Our trustees serve voluntarily and pro bono; they have particular responsibility for strategy, quality, compliance, governance and oversight of management. They make sure we comply with legislation and all relevant regulations, and are responsible for safeguarding our assets. Finally, they are our advocates and ambassadors.
- Stuart Evans – chair
- Alison Griffiths – honorary treasurer
- Mandy Hill
- David Hipple
- Leanne Leverton
- Christy O’Connell
- Donna Talbot
- Christina Wells.
The trustees comprise the board of directors of Caring Together Charity (Company No. 4379948, Registered Charity No. 1091522), trading as Caring Together.
Individual biographies
Stuart Evans – chair
Stuart became our Chair in 2017, having previously chaired the Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge. In 2015, the hospice won a significant grant from the NHS for service delivery; in late 2016, it opened a new charitably-funded £12m hospice. He was also a board member at the East of England Development Agency, which supported economic development in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and elsewhere. Stuart was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard Business School. He spent his early career at IBM and McKinsey, and then became an entrepreneur and CEO at several start-ups in Cambridge and London. He and his wife Brenda adopted three children as babies, and have deep experience of caring for family members.
“What carers do has never been more important for those they care for, and for the burden they remove from our hard-pressed health and social services. Inexorable demographic trends mean this will continue. Yet being a carer can be challenging and stressful. So it’s a privilege to chair a charity which supports these wonderful people”
Stuart can be contacted at [email protected]
Alison Griffiths – honorary treasurer
Alison brings vast financial and professional expertise spanning 30 years to the board, which she joined in 2016. Alison, a chartered accountant and member of the Institute of Taxation, was a director of taxation in international FTSE 100 groups Inchcape plc and EMAP plc, working on worldwide tax affairs and board governance. She is also a trustee of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation.
“I have so far enjoyed using my financial and project management background to help Caring Together and look forward to providing further support in this area in the future.”
Mandy Hill
Mandy is Managing Director of Academic Publishing at Cambridge University Press & Assessment. CUP&A is a department of the University and shares their mission. Mandy’s team, customers and products span the world, in rapidly changing markets, addressing radical digital transformations
Mandy is also the Champion for Diversity and Inclusivity and chairs the Publishing Ethics Committee.
Before joining Cambridge University Press in 2014, Mandy worked for Oxford University Press for over 15 years. Mandy’s publishing career started at Elsevier and also included a brief period at a medical communications agency.
Outside work Mandy spends much of her time in the garden (which she opened with her husband this year for the National Garden Scheme). She also loves cooking.
David Hipple
David brings considerable financial and general management skills to the charity having spent over 35 years as a chartered accountant, finance director for a number of large and medium-sized groups in both the public and private sector specialising in utilities and infrastructure. These include Anglian Water, Guernsey Electricity, the Department for Transport and EEDA. He brings strong financial and strategic skills to the board.
“I became a trustee as I wanted to help Caring Together respond to the challenges that the increasing demands for care create. This is a major issue for the UK in the 21st century.”
Leanne Leverton
Leanne has over 34 years’ experience of working across the health and social care sector in many different roles including care assistant, nursery nurse, paediatric nurse and specialist community public health nurse (Health Visitor). She currently works as a senior lecturer in health and social care. She has 10 years of practice-based learning and educating experiences focussing on public health and service innovation.
“In my university role I have been developing a carers’ community by engaging both staff and student carers to create a safe space where no carer feels they must mask their identity as a carer while acknowledging that caring looks different for everybody. I am looking forward to sharing my ideas and knowledge from both my professional and personal experiences having been a carer myself for 18 years.”
Christy O’Connell
Christy has over ten years’ experience working in the corporate team at a city law firm. Christy is passionate about the work Caring Together does, and is looking forward to working together.
In her spare time she likes to read fiction, go spinning and walk with her two dogs.
Donna Talbot
Donna is chief executive of Emmaus Cambridge. She joined the Emmaus team in September 2023 following more than a decade at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity. With extensive leadership and management experience, Donna is passionate about people and committed to making a positive difference to individuals and their communities. Donna initially became a Caring Together trustee having witnessed synergy with aspects of the work undertaken by hospices, perhaps unsurprisingly having moved to a homelessness charity Donna has seen first-hand how the responsibilities of caring for loved ones can negatively impact people’s lives and she remains driven to help raise awareness of the incredible and tireless work of unpaid carers.
Christina Wells
Christina has over 25 years’ experience at senior level across the public sector and has a wide range specialist experience particularly within the NHS, but also in the civil service and local government across the East of England. She has held leadership roles on behalf of these organisations for improving services for children, older people, mental health and prison health across the east, but particularly in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk. Christina has special interests in promoting the health and wellbeing of carers, developing carer friendly communities, safeguarding and children’s and young peoples services. She is also an active volunteer with the NSPCC schools service.
“I have huge respect for the wonderful carers in our community and feel passionate about using my skills and expertise to support a charity which focuses on them.”
Committees
The board has established two committees to oversee critical elements of our operations:
- The finance and audit (F&A) committee which is chaired by Alison Griffiths; its other members are Stuart Evans, David Hipple and Donna Talbot. It is supported by our director of finance. View the terms of reference.
- The quality service and delivery (QS&D) committee which is chaired by Christina Wells; its other members are David Hipple, Leanne Leverton and Bertone Santos-Soccoro. It is supported by our director of operations. View the terms of reference.
The terms of reference of these committees are initially approved by the full board and are subsequently kept under regular review. Their meetings are reported back to the full board, and our chief executive, Miriam Martin, routinely attends meetings of both committees.
Join our board of trustees
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