Annual General Meeting

Why I’d like to become a member of the board 

I believe I can harness, for the benefit of DWT, my lifelong interest in wildlife conservation and the local environment with the knowledge, experience and insight I have amassed from my career. I am currently in a position to commit the time, energy and focus required of the post.

What will you contribute to the charity main skills, knowledge and experience?

I have been a Trust member since moving to County Durham in 1980.

After qualifying in town planning and initial postings in local government, the majority of my career has been in the housebuilding sector, mostly at Board level as Land Director with both national and regional companies. Alongside the more strategic and corporate role of Board Member, my departmental responsibilities included the identification and procurement of a revolving programme of development land, resolving all legal, planning, infrastructure and other pre-development issues, to demanding timescales and budgetary constraints.

Latterly, I have been a board member of a housing association, providing guidance for their development programmes and most recently have been working in the Land and Property team at Durham County Council, engaged primarily on asset disposals and masterplanning. 

In terms of my potential contribution to the DWT Board, I have an extensive understanding of much of the Trust’s operational environment, including the planning system, the land market, site appraisal and acquisition, property valuation, risk management, marketing and business strategy. I have a very good knowledge of the County Durham’s physical and social characteristics, areas of ecological diversity, political and administrative structure, statutory constraints and key stakeholders.

I also have practical experience of volunteering with DWT and other environmental bodies and an understanding of project mobilisation and its many challenges to be overcome.

I am used to working constructively within a team structure, am in good health and retain my enthusiasm for a new challenge.

Explain which part of the Trust’s work you feel you are best able to support as a Board member. 

I consider my personal strengths can best be employed in helping the Trust address the various issues encountered in organising nature restoration projects, managing and expanding the Trust’s portfolio of reserves, resolving legal and land agency matters and overseeing the effective delivery of its other specialist services.

Explain what you hope to achieve as a Board member at Durham Wildlife Trust. 

I believe I can meaningfully add to the pool of knowledge and expertise of the existing Board and assist in the task of setting and delivering future strategic objectives in an increasingly challenging environment.

Why I’d like to become a member of the board 

I have completed four years as a Trustee and seek re-election for another term. I am an active, motivated, and committed Trustee. I have made significant contributions to areas such as governance, safeguarding, first aid and volunteering. I have much more to give to these and other workstreams.

What will you contribute to the charity main skills, knowledge and experience?

I am a retired senior manager and nurse with a career of over thirty years in the NHS. I have considerable experience, skills and knowledge that enable me to perform my statutory obligation as a Trustee to hold the management team to account in all areas of its performance. My roles in NHS hospitals have given me in-depth knowledge of governance structures, strategic planning, risk management, financial and business management, HR processes and managing people. For example, I was responsible for demonstrating compliance with policy through rigorous governance protocol including audit; managing risk across all aspects of service provision; delivering budgetary balance for a considerable budget; delivering strategic outcomes for regional health services. I consider myself approachable and able to work well as a team member. I understand the need for compromise, debate and consensus. I am confident, articulate and able to challenge the decision making process appropriately. As joint safeguarding lead in my senior nurse role I have specialised knowledge in this area. Since being a Trustee I have qualified in level 3 safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. As a reserves volunteer I have specific insight into the role and importance of volunteering to the organisation. I also have relevant skills gained as an elected governor of two local hospital Trusts. In addition I was Chair of a UK wide nursing organisation which influenced policy at a national level. I am able to bring a wide and varied perspective to the Board of Trustees.

Explain which part of the Trust’s work you feel you are best able to support as a Board member. 

Although I am a keen birdwatcher and love the outdoors, that is not my area of expertise. I am best able to support the Trust through my operational knowledge of organisations. The Trust needs to perform well in all areas of it's activity. This is underpinned by robust governance, policies and procedures, risk management, financial and business planning. I bring insight into the role of the volunteer team in supporting the Trust to deliver it's vision. Nature and being outdoors plays an important role in maintaining good mental health. It is in these areas I can support the Trust.

Explain what you hope to achieve as a Board member at Durham Wildlife Trust. 

I have made a positive contribution to the Trust. I have consistent attendance at Board meetings and I'm always well prepared for them. I'm a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. I have worked with the management team to update our governance protocol, written an Audit Policy and assisted in establishing an audit programme. I'm Trustee lead for safeguarding and work with the national team on policy and procedure. I have advised on first aid and written a draft policy. I'm a weekly taskforce volunteer and liaise with the management team to improve the volunteer experience.

Why I’d like to become a member of the board 

I would like to help support those who work for the trust because I have a love for the environment and believe that we should be empowering our local communities to protect and conserve wildlife. I have previous Board experience and would like to contribute positively to help the charity achieve their aims and objectives.

What will you contribute to the charity main skills, knowledge and experience?

My career background is in Adult Nursing. I have worked within the NHS and the Private sector delivering care and commissioning services. My main skills lie within Governance Management. I have previous board experience from when I was a CEO at a charity Hospice. I have limited wildlife and conservation knowledge however I am keen to expand upon this so that I can positively encourage and influence my local community/network of important matters in relation to wildlife and conservation.
Being a nurse, you have to be good with people and one of my skills is being able to engage with people, communicate and build relationships.

Explain which part of the Trust’s work you feel you are best able to support as a Board member. 

I feel I would be best places in supporting in areas such as people engagement, education and communications. I am confident with HR matters. I am keen to participate/support in Nature restoration.

Explain what you hope to achieve as a Board member at Durham Wildlife Trust. 

I would like to contribute to the charity achieving their aims and objectives and to be able to see how this translates within the local area. On a personal level, I don’t have a particular personal aim other than to feel good about doing what is necessary and right for our local environment.

Why I’d like to become a member of the board 

Born in Norfolk and having lived in County Durham for over 30 years I’ve been fortunate to have outstanding natural beauty and wildlife on my doorstep all my life. As a Board member I can help build awareness and public engagement to maintain and improve this for future generations.

What will you contribute to the charity main skills, knowledge and experience?

My contribution, like all trustees, will be the passion and energy that I will bring to any of the Trust’s work that I’m involved with. As an experienced senior leader, (I’ve held senior roles in the Departments of Education and Health and am currently Director of Digital, Data and Technology for the UK’s biggest Care Home provider.) I’m used to helping create and translate strategy into deliverable work, bringing specialist skills around operational and programme management along with expertise in the use of technology to drive engagement and service delivery.
I’m Chair of the Parish Council team at Bishop Middleham (I’ve been a Councillor for ten years) and am a County Durham Association Executive member representing four local Councils. I’m also a trustee for the Brightwater Landscape Partnership and the Castle Lake Conservation Group, meaning I’m experienced in working within the sector and also as part of diverse volunteer teams; managing high interest, sometimes controversial issues and being an engaging, confident communicator. All of this I believe will be of benefit to the Trust.
More broadly I have access to a wide professional and social network of local and national business and government figures whose knowledge and experience I can tap into to support our work.

Explain which part of the Trust’s work you feel you are best able to support as a Board member. 

I believe I would be of most value to the Trust in supporting broad operational delivery oversight and more specifically with communication, engagement and educational initiatives. One of today’s biggest challenges is getting peoples’ attention and creating active, meaningful engagement. The use of technology such as digital communications and social media will be critical to maintaining awareness of our work and securing the support of those who will be our next generation members. The Trust is doing some good work in this area which I can help in developing further.

Explain what you hope to achieve as a Board member at Durham Wildlife Trust. 

As a Board member I hope to help the Trust specifically achieve three of its core aims: I’ll act as an advocate for wildlife helping to influence local and national government and wider society. I will support our work in educating people and organisations about the importance and value of wildlife, encouraging them to take action to restore species and habitats and to support the work of DWT by becoming members and supporters whilst also helping to engage our members, supporters, partners and wider society in the restoration that important restoration effort.

Why I’d like to become a member of the board 

I would like to be a member of the board to use my skill set to assist in the continued running and development of the trust and help it continue its mission to manage and develop spaces such as Rainton Meadows.

What will you contribute to the charity main skills, knowledge and experience?

Coming from the business world I would bring in a varied skill set developed over years of running my own business and developing products from concept to market. Primarily organisational and management skills as well as a great experience in project management large- and small-scale projects. With developing products I have a keen knowledge of brand development and marketing to wide and targeted audiences. Having worked and volunteered for charities in the past I also have experience in delivering and working in a variety of events designed around engagement, fundraising etc. Being closely connected with the wider business networks within the North East I would be able to engage and build awareness about the trust to the greater business community.  

Explain which part of the Trust’s work you feel you are best able to support as a Board member. 

From previous experience I feel I would be able to support the trust in brand awareness and engagement as I have experience in this from my company and have run many successful events in the past. From my experience volunteering and working with other charities I have been involved in various fundraising events and activities and I am more than happy to assist the trust in any way that they deem suitable such as recently volunteering as a marshal at the Run Rainton event.  

Explain what you hope to achieve as a Board member at Durham Wildlife Trust. 

I would hope to achieve as a board member the continued and further development of the trust to continue the great work they do. I also wish to use my skill sets and develop new skills and experiences while working with others who share an interest in the work the trust does.