Meet the #Willdoes Team

Lesley Paddy

Founder, Chair & Mother to Will

After 20 years on working in Finance within the boating industry, Will was born.

After Will was born I ran the family business from home and later at Cobbs Quay. This gave me the flexibility to always be there for Will, to watch him grow through school at Yarrells Preparatory School and then onto Milton Abbey School.

After losing Will I wanted to set up a charity in his memory and in 2019 we began #Willdoes, a charity set up to help young people and their wellbeing and mental health.

I have had to dig deep after losing Will with my own mental health but the charity, Will’s Legacy, gives me an inner strength to carry on.  The team that supports both me and the charity are undoubtedly the most amazing people and their hard work and loyalty knows no bounds and without them I would not be able to continue the work we do.

Stephanie Buchanan BEM

Trustee & Aunt & Godmother to Will

Steph is the Head Performance Coach and Yard Manager of the Royal Armoured Corps Saddle Club.

After Will passed away Steph helped her sister, Lesley, establish the charity, #Willdoes. The charity helps raise money to fund initiatives that help young people and we have raised an incredible amount of money. However, when I saw the British Horse Society Changing Lives Through Horses (CLTH) program I knew that I could do even more and help young people by introducing them to the ponies and horses we have on the yard. Horses have an incredible capacity to heal and inspire and many of the children we work with have never touched a horse before but by spending time and communicating with them they become more open to the people around them and recognise that they can overcome hurdles which sometimes seem unsurmountable

In 2022 Steph was recognised for her exceptional dedication to her participants’ personal growth and development after she integrated the CLTH scheme at Bovington to help local children who, for various reasons, need additional support, are disengaged, or disadvantaged, or at risk of being excluded from education. Steph is now the Lead Coach for the CLTH programme with the BHS.

In December 2023 Steph was awarded The British Empire Medal (BEM) for her outstanding work with young people and her contribution to society within the Equestrian world.

The BEM is a national honour bestowed by His Majesty The King in recognition of outstanding public service to people who make a real difference to local communities.

Neil Peters

Neil is a trustee and treasurer of #Willdoes.  He is a certified accountant and has worked in finance for 38 years.  Neil made a permanent move to Dorset with his husband Chris in 2019 but they had been regular visitors to Purbeck for over 10 years prior when they became close friends with Les and Will.  The eagle eyed amongst you will spot from the photo that Neil is partial to a gin martini!

Julie Dyball

Julie Dyball has combined a career in business and a range of voluntary roles and was one of the founding Trustees of #WIlldoes.

Since the mid 1990s, she has been a staunch campaigner on a range of issues involving women's rights, maternal and infant health and issues within her local community.

She was a Director of Baby Milk Action, a not for profit organisation based in Cambridge that campaigns for better regulation of breast-milk substitutes after successfully challenging the Department for Education over the content of a GCSE syllabus on child development, for several years. She was an NCT (National Childbirth Trust) Breastfeeding Counsellor for 18 years during which time she Chaired the Breastfeeding Counsellor's Panel for NCT and was on the judging panel for the APPG Maternity awards for three years as well as helping hundreds of women with feeding their babies. 

She has qualifications in safe guarding and has raised thousands of pounds for good causes by organizing events, such as fetes and Nearly New Sales, developing her skills in managing people and bringing them together for a common cause. After cycling from London to Paris in 2010 she became a champion for Best Beginnings, a charity that aims to end health inequalities in children. She currently enjoys sitting on independent School Appeals Panels for Dorset Council and has served on both Lytchett Matravers and Studland Parish Councils.

Julie lives in Studland with her family and loves walking her dog on the beach, cold water swimming, skiing and cooking. 

John Clokey

John now works alongside many young adults and older adolescents daily as part of his work modernising training and education for the Royal Navy. This work encompasses both the professional elements of introductory learning for young people starting out on their careers as well as the more advanced refresher or specialist training to more mature adults as they progress through their careers. Duty of care is a key feature of all life in the Royal Navy and particularly so for those small numbers in the 16-18 range who are also continuing with their functional skills learning.

Previously John has worked in the Education Sector following a first career in the Royal Navy, and he led the team designing the Department for Education Grants dispersal system including in particular the highly successful Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for 16-19s

John is also a Trustee Director for a large Pension scheme where decisions about funding, discretionary awards and specific family and domestic considerations are a regular feature of Board decision making.

Once a fully registered Samaritan, John has a good understanding of a wide range of mental health issues, and has co-authored studies by the Centre for Social Justice including for Military Veterans.

John has 2 sons under 25, the youngest now 19 being adopted at the age of 2 after a rigorous Social Services adoption selection process. He also supports many charitable undertakings particularly for the vulnerable and dispossessed as well as being an keen advocate for kindness to all animals.

Rebecca Keeshan

Rebecca is a solicitor at HK Law and is a partner in the Land Law department and is based primarily in the Swanage office, she heads up the Purbeck land team.

Qualifying as a solicitor in 2002, she has over 20 years’ experience in land law and specialise in commercial property.

Sacha Scott

Sacha lives in the beautiful isle of Purbeck. She works as a Counsellor in a private practice having re-trained 14 years ago when her children started school. Before starting in private practice, Sacha worked and volunteered at the Dorchester Trust for Counselling and Psychotherapy, where they were able to offer a counselling service to low or no income clients.

Sacha studied Art History at university and worked for a sculptor after graduating and ran a gallery in London before moving into the film industry, then music management, as well as International Grand Touring and historic motor racing.

She loves spending time helping her daughter with her horse, which they keep at the RAC saddle Club in Bovington under the care of Steph Buchanan and her team.

Helen O’Connor

Helen works for the British Red Cross as Head of Community Education, having been a senior leader in the education sector for over 30 years. She enjoys walking on the Isle of Purbeck with her dog and has three grown up daughters.