Trustees

I joined as a Trustee in 2016, became Vice Chair in 2018 and Chair in 2019.

Having retired as a self-employed technical and management consultant, I was keen to use my knowledge and experience as a volunteer and the trustee role at CAS was a good fit. My main employed roles were with FMCG and Drinks companies in Operations Director positions within manufacturing environments.

I have found the Chair role both challenging and rewarding and am enjoying being part of an excellent board and a wonderful team of CA professionals.

During my career I was a management consultant specializing in business systems implementation and change management in Finance, Procurement and Supply Chain, until my retirement in 2020.  

Since retiring I have volunteered at Southampton City Mission Basics Bank and joined CAS in 2022. I endeavour to be an active Trustee supporting the critically important work of CAS with my expertise in change management and procurement.

In my professional life I am a professor of social policy at the University of Southampton.

I have always wanted to understand why there is inequality in society and what to do about it; my research has focused on how successful the UK and European countries have been at preventing poverty. In 2014 I decided it was time to do something practical for the city I had lived in for many years and therefore became a trustee at Citizens Advice Southampton.  Ever since I have done my best to support the Bureau in the very important contribution it makes to the welfare of Sotonians.

As a Philosopher-in-training at the University of Southampton, I am very curious about social issues and how they are practically addressed, whether through policy or grassroots organisations such as us here at CAS.  This is what drew me to Citizens Advice Southampton, working together with our amazing team who all work together to achieve a noble mission of helping out diverse communities is a rewarding and treasuring experience. It is one that I would recommend for anyone to undertake. 

I am proud to be part of the Citizens Advice Southampton governing body and especially the People Management sub-group.

I had a long career in the NHS, at University Hospitals Southampton NHS Trust, specialising in cardiac nursing. I developed a team of specialist nurses identifying people with heart attacks, requiring time-critical treatment (to reduce mortality and morbidity) and set up a nurse-led Chest Pain Clinic assessing and managing people referred by their GPs. I was responsible for auditing the standard of local care (across primary and secondary care) for heart attack patients, on a national database and chaired quarterly meetings to engage key local stakeholders to improve practice, contributing to and implementing new research.

In CAS we have amazing staff and volunteers focussed on giving the most contemporary advice to make a difference to peoples’ lives. As a Trustee I can continue to use skills in supporting these staff, who are key to the organisations success.

Becoming a trustee felt like a natural progression for me after many years of involvement with Citizens Advice. I have worked in offices across Edinburgh, Surrey, and the New Forest, both as a volunteer and as a paid member of staff. During this time, I have held a range of roles, including adviser, supervisor, specialist debt adviser, and member of the management team.

I am deeply committed to the work of Citizens Advice and very proud to be part of the team in Southampton, which continues to build on this important work while looking ahead to future challenges.