was born at 30 weeks following PPROM at 21 weeks.
Richard has a particular interest in how to make workplaces more supportive for parents of premature children, as well as generally raising awareness of prematurity.
Richard Blackburn-Hughes
Trustee
Caitriona is a senior healthcare leader with over a decade of experience in NHS strategy and policy. Her career has spanned national policy development, commissioning and large-scale NHS transformation. She is an experienced trustee, having volunteered in a similar role in the mental health sector for a number of years.
Caitriona is Mum to three boys, including twins born at 32 weeks at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is passionate about supporting families going through similar experiences, particularly how services can better meet the mental health needs of parents both during and after NICU stays.