Our Trustees

I am in my second spell as a trustee, and have done five years in total. My roles are Vice Chair and Lead Trustee Covering Service Delivery and Quality.

Tell us about your working background

I have been a performing musician and computer systems programmer. I’ve also worked in software sales and marketing management, and general management, but am now retired.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?

That is for others to judge; I volunteer my time, energy, and commitment.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice?

To benefit the local community.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?

I enjoy music and playing the piano, keeping fit, spending time with family, and local travel.

Tell us about your working background?
I currently work as a Programme Lead for the NHS; working to improve recruitment and retention for the cancer workforce. I have worked in the NHS for just over 3 years, working in project management, strategy, continuous improvement and service development. Prior to this I worked in microbiology and quality management.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?
Throughout my career, I have had the privilege to work with private, public and third sector organisations and have developed a wide network of colleagues across these sectors. Having served positions on a research group board previously, and my work in supporting patient discharge from Frimley Park Hospital, I understand the responsibilities of being a trustee but also the complexities that face the population of Hart.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice?
I strongly believe in working as a system to support the needs of the population, and collaborating across organisations to achieve goals. The values of Citizens Advice align with my own personal values, specifically to continuously improve, promote equality and fairness and to work together. Having grown up within Hart and having immediate family here, it is important to me to support the community in the best way that I can.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?
Outside of my employment and this role, I am keen on keeping fit and am an amateur artist and photographer.

Tell us about your working background
My working life has been in two phases of around 15 years (so far!).  The first half was spent in a large corporate environment where I gradually progressed to senior management roles in HR, Marketing, Sales and Customer Management, both in the UK and overseas. I led through numerous periods of change and developed strong commercial and project management skills.  After my son was born, I needed a more flexible way of working and set up my own consultancy business.  Since then, I have worked with over 70 businesses of varying sizes, acting on an advisory basis, providing support to business leaders on a 1-1 basis or working with wider management teams, developing new approaches and ways of doing things to help them achieve their goals.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?
Overall I am enthusiastic and highly motivated and very much enjoy working with others. I am practical and pragmatic and able to see the bigger picture, with a focus on both the people and task aspects of what needs to be done.  My specific experience in people management, change management and wider business leadership, allow me to play a strong role in supporting the organisation through periods of complexity and change.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice Hart?
As a Business Consultant and Coach, I have extensive experience in dealing with all kinds of organisational and people-related challenges in a huge variety of sectors and was keen to find an opportunity to use my skills and experience to make a wider contribution to the community on a voluntary basis. Citizens Advice Hart particularly appealed to me as a source of advice and practical help to people from all backgrounds.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?
Outside of work, I love travel and watching live sport, often managing to combine both. At home I enjoy yoga, walking the dog and have recently taken up pickleball.

Tell us about your working background?
My career is mainly in marketing, focussing on existing customers although I have spent a few years working in more commercial trading type roles. I have worked across a variety of sectors including Energy, Telecommunications and Financial Services.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?
Along with my marketing and commercial experience I have am a logical thinker and like to make insight and data led decisions. I consider myself a good communicator and a people person who works well collaboratively. I also used to be a parent governor when my children were at primary school and so I have some experience of contributing to a strategic plan and working within a framework.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice?
I have lived in Fleet for 17 years and my husband was born here, as were our children. I wanted to give back something to the local community and honestly couldn’t think of any charity more worthy than Citizens Advice, who help so many people navigate through such difficult times. Also, the values of customer focussed, promoting equity & fairness and value each other really resonated with me.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?
Spending time with my family, travelling to new places and when I have time I enjoy reading a good book. I also try to fit in some exercise now and again!

Joined the board in January 2023.  I look after Business Planning and have recently agreed to oversee Operations.

Tell us about your working background?

My working career was in Oil and Gas, specialising in Liquefied Natural Gas and marketing and trading of natural gas.  Overseas postings included Tunisia and USA and also looked after businesses in Australia, Italy, Trinidad, Northern Ireland and UK.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?

Broad corporate level skills around captial investment and strategy.  Operational experience running a number of oil and gas businesses.  Board level experience from board participation in numerous ventures, including joint ventuees,   Experience dealing with host governments.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice?

Came to CA through volunteering with CA Wokingham as an Adviser, very impressed with the work CA did and wanted to see if my corporate experience could help a local trustee board.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?

Have two grown up boys who now live away, have Just relocated to the country with my wife so enjoying the rural idyll.  Try to keep fit at a local gym, play golf (badly), enjoy walking and read a lot of history.

Tell us about your working background?
I have been in the RAF as an aircraft engineer for the last 21 years and have another 8 years to serve. Undertaking a wide range of roles from instructing to engineering and safety management.

What skills and experience do you bring to the Board?
In a previous volunteering role, I worked alongside the ambulance service responding to front line emergency calls so have seen the outcomes of health inequalities and long-term health conditions. Coupled with my day-to-day work where I have sat on various committees and done a wide range of roles means I am pretty adaptable which is probably my greatest strength.

Why did you decide to become a trustee for Citizens Advice?
My time volunteering with the ambulance service had come to an end and I wanted a role where I could work to head off some of the causes of crisis that I saw on the front line. Citizens Advice fits that description perfectly.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your interests outside of Citizens Advice?
Obviously spending time with my family and dogs in our camper van, alongside racing triathlon (poorly) and generally keeping my self-fit. I also like reading and am currently learning to speak French (terribly)