Our Trustees

Joshua Chauhan
Legal Expert (Corporate & Commercial)

Born and raised in Plymouth, Josh is a Solicitor and Partner at Wolferstans Solicitors where he leads the Corporate and Commercial Law team. Alongside his work as a Solicitor, Josh has lectured at Plymouth University since 2018 as a module leader, teaching Building and Property Law to aspiring construction managers, architects and surveyors and is also now a Trustee at Hearts Together.

Josh became involved with Hearts Together after visiting the Hospital Hotel and seeing up-close the positive impact that the charity’s action has on those who are often going through one of the most difficult periods of their lives. In his role as a Trustee, Josh hopes that his commercial knowledge, network of contacts and legal expertise in contract law will assist the charity with all areas of its activity - in particular its ambitious goal of achieving “The Big Build”. 

Daniel Cole
Marketing, PR & Communications Expert

Dan Cole is an experienced communications and public relations professional in professional sport. He has consulted for sporting organisations at regional, national, and international levels and spent five years at Plymouth Argyle, where he played a key role in modernising media operations as the club rose from League Two to the Championship.

Since leaving Plymouth Argyle in 2023, Dan has been Communications Manager at the International Tennis Integrity Agency in London. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director (Marketing & PR) at Devon County Football Association.

With expertise in media management, crisis communications, and a strong network of media contacts, Dan is passionate about Hearts Together, driven by his own experience as a parent of two young boys who spent time in hospital as infants. 

Steve Demuth
Vice Chair & Construction Expert

Steve is a Chartered Building Surveyor and a Partner of Bailey Partnership; a multi disciplinary consultancy practice employing over 120 individuals across seven offices.   Steve joined Bailey Partnership in 2002 and has spent his career working in Plymouth establishing a large network of connections across the construction and property sector. 

Steve has extensive experience of coordinating and managing large multi-disciplinary design teams on complicated commercial projects and is able to call on expertise within Bailey Partnership such as architecture, quantity surveying, building services engineering, town planning, structural/civil engineer and fire engineering when advising the Trustees of Hearts Together.  Steve is also well versed in agreeing Heads of Terms, Lease negotiations and commercial funding. 

Emma Preston
Legal Expert (Construction)

Emma has worked as a construction solicitor since qualifying in 2016 and has experience working for a wide variety of clients including contractors and sub-contractors, housing associations, local authorities, manufacturers, developers and energy clients.

Much of her more recent work has been on contentious matters but she also has experience of non-contentious work and continues to contribute to non-contentious workstreams in relation to matters of building safety.

Nigel Roy
Chair & Cost Engineering Expert

Nigel joined Hearts Together (formerly HeartSWell) as a Trustee in January 2018, supporting its transition to its current structure. Following a major cardiac incident in 2017 and his planned retirement in 2018, he saw an opportunity to apply his skills and experience to a cause that resonated with him. Initially drawn to the Charity’s focus on cardiac patients and carers, he has continued to support its expanded mission, which now includes all patients, carers, and healthcare professionals.

With a 42-year career in the Ministry of Defence, Nigel brings strong leadership, people management, and problem-solving skills. He excels in cost engineering, contractual matters, and building strong relationships. Known for his integrity and decisiveness, he remains a valuable asset to the charity

Nia Thielmann
Healthcare Expert

Nia is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years’ experience in the NHS. Her clinical background is predominantly in cardiac surgery having spent the majority of her career in this rewarding specialty. She has witnessed first-hand the positive impact that the charity has on its users through her work at Derriford which sparked her interest to be involved and was delighted to join the board in 2017.

Nia is passionate about the charity and the invaluable support it provides by helping to take the worry out of what can be a very stressful situation for patients, carers and their relatives.   

Vacancies

Following the recent resignation of a trustee with both HR and Finance experience that has proven invaluable over recent years, the Charity is seeking to appoint two individuals who bring expertise in each of these areas, reflect the values and culture of the organisation and who have a connection with our cause, mission and purpose.

• HR EXPERTISE