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 OUR

Values

Child- Centered

No Judgement

Respectful

Transparent

Impartial

OUR KIDS FIRST

The Team

Ari Shainfeld

Founder - Mediator

Ari is a trained FMA family mediator. Ari provides care through divorce helping our service users approach divorce resolution with the forward focused mindset that is key to amicable divorce and the children’s wellbeing.

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Billy Katz

Founder - Head of Welfare

OKF is the vision and creation of Billy. With nearly 10 years of supporting people through divorce, Billy has a wealth of knowledge and experience, making him an invaluable resource to any divorcing parent.

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Naomi Lethbridge

COO

Naomi is a dedicated and passionate individual with an extensive career in database and client management. Having joined us from the Legal 500, Naomi brings a wealth of knowledge in client support and confidentiality. Naomi prides herself on integrity, being approachable and reliable.

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Nechama Katz

Case Manager - Mediator

Nechama is a trained commercial and family mediator with a background in law. Nechama heads our OKF female case management and mediation department. Nechama goes above and beyond to help guide and care for our OKF service users.

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Chana Bennett

Divorce Coach

Chana is a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist with a background in coaching. Chana is our in house divorce Coach, her goal is to ensure our service users feel heard and emerge strong, and empowered no matter what their circumstances are.

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Jair Sanders

Divorce Coach

Jair is a dedicated divorce coach at Our Kids First, supporting families through challenging transitions with empathy and expertise. With a background in education and safeguarding, he is passionate about prioritizing children's well-being. His approachable nature and strong communication skills help parents navigate difficult situations with clarity and care.

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Inbar Macabi

Event and Marketing Manager

Inbar is passionate and creative with a strong background in delivering impactful campaigns and events. She brings energy, insight, and a strategic mindset to her work, helping to raise the charity’s profile and engage the community. 

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Samona Kistanasamy

Administrator

In her role supporting administration, Samona facilitates seamless office operations through comprehensive administrative coordination. Her focus centers on optimizing daily workflow efficiency and facilitating clear communication. Samona’s diligence, proactive approach, and organizational expertise are a wonderful addition to the OKF team.

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Dov Owen

Founder

As an international tax consultant with personal experience of divorce, Dov's knowledge and clarity when it comes to numbers has helped many OKF service users complete the, often stressful, financial court forms and simplifies the process.

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Shuli Bak

Founder

Shuli provides emotional and mental support to our OKF families. His compassionate and empathetic nature has made him a valued asset to OKF and a source of comfort for the families he supports.

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Anton Eriera

Consultant Family Barrister

Anton specialises in family finance, children law and cases of domestic abuse. Widely sought-after and highly regarded by judges, solicitors and litigants, Anton is known for his conscientiousness, legal knowledge, and written and oral advocacy skills. Anton is frequently instructed to represent parties in financial remedies proceedings on divorce. Read more

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Lloyd Bergen

Consultant Family Solicitor

Lloyd is a retired solicitor with over 50 years of experience in family law and high-conflict dispute resolution. He now volunteers his time offering practical, accessible legal guidance to help OKF families to navigate separation and court processes with clarity.

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Dina Eder

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

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Elisheva Kramer

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

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Chaya Taub

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

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Shani Lisser

Board Member

Shani is a leading expert in complex parenting dynamics, especially during separation and divorce. Her compassionate, solutions-focused approach has guided countless families through challenging transitions, making her an invaluable part of the Our Kids First leadership team.

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Nechemya Sheinfeld

Board Member

Nechemya is a trusted figure in the community, known for his wisdom and steady support to families navigating difficult marriages and divorces. With years of hands-on experience and many successful mediations, he brings calm and clarity to even the most complex situations. As a board member, his business acumen and strategic guidance are invaluable to the growth and direction of Our Kids First.

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Eli Sternlicht

Board Member

Eli is a valued board member with deep experience in founding and supporting key charities within the community. His understanding of mental health and the challenges faced by families in crisis adds vital insight to our work at OKF. He brings compassion, expertise, and a steady hand to our leadership team.

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Chaim Knopf

Board Member

Chaim brings a sharp financial mind and a deep understanding of family dynamics to the OKF board. With professional experience in finance and advocacy, he has supported many people through divorces involving complex financial arrangements. His personal insight, wisdom, and steady guidance make him an invaluable part of our leadership.

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Hennie Jay

Board Member

Hennie plays a key role in a charity that supports many families in the community with welfare and food, creating a natural crossover with the families we support at OKF. Her warmth, generosity, and kindness shine through in everything she does—often offering her time and home to help our work. Her close collaboration with other community organisations makes her an invaluable part of our board.

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Ari Shainfeld

Founder - Mediator

Ari is a trained FMA family mediator. Ari provides care through divorce helping our service users approach divorce resolution with the forward focused mindset that is key to amicable divorce and the children’s wellbeing.

 image

Billy Katz

Founder - Head of Welfare

OKF is the vision and creation of Billy. With nearly 10 years of supporting people through divorce, Billy has a wealth of knowledge and experience, making him an invaluable resource to any divorcing parent.

 image

Naomi Lethbridge

COO

Naomi is a dedicated and passionate individual with an extensive career in database and client management. Having joined us from the Legal 500, Naomi brings a wealth of knowledge in client support and confidentiality. Naomi prides herself on integrity, being approachable and reliable.

 image

Nechama Katz

Case Manager - Mediator

Nechama is a trained commercial and family mediator with a background in law. Nechama heads our OKF female case management and mediation department. Nechama goes above and beyond to help guide and care for our OKF service users.

 image

Chana Bennett

Divorce Coach

Chana is a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist with a background in coaching. Chana is our in house divorce Coach, her goal is to ensure our service users feel heard and emerge strong, and empowered no matter what their circumstances are.

 image

Jair Sanders

Divorce Coach

Jair is a dedicated divorce coach at Our Kids First, supporting families through challenging transitions with empathy and expertise. With a background in education and safeguarding, he is passionate about prioritizing children's well-being. His approachable nature and strong communication skills help parents navigate difficult situations with clarity and care.

 image

Inbar Macabi

Event and Marketing Manager

Inbar is passionate and creative with a strong background in delivering impactful campaigns and events. She brings energy, insight, and a strategic mindset to her work, helping to raise the charity’s profile and engage the community. 

 image

Samona Kistanasamy

Administrator

In her role supporting administration, Samona facilitates seamless office operations through comprehensive administrative coordination. Her focus centers on optimizing daily workflow efficiency and facilitating clear communication. Samona’s diligence, proactive approach, and organizational expertise are a wonderful addition to the OKF team.

 image

Dov Owen

Founder

As an international tax consultant with personal experience of divorce, Dov's knowledge and clarity when it comes to numbers has helped many OKF service users complete the, often stressful, financial court forms and simplifies the process.

 image

Shuli Bak

Founder

Shuli provides emotional and mental support to our OKF families. His compassionate and empathetic nature has made him a valued asset to OKF and a source of comfort for the families he supports.

 image

Anton Eriera

Consultant Family Barrister

Anton specialises in family finance, children law and cases of domestic abuse. Widely sought-after and highly regarded by judges, solicitors and litigants, Anton is known for his conscientiousness, legal knowledge, and written and oral advocacy skills. Anton is frequently instructed to represent parties in financial remedies proceedings on divorce. Read more

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Lloyd Bergen

Consultant Family Solicitor

Lloyd is a retired solicitor with over 50 years of experience in family law and high-conflict dispute resolution. He now volunteers his time offering practical, accessible legal guidance to help OKF families to navigate separation and court processes with clarity.

 image

Dina Eder

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

 image

Elisheva Kramer

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

 image

Chaya Taub

Project KIND - Founder

KIND is a space where kids from divorced homes meet others in the same situation, build friendships, and make connections that help them feel more confident about their lives. more

 image

Shani Lisser

Board Member

Shani is a leading expert in complex parenting dynamics, especially during separation and divorce. Her compassionate, solutions-focused approach has guided countless families through challenging transitions, making her an invaluable part of the Our Kids First leadership team.

 image

Nechemya Sheinfeld

Board Member

Nechemya is a trusted figure in the community, known for his wisdom and steady support to families navigating difficult marriages and divorces. With years of hands-on experience and many successful mediations, he brings calm and clarity to even the most complex situations. As a board member, his business acumen and strategic guidance are invaluable to the growth and direction of Our Kids First.

 image

Eli Sternlicht

Board Member

Eli is a valued board member with deep experience in founding and supporting key charities within the community. His understanding of mental health and the challenges faced by families in crisis adds vital insight to our work at OKF. He brings compassion, expertise, and a steady hand to our leadership team.

 image

Chaim Knopf

Board Member

Chaim brings a sharp financial mind and a deep understanding of family dynamics to the OKF board. With professional experience in finance and advocacy, he has supported many people through divorces involving complex financial arrangements. His personal insight, wisdom, and steady guidance make him an invaluable part of our leadership.

 image

Hennie Jay

Board Member

Hennie plays a key role in a charity that supports many families in the community with welfare and food, creating a natural crossover with the families we support at OKF. Her warmth, generosity, and kindness shine through in everything she does—often offering her time and home to help our work. Her close collaboration with other community organisations makes her an invaluable part of our board.

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OUR KIDS FIRST

Letters of Recommendation

OUR KIDS FIRST

Timeline

2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

February 2019

Billy sets up the Devoted Dads support group 5 divorcing guys on WhatsApp sharing experiences and supporting each other.

June 2019

First social event, Friday night dinner, attended by 14 divorcing dads.
Our shared group knowledge and resources became apparent as a valuable resource to us all.

Divorcing and maintaining 2 homes is a huge financial burden. We begin supporting group members with food, moving and other practical needs that arise during their divorce journey.

Devoted Dads WhatsApp support group now has over 40 members, supported centrally with practical and emotional support as well as, professional referrals and access to therapy.

February 2020

Devoted Dads extend our support to divorcing mothers and their children.

December 2020

Our Chanuka party is attended by over 60 children from divorced homes with their dads.

Devoted Dads now has over 60 members and continues to offer our core support to mums and dads.
We identified that the most important part of divorce is the future and that the best outcomes for children is when parents work together speedily and  amicably throughout the divorce process.

February 2021

Our Kids First is born!

Billy, Ari, Dov and Shuli establish Our Kids First as a charity, with the aim to holistically guide and support families through divorce. 
Continuing with our core support, we begin always trying to work with both parents to bridge the gaps in communication, to help them de-escalate and progress in their individual journeys.

OKF now supports over 90 families and professionalises our team. 

February 2022

Ari completes training as an FMA family mediator.

November 2022
Nechama, an NFM family mediator, joins our team.

OKF has now supported over 120 families, with in house mediation now a key addition to our services.

April 2023

With Naomi and Molly, now part of the team, OKF has a strong operations and administrative department to support our ongoing work, growth and development.

May 2023

OKF attends a gett supporting both parents for the first time.

July 2023

OKF together with GETToutUK host our first mums only social event.

Project Kids IN minD is created to offer a space specifically for the children to interact with their peers in similar circumstances. We run our first 2 KIND events.

Our vision is to meet the growing demand — with a 95% rise in registrations in 2024 and over 200 families now seeking access to our mediation, coaching, peer support, therapy, foodbank, and more, we're expanding to keep pace.

May 2024

With the generous support of The Hobson Charity and Morrisons Foundation, we completed construction on our purpose built foodbank hub. This allows us to keep delivering healthy, nourishing meals every weekend to 49 OKF families who need it most.

July 2024 

OKF runs our first crowdfunding campaign successfully raising over £320,000.

October 2024

Our team continued to grow with the exciting addition of Chana and Jair as Divorce Coaches, and Inbar as our Events and Marketing Manager — each bringing their unique expertise, energy, and passion to strengthen and expand our work.

Building on rapid growth, we now support over 160 new families each year, approximately 50% of all gittin in the UK, reflecting our position as a trusted and central support within the community.

Our 9 dedicated staff members, including mediators, divorce coaches, and pastoral and operational leads, allows us to provide consistent support across every area of our work.

April 2025
Launch of OKF’s communication support service (“Postman”), helping parents manage communication through structured, child-focused messaging, reducing conflict and protecting children from being caught in the middle.

July 2025
Launch of the Support for Schools: Teacher Training Programme, alongside the expansion of our educational offering, delivering preventative support, working with parents and schools to reduce the long-term impact of family breakdown on children.

September 2025
Launch of the Legal Guidance Clinic, in partnership with Lloyd Bergen, providing accessible, high-level legal guidance to families who would otherwise struggle to access it, avoiding unnecessary escalation and cost.

November 2025
Launch of the Wohl Separated Parenting Course, supporting parents to improve communication, reduce conflict, and build healthier co-parenting relationships.

A FEW OF OUR

Testimonials