Meet Our Team

Lee Firetto

BSc (Hons) Media & an MBA Business Administration

Managing Director

I understand the young people here; I have had my own struggles as a young person, and I remember what it feels like to be completely detached from society. Six years ago, I acquired a little nine-bedroom B&B. I soon recognised the high demand for accommodation and grew quickly, purchasing, building and developing a portfolio of three B&Bs. Now with 50 rooms and a large collection of serviced apartments, I want The Beehive Project to be a positive support network that offers real opportunities. I consider all the young people that pass through our service to be part of my extended family. I want to be a role model for them; I work hard, and my hospitality venues are successful. If I can share some of my success with them and help them achieve success of their own, then I will feel that I have achieved my goal in supporting them.

Kev Lillington

Level 7 in Health & Social Care Management and NVQ Assessor

Director of Services, Responsible Individual (CQC)

After a successful 23-year career in the HM Forces, I took a change in direction to follow my passion for helping those who may be less fortunate than myself. I have always had a calm, caring nature about me to separate any displaying behaviours from a child or young adult. I have always known what I needed to do to help but did not know the reasoning behind it until I started to work within childcare settings.

I have been working with vulnerable people for nearly ten years now, allowing me to manage registered and non-registered services. These include children's residential homes and 16 Plus, semi-Independent living services. In addition, I have also successfully managed an adult drug and alcohol recovery service within Hampshire.

These different settings have allowed me to see the wants, needs, and challenges of those who find themselves within the care system. It has also allowed me to understand different strategies in the throughput from Residential Children's homes through to Independence and beyond. It has also shown me what lack of specialist, tailored resources there are and why The Beehive Project's ethos and values are so important.

The team at The Beehive Project all invest in these values and ethos and have the passion to genuinely wanting to make a difference, accepting failure, reducing guilt and shame and helping all our young adults reach their full potential.

Dr Melanie J. Ashleigh BSc PhD

ACC/BACP Registered

In House Counselor

My aim in wanting to help young vulnerable adults is to give them hope for the future. Those who have experienced any kind of loss whether through parenting/abuse/neglect/trauma, may need assistance to understand that these things don’t have to define who they are. I aim to help young adults to realise that although they cannot change their past, there is always hope for actualising their full potential in life now and for the future.

I have a counselling Diploma, which is accredited by the Open College Network (OCN) and the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC). I am also registered with the British Association of Counselling Practitioners (BACP).  I utilise an integrated approach, adopting models such as Egan’s Skilled Helper, Personal Construct Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and the Adapted Crabb Christian counselling model, although I also offer other models of psychotherapy, depending upon the issues to be resolved and the perspective and world view of the client.

Niparat (Nan) Stewart

Hotel Management and Tourism Degree

General Manager

After finishing a degree in Hotel management and tourism in Thailand, Nan spent several years managing hotels and restaurants across South East Asia. Moving to the UK in 2003 she continued her career, managing a large hotel and nightclub in the Midlands for a number of years before taking on the general manager role across our portfolio of B&B’s in central Southampton, owned and operated by The Beehive Projects' Director Lee Firetto.

Nan provides the link between both organisations. Many of our Young People positioned in The Beehive Project are offered work experience, leading to part time jobs across various roles in our sister company, from maintenance, to receptionist, to housekeeping. Nan is tolerant of their attendance and work ethic as often our young people need more than one chance to develop the correct mentality to manage a job.

Alongside running three B&B’s and supporting our Young People Nan is also raising two children single hand-idly … How she finds the time we will never know!

Rhiannon Woolford

Law LLB Hon's

Deputy Manager

I recognise that looked-after and vulnerable young people often have difficulty finding appropriate accommodation and support in order to prepare for independence and the move into adulthood. I had my own challenges as a teenager, therefore I know how easy it can be to fall into a path that is not positive or beneficial. This is why I feel this organisation is so important, and why I want to be a part of it. I am not too far off the age of some of the young adults here, which I feel makes me approachable. I can at times relate to their situation, meaning I can help them focus on opportunities. I graduated in 2019 with a 1st in Law at Solent University, where Child and Family Law were of a great interest to me. I try to encourage our young people to go back into education and help them with that process, as well as enabling them to get into work if further education isn’t for them.

Gabriela Cristea

Level 6 Business and Healthcare Management

Quality and Compliance Manager

My formal background is in Hospitality Management, but I discovered my passion for Healthcare three years ago when I entered the industry. I specialised in policies and procedures, ensuring that our service users received the highest quality of care. 
At the moment, I’m undertaking my BSc in Business and Healthcare management. My personal goal is to have a positive impact on the life of every individual I come across. At The Beehive Project, I feel I have been given a chance to act on this. 
The support system we build around our young people is the living proof of our hard work and dedication as a team, and I’m proud to be involved in this unique process! 

Kylie Clarke

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childrens Care

Deputy Manager

I have worked with vulnerable adults and children for over 10 years, including working with victims of human trafficking, drug and alcohol misuse, challenging behaviour, children’s residential and 16+.

I had always wanted to work with children and young people in care having grown up in care myself.  I was a young person who displayed challenging behaviours and was moved from placement to placement. My experience in the care system led me down a dark path, and I decided in my early 20’s to change that and use my experience to help and support others that are going down the same path.

16 + is a very grey area for those in care or leaving care; my experience within residential showed me that there is a lack of support for those young people and the majority move on to unsuitable accommodation. I believe this is why The Beehive Project is so important with what they do, they provide safe and supported accommodation for young people, ensuring they are given what they need in order to live a successful life.