I worked for over 30 years as a Clinical Psychologist in the NHS, spending 25 years in the Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde Psychology Service as part of the Adult Mental Health Team. In 1988 I was pleased to be invited to become a member of the Board of what was then called Catholic Caring Services to Children and Community around the time that the organisation was developing community services and for several years was the trustee who linked with the service for hearing impaired people. It was good to be part of a faith-based agency serving the wider community. Since that time the organisation has grown tremendously and I learned a lot which helped me in both my professional and personal life. Since my retirement from the NHS it has been good to keep my brain active keeping up to date with all that Caritas Care is now doing!

I am a Non Executive Director for a key Lancashire commercial tourist attraction. Prior to this I worked within a range of diverse and senior roles within a major local authority. Having worked within Education, Youth Services and Student Services I specialised for the majority of my career within HR and Learning and Development. I consider that the work of Caritas Care makes a real and tangible difference to people’s lives and life chances and I was delighted to be appointed as a Trustee.

I have worked in HR management and business partner roles for over 10 years across a variety of sectors, including Health and Social care and most recently Education.  I have a good understanding of the funding environment care providers work within and also have some knowledge and experience in the development of personalised services for adults and children – linked into how to develop a skilled and committed workforce to drive quality and innovation forward.

I became a Trustee in 2016 and I am delighted to be part of a value-driven charity that makes a real difference to people’s lives.  Caritas Care offers some amazing services, has a rich history and a strong future.

My current role is Customer Relationship Manager for Abbey ICT following a merger between Genesis IT (which I owned with my business partner) and Abbey Telecom. I have over 20 years’ experience in the IT sector including 10 years of that in management and director roles. The main role of my job is to work with our clients in a technical director role to develop and plan their IT strategies, planning, budgeting etc.

In my previous roles I have worked for large multi-national businesses like EDS and HP, as well as for the Ministry of Defence working in Basra for 2.5 years supporting the military IT systems during the second Gulf war conflict.

I have always prided myself on working with as many charities as possible and following an introduction to Lindsey at Caritas Care, becoming a trustee seemed the next logical step for me to work with another amazing local charity, allowing them to continue the fantastic work they do in the community and beyond.

I worked in social care for 40 years – starting as a residential care worker in the Isle of Man, when I was fresh out of University. I then returned to the mainland to continue this role.

Eventually, I progressed to working for a local authority as a community support worker with children and families, as the emphasis changed to maintaining young people in their families. I eventually ‘took the plunge’ and qualified as a social worker, taking a role in a social work team before moving to a fostering team – the area of work that I really wanted to pursue.

I then worked in various management roles in local authorities before deciding that I needed a change and taking on a Registered Manager role in a north west charity. I very much enjoyed working in the third sector and stayed with the charity for 15 years, experiencing various highs and lows in the fostering work.

In the twilight of my career I opted to work for Caritas Care for a couple of years, looking at potential developmental tasks within the fostering team. My final roles were with the local authority in Blackpool, managing a fostering team before becoming the fostering panel advisor.

I was fortunate to be able to consider retirement but continue to work as a fostering panel member with Blackpool and I have recently applied to be a Trustee with Caritas Care – a role which interested me and one that I had only a little experience of. Fostering and children’s social care have formed the backbone of my experience in my work career and I hope that I can use this experience to benefit Caritas Care – whilst supporting the excellent work currently undertaken by the charity.