Our Trustees

Avril Samuel

After losing my beautiful daughter, Katie Haines, to CO poisoning, I knew it was important to ensure that others did not suffer such a needless death. Therefore, with Katie’s husband Richard, my husband Gordon and our children Adam and Lydia, I set up The Katie Haines Memorial Trust to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning and to investigate ways of making everyone’s lives safer from this poisonous gas.

I’m particularly concerned about the most vulnerable sectors of society, such as the elderly and students in low cost housing. I am now retired but worked for several years for Farmers Weekly magazine in a secretarial/admin capacity. I completed an Open University Degree in English in 2001.

Gordon Samuel

I’m the father of Katie Haines (née Samuel) who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her home. In the weeks following Katie’s tragedy my family, wife Avril and children Adam and Lydia and Katie’s husband Richard, formed the KHMT to raise much needed awareness of this lethal ‘silent killer’ – carbon monoxide.

I’m the co-owner of Osborne Samuel Ltd, a commercial art gallery in Mayfair, London. I hope to use my skills, honed in my years as an art dealer, and my contacts, to vigorously campaign to make sure every home is installed with an audible carbon monoxide alarm to lessen the needless fatalities and countless unrecorded deaths per year and to encourage the public to have their combustible appliances, especially boilers, annually serviced.

Adam Samuel

I am Katie’s younger brother. I always looked up to Katie for guidance and miss our chats on the usual topic of how Arsenal’s season would implode from a strong position. I will always remember how happy Katie was in her last year, the wedding being a highlight.  I will remember with a smile, albeit one tinged with sadness, how she danced to Hey Jude in the middle of a circle formed by her friends and family at her winter wedding. I was greatly impacted by losing my older sister through what was such an avoidable tragedy, especially at a time when she was about to begin a new life and where I felt I was forming a closer relationship than before. As a result of her cruel loss, I hope to contribute to the good work the Trust is already doing in raising awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide so that others don’t suffer in the same way that we have.

Lydia Samuel

After losing my big sister Katie to carbon monoxide poisoning I wanted to make something positive out of a complete tragedy and so have helped set up a trust in Katie’s name to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide and prevent other needless deaths. I have a background in charity work so hope that my experience in marketing and organising fundraising events will assist the trust in achieving its important mission.

Richard Haines

I am the widower of Katie Haines (nee Samuel) who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in our home. As a result of Katie’s tragic death and in an attempt to rescue some element of positivity from the impossible situation we faced, Katie’s immediate family and I formed the KHMT to raise much needed awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide and to try and prevent others from needlessly facing Katie’s fate through education and positive action.

I have worked at Hewlett Packard in a number of business and management roles for 15 years and hope to bring the professional skills I have learnt to ensure KHMT campaigns in the most effective way toensure the greatest return on the investment of our combined skills and time in preventing further injuries and deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

When it comes to the danger of carbon monoxide, ignorance is not an option and we have a duty to inform as loudly and as widely as we can the best ways of countering the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning and to affect real positive change to reduce the risk.

Claire Hardy

I became friends with Katie in 1997, during our first year at the University of Manchester. Katie also lived with me for a short period whilst doing an internship at a north London newspaper.

As a secondary school teacher, I am particularly interested in raising awareness of the dangers of CO poisoning amongst students. As a mother, I would also like to concentrate on educating other parents on how they can protect their children from this silent killer.

I have experience of organising fund raising events and hope that this, together with my links in education, can help to further the exposure of Katie’s charity.

Hannah Pettit

I worked as an Events Manager specialising in the public sector for 10 years until the birth of my daughter Amelia, Katie’s Goddaughter.

In addition to my passion for the Trust, I hope to utilise my experience by organising successful awareness campaigns and fundraising events. I first met Katie at Brownies, aged 7, where I formed a close friendship that continued throughout school and our lives afterwards.

I was honoured to be a bridesmaid at Katie’s wedding to Richard in 2009.

Matthew Rumbelow

Matthew Rumbelow graduated with a history degree from Durham University and went on to train to be a solicitor. He qualified in 1999, and after a few years in private practice (employment law), moved into consultancy with Deloitte. Matthew went on to specialise in internal communication, and has run his own successful private consultancy, Rumbers Limited, since 2009. His role involves advising organisations how to engage and communicate with their employees, particularly in times of change.

In his spare time, of which there is precious little, Matthew is a keen hill-walker, photographer, author and cook. Matthew lives in Rutland with his wife Saskia and two young children, Ben and Grace.

Matthew and Saskia were close friends with Katie.

Lucy Chant

I became a Trustee of the KHMT in 2011. I first met Katie back in 1997 as ‘Freshers’ at the University of Manchester. Our rooms were on the same corridor in our halls of residence. We soon became members of the Owens Park 14th floor girls. We truly embraced University life and loved the social aspects of being a student. We had such laughs on our many nights out and Katie could always be relied upon to be part of any fun that was going on. After leaving University, Katie and I remained good friends and had many great, fun times after that. Katie was also an amazing friend when I needed her most in more difficult times in my life. I will always be grateful to her for that. I am truly honoured to be part of the KHMT and am passionate about raising the awareness of the risk of Carbon Monoxide. I am now a Secondary School Teacher and have already endeavoured to raise the profile of Katie’s charity in the school in which I teach. I am dedicated to help with the continued growth and development of the charity.