Friends Council
Members of the Friends Council
Meet the members of the Friends Council who act as Trustees for the Friends.
The Friends Council consists of two members of Chapter, and up to nine members of the Friends.
Together with members of the St Paul's Development team, the Friends Council oversee the programme of engagement and fundraising and help to grow the profile and impact of the Friends.
The Friends of St Paul’s have the twin aims of fellowship and fundraising and exist to promote the work of the Cathedral. Its focus is on supporting the preservation of the fabric of St Paul's; the ongoing maintenance of the Cathedral and it's buildings; and the continuation of services, music, education and outreach. Below you can read about the experience of its members.
If you would like to become a Friend of St Paul's Cathedral, please visit our Become a Friend page for more information and how to join.
You can also get in touch by email friends@stpaulscathedral.org.uk or telephone 020 3463 9435.
The Reverend Canon Dr Catherine Okoronkwo
Canon Steward and Chair
The Canon Steward is responsible for the stewardship of people and resources within the mission and ministry of the Cathedral and is Safeguarding Lead. Catherine was formerly Bishop’s Advisor on Racial Justice and Vicar of All Saints and St Barnabas, Swindon, in the Diocese of Bristol. In her role, she worked closely with the Bishop of Bristol to address the Church’s past relationship with the slave trade, challenge racism within the Church, and support and develop Black and minority ethnic clergy.
Having grown up in the Middle East, Catherine studied in the US and UK before working as an English teacher for almost a decade. She has published numerous works of fiction and academic works, in which she explores the experiences of Black African and Black British women and their relationship with the Church and society.
Yodia Lo
Vice Chair
Yodia is a Senior Portfolio Manager at AXA Investment Management, leading the firm’s hedge fund investments. She was previously head of marketable securities investments at Mount Capital, a Single Family Office. Prior to this she was a senior member of the Church Commissioners, which manages the Church of England’s endowment fund, focusing on alternative assets. Yodia is also a member of the Girls Are Investors Network (GAIN) and co-led the Senior Investment Practitioners Group of 100 Women in Finance. She earned an MBA from London Business School and is the parent of two (former) pupils of St. Paul’s Cathedral School.
Samuel Ennis
Honorary Treasurer
Samuel Ennis has been a member of the Church of England all his life and is a qualified Chartered Accountant, who works in the city and sits on the Ethics Board for the accountancy profession. Samuel is currently the honorary treasurer for the Friends of St Paul’s Cathedral, having been a treasurer since 2017.
Sheila Nicoll
Lay Canon and Member of Chapter
Sheila is Head of Public Policy at Schroders; She joined Chapter in 2018 and has particular oversight of finance and business. She is also an Elder at St Columba’s Church of Scotland in London and Sheila was also a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Task Group on Responsible Credit and Savings and is a trustee of the Just Finance Foundation, which oversees the core programmes initiated by that Group. She was a founding director and Secretary of Churches Mutual Credit Union, an ecumenical initiative of British churches to provide responsible financial services until January 2022. She was awarded an OBE for services to financial services in 2017.
Niul Dillon Hatcher
Niul is a lawyer with a long career in jobs located within sight of the Cathedral. His children attended the school, and he taught Latin and French there for a couple of months. He was a server at St Paul’s for many years. Now retired, he works pro bono as a lawyer and as a trustee with a number of charities assisting refugees, homeless people and street-connected children.
Mike Tadman
Visitor Experience Volunteer and Team Leader
Mike & his wife have been Friends of St Paul’s since 1996. A member of The Monday Team of volunteers and guides in St Paul’s for over 12 years, he is now the team’s leader.
Mike’s career began in banking (including professional studies & club rugby) which led to over 30 years as head of what is now called HR in The City, Banking & Insurance Broking in property management and in independent radio (pop and Classic fm). Consultancy projects included working with the MoD developing a national schools-based initiative and another for his old school Kingham Hill in Oxfordshire. Now retired in his professional Fellowships, he enjoys family life with his children, grandchildren and loyal Lurcher along with active City links to St Paul’s, the Livery and Ward clubs and a local RAF cadet squadron.
Alexander (Sandy) Hendry
Visitor Experience Volunteer
Sandy's background is in international publishing and design which involved extensive travel throughout the Commonwealth and USA. He has resided in USA, Australia, and Hong Kong where he still takes an active interest in their Cathedrals.
He has worked voluntarily at St. Paul's since 1979 serving on the Friends Council and many committees previously. Currently he is a member of the Friends Council, a Cathedral guide and a Visitor Experience Forum member. Sandy is also a Steward of Christchurch Cathedral Oxford where, as a Friend and volunteer he takes interest in their Friends activities and development.
Phillip Rice
Phillip has been involved in various roles in East London parish life from church warden, lay chair of Hackney deanery Synod, and until recently Lay Chair of Tower Hamlets deanery. He is also an active member of various finance committees in the Diocese of London.
Phillip’s career began in leaving his Yorkshire roots and coming to the London School of Economics, which led to nearly 20 years as a research fellow in Imperial College working on big city transport economics. Phillip moved into the Civil Service and worked in the Department of Energy and finally in Inland Revenue/HMRC on tax policy. His contacts with the cathedral grew whilst his late wife Rachel was a broderer who worked on many splendid pieces of Cathedral needlework.
Laura Callan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Laura has worked in marketing and communications roles for the last 10 years; for a visual arts education charity, in heritage for an independent historic house, and for the National Trust. More recently, she has worked as a freelance marketing and communications specialist and copywriter, before joining St Paul’s Cathedral in 2021 as Digital Manager. In March 2023, she became Head of Marketing and Communications for the Cathedral.
Laura holds a BA (Hons) in History with Archaeology and a Master of Research in History, specialising in eighteenth century social history. She is a Trustee of the Spode Museum Trust in Stoke-on-Trent.’
