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The STARS Dorset Team

We are so blessed with our amazing team which includes trustees, volunteers, sessional and employed staff.

Our Team is our greatest asset. Every individual is caring and compassionate, working together to ensure our clients receive the highest levels of care and support.

We are so proud of their passion, dedication and commitment and we value everyone’s contribution to the ongoing success of STARS Dorset in providing trauma-informed care and making a real difference to those we support.

We believe working collaboratively encourages creativity and innovation to find new approaches to how we work to meet the often challenging situations we face.  We hold each other accountable for our behaviours ensuring these are aligned to our core values, always keeping our clients at the focus and forefront of our service delivery.

Together, we are on a mission to achieve the best outcomes for our clients and realise our ambitious vision of a society free from abuse.

Our largest team is our fantastic team of volunteers and with them we simply couldn’t support the increasing number of clients referred to us.  We are delighted to have been recognised with the Investing in Volunteers Accreditation for a second time in November 2023.  If you are interested in being a volunteer please click here.

Our board of trustees come from all walks of life and backgrounds, bringing skills and experiences to ensure we have robust governance and meet all our charitable and legal obligations.  

Our trustees

As a charitable organisation, our Trustees ensure a rigorous, independent oversight of STARS Dorset. Our Trustees have a legal responsibility for STARS Dorset’s administration and governance and provide valuable guidance and support to our Chief Executive Officer. Each Trustee brings with them, unique professional qualifications and personal experience to their role and collectively set STARS Dorset’s strategic goals, uphold our values and guide the organisations work towards a society healed of sexual trauma and abuse.

Alex Hancox – Chair of Trustees

After graduating from Bournemouth University in 2017, Alex was elected Vice President of the Students’ Union. It was here that he first heard of STARS (Dorset Rape Crisis Support Centre as it was then known), and started volunteering at events across Dorset, including Bourne Free and Bestival, promoting the charity’s Consent Tent. Alex then started volunteering as a support line listener too, and in 2019 was elected as a Trustee and appointed as the Vice Chair.
 
Alex is currently a Civil Servant and brings recruitment experience and an interest in policy and good governance to the board. He lives in Bournemouth and in his spare time enjoys travelling and skiing.

Professor Peter Hills – Vice Chair

Peter joined the Board of Trustees in 2021. He has been Head of Department of Psychology at Bournemouth University for 4 years and brings this leadership experience to the Board.

As a professor of psychology, Peter leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers (including experimental cognitive and social psychologists, forensic investigators, journalists, lawyers, VR specialists, sexual trauma counsellors) at Bournemouth University exploring attitudes toward sexual violence and evaluating campaigns aimed at reducing sexual violence, in order to develop effective evidence-based campaigns or educational packages that would reduce sexual violence. In addition, he researches the impact of the criminal justice service’s procedures on the reporting, investigating, trying, and sentencing of sexual assault.

Graham Vagg

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Kate Calvert

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Julie Judd

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