Board of Trustees

BCC is overseen by a board of trustees who are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the charity and for legal and financial oversight and compliance.

Collectively they bring skills and experience in strategic planning, finance, legal matters, arts and crafts, governance, fundraising and are members of the community. This breadth of knowledge and skills help to steer BCC both now and into the future.

Our Vision

Our vision is for everyone in the community of Boroughbridge and District to be connected, included, and supported.

Our Mission

Our mission is to:

Provide community support in response to identified needs
Promote social inclusion
Encourage and facilitate voluntary activity
Encourage partnership working
Advocate for change by being an active voice within the community

Our Values

The guiding principles and core beliefs that govern the way we work include:

Pro-activity and responsiveness
Inclusivity
Accountability
Respectfulness
Kindness and compassion

Download our Strategic Plan for 2023-26 here

Download our latest annual report and accounts here

Our current Board of Trustees is comprised of the following members

I initially started training in accountancy, then joined the civil service rising to Area Manager, Tyne & Wear Manpower Services Commission. From there, I took the role of Chief Executive of Sunderland City Training & Enterprise Council, Business Link and Business & Innovation Centre.

For the following 6 years I worked as an assessor internationally for the Investors in People Standard. I was appointed as a non-executive director in the NHS which included 7 years as Chair of Northumberland, Tyne & Wear Foundation Trust and 7 years as Chair of Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals Trust. I am still a non-executive director with Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys Foundation Trust and was awarded the MBE in 1999 for services to training, particularly for those with special needs.

My career has centred around providing high level administrative support and personal assistance to Chief Executive Officers in a variety of organisations, which also involved managing admin/front of house teams. For the latter 10 years of my career I worked for a large charity and one of my responsibilities was to act as secretary to the Board of Trustees, so I have attained a broad knowledge of charitable administration. In my volunteering life I have undertaken a range of voluntary roles which have included parish council clerk, youth work, women’s refuge and fostering young children.

Having now retired, I am embracing my role as trustee and treasurer for BCC.

I qualified as an accountant 33 years ago and have worked in industry and logistics in the UK until my early “retirement” in 2015. Although my most recent work experience was building and then selling a global chemical logistics business and serving as a Chief Financial Officer, I have enjoyed revisiting some of my early professional training and applying my ancient knowledge of double-entry bookkeeping in my role as Treasurer, both for BCC and for the library for the last 6 years.

I grew up in Harrogate and have lived and worked in the North of England all my life and, for the last 30 years, in Upper Dunsforth 5 miles south of Boroughbridge. I look forward to being able to support the community as bus driver, librarian and BCC trustee for years to come.

I practised as a solicitor in a small firm with offices in Boroughbridge and Wetherby for 13 years, after which I continued as a locum solicitor for a further 7 years, specialising in property law, wills, and the administration of estates. I have been a lecturer in Higher Education for 18 years, teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level. I am currently the Acting Course Lead for the LLM in Legal Practice and Acting Director of Professional Practice at York St John University.

I am heavily involved in the YSJ Law Clinic which offers free legal advice and assistance to members of the public in York and surrounding areas.

I spent 38 years in the Fire and Rescue Service starting my career here in Boroughbridge as a retained firefighter. I then went on to work across many fire stations within the county and also as an instructor at the Training Centre before moving into management. My last 5 years were served as a strategic manager and I held the roles of Deputy Chief Fire Officer and Interim Chief Fire Officer.

I was raised in Aldborough, and have always lived locally in the Boroughbridge area, currently in Marton Cum Grafton.

I look forward to helping the Boroughbridge Community Charity as both trustee and volunteer driver in the future.

I was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and have lived in Kirby Hill since 1998.

I spent my working life in the food industry, starting as a food technologist and ending my career as Managing director of France, Middle East and Africa for an international equipment supplier based in Paris.

I am a Trustee with a charity called Haemochromatosis.

I have volunteered for BCC as a car driver since 2018 and I am pleased to now join the Board of Trustees.

I was born in the Midlands but moved up to Yorkshire when I met my husband. We have lived in Whixley for over 20 years. Originally working as a commercial solicitor in Manchester and then York, I chose a new direction after having children, managing the sale of accountancy practices. I continue to work in this area, albeit on a part time basis.

I have worked with a number of charities on a voluntary basis, including BCC, as a volunteer driver and took on the position of secretary to the Board of Trustees in September 2024.