HRH The Princess Royal Our Patron Expand We are very proud that Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, has been the patron of YSS since 2008. The Princess Royal is an active supporter of YSS and has visited us on many occasions speaking at length with service users, volunteers, staff and partners. She has been a keynote speaker at our Transition to Adulthood conference; Mental Health conference, Worcestershire Young Carers conference, our 30 year celebration event in October 2016 and, most recently, at the Remember Veterans conference in Shropshire in 2018.
Lady McFarlane DL Trustee Expand Susanna is a Trustee, following her role as Chair of Trustees from 2007 - 2018, having been a Trustee since 2004. Prior to that she was a YSS Appropriate Adult volunteer. Susanna is a member of the West Mercia Police Vetting Appeals Panel and Disciplinary Appeals Panel. She is also a member of Suckley Church PCC, The Worcester Cathedral Council and a trustee of Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust as well as a school governor. Susanna works part-time at Bromyard Community Hospital as a physiotherapist and is a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Herefordshire.
Ron Whitfield Trustee Expand Ron became a Trustee in September 2016. He was a West Mercia Police Officer for 33 years and served in various roles which took him into all three counties. His final role was as Chief Superintendent, Commander of the former Kidderminster Division. In 2002 Ron established his own company focusing on business change, coaching/mentoring, quality assurance and recruitment/assessment centre processes. He is Lay Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the ICAEW and a Professional Placement Visitor at Aston Business School. He also served as a school governor, in the Kidderminster area, for more than ten years; was a member of the Worcestershire Drug Action Team; a Trustee of Herefordshire & Worcestershire Victim Support; a Trustee of Kemp Hospice, Kidderminster for more than five years, including Chairman of the Board for two and a half years. Ron is currently a Trustee of the Elgar Foundation.
Fiona Charny Trustee Expand Fiona was appointed a trustee in September 2016. She trained as a graduate nurse at the QEH in Birmingham and worked as a Health Visitor in Birmingham and Worcester before becoming an NHS manager in 1990. Fiona worked in various organisations, mainly concerned with Primary Care, and was latterly a Chief Executive of a PCG. After having her fourth child she left the NHS in 2003, and since then has run a business with her husband helping the medical device and pharma industries get their products through the regulatory processes in the UK and Europe. Fiona has been a magistrate for 11 years and sits on the adult and family panels. She is chair of the South Worcestershire Bench. She has chaired the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign since it began in 2007 and, after raising £1.5 million, saw the new unit opened in February this year. She now chairs the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven Charity which provides ongoing support to all breast cancer patients.
Sandra Kelley Lead for GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Expand Sandra became a Trustee in 2013, having been a director and senior manager in both Health and Social Services, working in information and systems programmes for more than 25 years. She worked in Birmingham Social Services from 1985, initially managing the innovative Special Needs Registers which, for the first time recorded, on a computerised system, the needs of all adults with severe learning disabilities and their families and which was extended to include statutory registers for other disability groups. She was later involved in introducing new Community Care legislation. In 1997, she joined the NHS, working in mental health services. In 2003, she became Director of ICT at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust and then Director of Strategic Systems Programmes. She has extensive experience of strategic development, ICT programmes and management, and national contracting and information reporting requirements. Sandra is also a Trustee at Age UK Droitwich Spa.
Nerys Thomas Trustee Expand Nerys became a YSS trustee in June 2018. She is a solicitor specialising in private client law. She studied Law with French both here in the UK and in Lyon, France before completing her legal training with a Worcester based law firm. Prior to training, Nerys worked for a brief period of time with the Wales Probation Trust whilst undertaking a Master’s degree in legal practice. She has also volunteered with the Citizens Advice Bureau as a gateway assessor. In her role as a solicitor, Nerys specialises in wills, administration of trusts and estates, inheritance tax planning and Court of Protection matters. She also advises several charitable trusts and CIOs.
Richard Lethbridge Trustee Expand Richard was appointed a trustee in 2021. He has worked in a not-for-profit financial environment since leaving school in 1983. Richard has worked for the local authorities until 2004 when he moved to the housing sector. He then moved into the education sector in 2015 and returned to the housing sector in 2017. In addition to his professional life in financial management and accounting, Richard volunteered as a board member for a specialist housing association focusing in the support and rehabilitation of offenders where he chaired the Audit & Assurance Committee for approximately two years. Richard believes in supporting organisations who work with disadvantaged members of our society and who provide invaluable support and assistance to individuals who are not afforded the same opportunities in life.
Jared Whitehouse Associate Trustee Expand Jared was appointed an associate trustee at YSS in December 2021. He started his career as a financial adviser and subsequently worked for the financial ombudsman before moving into head office roles. Jared has most recently been Internal Audit Director and now Client Services Director at St. James’s Place Wealth Management with responsibility for the administration back office function across the Group. Previously, Jared worked in compliance for HSBC supporting their Branch Network, Contact Centres and First Direct operations. He has also previously served as the compliance and money laundering officer for SJP, prior to which he had set up their Business Assurance function.
Vicki Davies Trustee Expand Vicki was appointed a trustee in December 2021. She originally trained and worked as a journalist working on national and international newspapers and magazines before moving into PR, marketing and communications. Having worked across a number of sectors including the NHS and police, she was Director of Marketing and Communication at the University of Birmingham. Since then she has run her own consultancy, lectured on a marketing communications at University of Worcester and is currently Director of Internal Communication at National Highways. Vicki is a qualified business and personal coach, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and an Accredited Practitioner and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
Gary Dalton Trustee Expand Gary became a YSS trustee in December 2021. He is a qualified solicitor and currently works in-house as Head of Legal and Compliance at a University. Gary advises on a range of matters including commercial, employment and data protection law. He studied Law and Business Studies at Warwick University and went on to complete his legal studies at the University of Law. Prior qualifying in the legal industry, Gary spent a year working abroad in Spain, in the recruitment industry. Since working in the legal sector, Gary has worked in Dubai on an international secondment. He has worked in both the private and public sector and more recently has specialised within the education sector. Gary won a national LLG Award in 2018 for his contribution to legal services in the Government.
Freddie Alves Associate Trustee Expand Freddie was appointed an associate trustee in December 2021. He initially worked as a scientist, strategic planner and business development manager in the energy industry, after graduating from Durham University and Imperial College, London. His career focus then shifted to capturing the benefits which diversity and inclusive practices bring to organisations and to everyone they serve. He has now worked in this area for 25 years, leading change efforts inside several global organisations and also acting an external consultant. He provides support for the inclusion work at the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust. With a love of outdoor life, he also volunteers at The Fold, an organic care farm near Worcester and helps to manage woodlands near Malvern.