Board of Trustees

I have a passion for the military and medicine, I used to work clinically within the nhs, working in various departments.

I now work out in different communities offering medical support for events.

I am currently working on a programme to help support local secondary schools to provide first aid training, including CPR and how to use an AED. Helping to spread awareness, build knowledge and break down misconceptions and apprehensions some may have about AED’s.

I have a keen interest in fundraising and have worked alongside many charities, fundraising for military charities, mental health, homelessness, food banks and children's charities.

I have been raising awareness and advocating for better mental health care for service personnel/veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders for the last 10 years. I have also worked to break down misconceptions that only men can join the armed forces, emergency services or the trade sectors, by having open and honest conversations about opportunities on offer.

I have a keen interest in education, and a firm believer that knowledge is power. If we can teach young minds to look at all information and encourage their ability to critically analyse and form their own conclusions/solutions to obstacles they may face in life, that is a solid foundation to build from.

I have also enjoyed working with KS2, which prompted me to obtain my teaching level 3 qualification.

I am a partner in the family dairy farm (turnover in excess of £1.8m) and since my graduation, I have worked in the food and drink sector, which included 7 years at Tesco. I am trained and experienced in negotiation, lobbying, marketing, PR, Corporate Social Responsibility and project management. My past roles have also required me to act as media spokesman on TV and radio.

I have been Treasurer for the local pre-school and worked on the bank staff there. More recently I have undertaken the NFU’s Farmers for Schools programme and have attended various High Schools to talk about farming and engineering. For both these roles I have been DBS checked and undergone Safeguarding training. I have been an active member on various boards and committees. I currently sit on the Muller Farmer Board and I am Vice President of Haslington WI, helping to organise various fund-raising projects.

Having been involved in the agricultural sector for much of my life, I am particularly interested in STEM, improving IDE and mental health. I am highly motivated, hard-working and creative. I also enjoy baking and craft projects in my spare time. Last year I ran Gingerbread decorating sessions for Haslington’s Rainbows, Brownies and Guides groups. I have run the London Marathon twice, raising over £6,000 for Heart UK and MND.

Prior to running the Charity, I worked in Children's Services for 15 years, across Social Care, Early Help and Education including Family Support and Learning Mentor. I have good knowledge of how processes work from all sides professionally and personally. I have sat on multi agency boards as a professional but also as a parent representative. We have 5 children/stepchildren spanning the ages of 20-7 years old at a mixture of schools. I am familiar with SEND processes as a parent. One of my daughters attends extracurricular activities at SHS where I meet pupils and even parents and this gives me another point of view of the school.

A big passion is the welfare of students and believe that they deserve the best environment to be educated in. Staff welfare is paramount, if they are not in a good place then they are unable to support our young people and I think that it is important to support all within the school. I am confident to speak up and ask “what about?” questions and challenge something if I feel that it isn’t in the best interests of the Young People.

My background is in the nuclear industry and I have held various Commercial and Director roles over the years. I hope my experiences running a business can help support the Sandbach Highschool and the Board of Trustees. In particular I hope I can support them in the areas of finance and budgeting, leadership, contracts management and operational improvement.

I am passionate about embedding diversity into the engineering business I run. Many of the apprenticeships and graduate schemes we offer are STEM roles, in particular engineering roles. In order to support mixed recruitment of engineers we focus on STEM support in Primary schools, Secondary schools and through work experience. We were also a sponsor of the Women In Nuclear Conference 2023, a conference I regularly attend. I believe the equal opportunities for girls leaving school have never been better and I’d hope I could play a part in supporting this for the school and their futures.