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.
David Chantler OBE Chair of Trustees Expand David was appointed Chair in November 2018, having previously served as a trustee since April 2015 following his early retirement from the probation service. He was the longest serving Chief Probation Officer in the country, and had been chief in West Mercia from its formation in 2001 until its closure in 2014. David was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to probation and in particular its partnership working. David was also Chair of Vestia Community Trust, the community development arm of a local housing association and a Trustee of Care Farming UK.
Ian Richards Vice Chair and Lead for Finance and Lead for Audit and Risk sub-committee Expand Ian has been a YSS Trustee since 2010. A chartered accountant from Birmingham, Ian has spent most of his career at a senior level in small and medium sized businesses and latterly as a self-employed interim manager. He is also an associate of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, being fluent in French, German and Spanish. He is the treasurer and a trustee of ABplus, a charity in Birmingham that supports people living with HIV and AIDS. He is a governor of Bournville College Birmingham, a general FE college, where he chairs the audit committee, and is also vice chair of the board and chair of the finance committee of Queen Alexandra College Birmingham, a specialist college for young people over the age of 16 with special needs. Ian takes a Trustee lead on Finance.
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 Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for the Appointment of Magistrates in West Mercia. 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.
Graham Brotherton Lead for Safeguarding Expand Graham became a Trustee in September 2016. Head of Working with Children Young People and Families at Newman University in Birmingham, his background is in the voluntary and statutory sectors in both social care and supported housing, and subsequently in both further and higher education. Graham has written and edited a number of books on working with children and young people, health and social care and has particular interests in safeguarding, domestic violence and working with parents.
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.
Helen Barker Lead for Trustee Recruitment Expand Helen became a YSS Trustee in November 2013. She trained and worked as a paediatric nurse at Westminster Children’s Hospital until leaving to raise a family. Helen was a volunteer with the Red Cross in Buckinghamshire for 10 years; joined the Beaconsfield Bench in 1990 and became a Youth Court magistrate shortly after. She has completed 22 years in various roles, having transferred to Herefordshire in 2000, and retired from the Bench after completing three years as Chairman. She has been a governor of a local primary school for ten years, six of those years as Chairman. Helen was appointed to the Police and Crime panel as an independent lay member and serves on one of the scrutiny panels within the PCP.
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.