Helen Michaels – Chair of Trustees
Helen has over 25 years’ experience as a board level adviser and coach, both nationally and internationally for charities, not-for-profits, SME’s and FTSE 100 companies. Specialisms include transformational and cultural change and third sector governance.
Helen graduated with the FT non-executive director diploma, before co-founding Digi-Board delivering online governance and board effectiveness reviews to charities and third sector organisations.
Her experience includes executive roles in Customer Experience, Marketing, HR & Finance (British Airways, Monarch Airlines, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Baker Tilly).
Helen has an Accounting & Financial Analysis degree (Warwick University) and executive diplomas from INSEAD and the Institute for Applied Behavioural Science (USA). She is also an accredited practitioner of several psychometric instruments and a fellow of the RSA.
She is a former charity Trustee and Vice-Chair as well as having coached and mentored individuals in the third sector.
Helen loves to travel, entertain family and friends and an armchair sports enthusiast.
Mark Dickinson BA ACCA – Treasurer
Having graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a Batchelor of Arts in Business Studies, Mark embarked upon a career in accountancy, formally gaining his professional qualification; Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 2014. He commenced employment with Smith Craven Chartered Accountants in 2005 and studied whilst gaining on the job experience. He remains with the same firm today. He has gained board and varied experience over the years, across many facets of Financial Accounting including Audit, Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance and Taxation Law. In his spare time, he enjoys all aspects of sport, being a keen cricketer and golfer. He also has two young sons who keep himself and his wife well occupied!
Matt Stanbury
Following a graduate scheme, Matt has had experience in operations, commercial and more prominently, people roles throughout his career. He has been fortunate enough to work for industry leading organisations such as RB, Greencore, O2 and Wincanton. Currently at Wincanton as a People Partner, Matt supports the EU Transition for a government body at several sites across the UK. His key experiences are around talent, organisational design and development to ensure that people have the possible best experience and greatest chance of success and development at work. Matt has a degree in Psychology, 2 Masters – one in Employment Law and one in Human Resource Management – and is currently studying for an Exec MBA.
Dave Watson
Dave has a wealth of experience in the voluntary sector and a specialist interest in mental health. His career has involved working in strategic management to support the health and wellbeing of beneficiaries through a NHS linked charity. Dave has a keen interest in green prescribing and has been involved in work with All Party Parliamentary Groups as part of a test site in South Yorkshire.
In his spare time he enjoys going to the gym and spending time with his dogs Burt and Daisy.
Juliet Ellis
Juliet started her career in the fashion industry but switched over to the voluntary sector quite early on, and since then has raised millions of pounds for UK charities.
Juliet’s consultancy – Catalyst Fundraising – specialises in achieving income growth by offering charities of all shapes and sizes a mix of both strategic and operational support, particularly – but not exclusively – in the area of mass participation and challenge events. In addition, she chairs the London and South East region of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, which aspires to help professional fundraisers achieve excellence through a range of training, mentoring and networking initiatives. She is also a Non-Executive Director for a coaching and mentoring social enterprise.
In her spare time Juliet enjoys travel, socialising, and is a not-so-secret puzzle geek.
Dr Desaline Joseph
Desaline is a Consultant in Paediatric Sleep Medicine. She is a national expert in childhood and adolescent sleep disorders (one of 5 paediatric consultants in the country). She runs a tertiary sleep service, which aims to support paediatric consultants and CAMHS psychiatrists in assessment and management of children and young people with complex, rare and refractory sleep conditions. Her research includes her examining babies sleep rhythms by recording their body temperature patterns, the day-night production of hormones critical to sleep and rhythm development (melatonin and cortisol) and clock genes.
She is passionate about education and supporting professionals in their personal growth and is instrumental in shaping sleep education across the UK. She gives regular lectures and sits on various committees.
Desaline enjoys travel, spending time with her family, singing in a gospel choir and running a puppet team. She is also passionate about supporting the personal development of young people and seeing individuals thrive in their academic and education journey.
Ian Howes
Ian is a Supply Chain leader with over 25 years’ experience in Supply Chain & Logistics. He has delivered major change through leadership of both Retail, Digital and Operational transformation programmes. Relishing the challenge of developing and implementing Supply Chain & Logistics Strategies, he has a passion for supporting the growth of others as part of his passion for growing and developing progressive teams to deliver sustainable results across the organisation.
Ian has previously worked for Argos, where he led the delivery of key elements of their overall business strategy in a highly cross-functional environment. This has been fundamental to the transformation of the business into a Digital Retail Leader. Prior to that he spent 15 years with DHL, working with manufacturers and retailers in operational and account leadership roles.
For the last two years he has been in the role of Director of Logistics and Fulfilment for Sainsburys and Argos, where he has led the transformation of the Network, step changes in service and colleague engagements whilst resetting the commercial relationship with Strategic Partners.