Chair of Trustees - Geoff Hope-Terry Expand Chair of the Trustees - Geoff Hope-Terry Background I am a qualified accountant and worked for a wide range of organisations, both in the private and public sector. I was fortunate enough to retire in 2006 after a stint as Finance Director at the University of Manchester, where we successfully undertook the largest merger that Higher Education has ever seen, when UMIST joined with Manchester. Since retiring I have been a Member of a number of Boards, including the Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, the Weaver Valley Partnership (Regeneration) Board, and the Mid Cheshire FE College, as well as some private sector companies. I was appointed as a Trustee of Citizens Advice Cheshire West in June 2016 and was very pleased to take over as the Chair of the Board in July 2017. My role and what's important to me As a Trustee we are responsible for ensuring the organisation takes decisions based on sound and timely data and that there is an appropriate strategy in place, with Key Indicators to monitor the achievement of its goals. As the Chair, I have the additional responsibilities of ensuring the Board Meetings are run effectively and that Trustees receive appropriate Training & Development. I also have a representational role in respect of community or public events and in our relationships with funders, especially where negotiations are concerned. Finally, I am responsible for supporting and supervising the CEO. I was immensely proud to become Chair of this excellent organisation which provides an outstanding service to those in need. It is most important, to me, that we develop plans and find the necessary resources to continue our great work, for the benefit of the residents of Cheshire West. My hobbies and interests We are lucky to live in a lovely part of rural Cheshire and my wife and I like nothing better than enjoying country walks with our dog. When the weather is not so favourable, I enjoy writing and have a long-held ambition to be an author. So far I have had 2 articles published nationally, which isn’t a bad start. I gave up most sporting activities long ago, unless you count the occasional pub quiz, and I’m pleased to say that my work on various Boards still fires me with enthusiasm. I describe them as Retirement Jobs, but my wife prefers the phrase “Differently Occupied”.
Vice Chair - Gilly Conway Expand Vice Chair - Gilly Conway Background I am a freelance management consultant with specialist interests and experience in strategy development, corporate governance and risk management. I am MBA qualified and have a particularly broad skill-set developed over a varied career spanning more than 20 years in managerial positions within the private and public sectors. I have managed a broad range of corporate functions and delivered many change and improvement projects. Over the past seven years I have specialised in providing consultancy services predominantly for public sector and not-for-profits, helping organisations evaluate and improve their ways of working. I offer coaching for all levels of management, including group work through action learning facilitation. I am an Associate of NHS Providers, delivering risk management training as part of their Board Development Programme. My role and what's important to me I have a particular interest in the not-for-profit sector and carried out a depth case study around CACW for my MBA dissertation. I was keen to carry on my involvement by volunteering and I jumped at the chance to become a Trustee in 2017. I was made Vice Chair in 2019 and I am excited to offer my skills and expertise to help and support the CACW team develop its services for the future and further the charitable aims of the organisation. The services offered are so important and I am passionate about ensuring they remain relevant and useful for generation to come. My hobbies and interests I love being mum to my incredible three year old and my family is well fed as I enjoy creating delicious nutritious meals. When I have time for myself I get absorbed in growing decorative and edible plants in the garden, hill walking, (gentle) running, tai chi and yoga. My other interests include theatre, music and literature.
Treasurer - Mike Snape Expand Treasurer - Mike Snape Background I have lived in Winsford for forty years and have studied and worked locally throughout that time. I have been married to Michelle since 2001 and we both work as accountants at Bennett Brooks in Northwich, where I am an Associate Director and head up the Small Business Team. This role enables me to work with many local business owners and deal with them on a face to face basis. My role and what's important to me My role as trustee is to help the charity meet the needs of its beneficiaries and ensuring that it meets its legal and administrative obligations. As treasurer, I am tasked with overseeing the finances of the charity, ensuring that our accounts are compliant, monitoring budgets and cash flows and making sure that we are financially secure. As a local resident, this is an extremely important role for me and it is rewarding to see that the charity makes such a vital impact in West Cheshire. My hobbies and interests I am a huge lover of rock music, try and attend gigs whenever possible and have been fortunate to see some of the biggest global rock stars. I enjoy playing the electric guitar and still have lessons in Northwich every Monday evening. In what little spare time I have, I also enjoy photography and walking my Golden Retriever, Benson.
Andrea J Dodds Expand Andrea J Dodds Background Since starting my marketing career at Unilever, I have spent more than 27 years building and leading marketing teams all over the world. Most recently I have been fortunate to work at Colgate and Dechra Pharmaceuticals, following my passion to improve the health of people and their pets. Living abroad I have experienced how difficult it can be to navigate life in a country other than your own, when not understanding the processes or not speaking the language well. I was delighted to be appointed to the Trustee Board in October 2019 at a time when the organisation is exploring many new ideas how to provide even better service to those who need it most. My role and what’s important to me Together with the Chair and my fellow Trustees, I am helping to ensure business priorities and plans as well as advice quality and finances are sustainable. With my marketing background I am also especially interested in any communication Citizens Advice Cheshire West has with clients, external contacts and the organisation’s volunteers and employees.I am immensely proud to be part of this great team and seeing the fantastic volunteers and staff give such a wide range of high-quality advice, making sure nobody needs to face tough challenges alone. My hobbies and interests My husband and I enjoy experiencing different cultures, places and their food. We have recently moved to Mid Wales and spend a lot of time and muscle restoring a large field and orchard into a beautiful wildlife area. Our cats Mika and Kimi are enjoying their countryside retirement after 6 overseas moves and are getting on well with the sheep and pheasant neighbours.
Dr Max Griffiths Expand Dr Max Griffiths Background After starting my career in the University and Public Sector, I have worked in Financial Services and Utilities for over 20 years; leading analytical teams to develop strategies preventing customers getting into debt and helping them out of debt as quickly as possible. During that time, I have seen the invaluable support and help Citizens Advice are able to provide to their clients. I was delighted to be appointed to the Trustee Board in June 2016 and have been very proud to support the work of the charity in helping the local community. My role and what's important to me The Trustee Board are responsible for overseeing the work of the charity, ensuring it meets its aims and delivers for the needs of its clients. We are there to support the leadership team, ensuring that the organisation is being well managed and operating within agreed policies, the law and its budget. I value the difference we make to people’s lives. My hobbies and interests I have lived in Cheshire since 2007 with my family; my wife, Marie, and children, Joel and Lucy. Outside of work, I run a taxi firm that specialises in driving Joel and Lucy to their sporting events! When I have some free time, I enjoy walking and cycling in the fantastic countryside we have in the region, allowing me to feel less guilty when enjoying a curry.
Bev Spicer Expand Bev Spicer Background Born in Birkenhead, I moved deeper into Cheshire in 1974 to take up a job through Cheshire County Council’s graduate recruitment scheme. In that role as one of five new Consumer Advisory Officers with the Trading Standards Department tasked with delivering and developing the Council’s new Consumer Advice Service, and in my subsequent job roles with the Benefits Agency as Adjudication Officer, section supervisor and District Information Officer, and with CAB in Cheshire West as Senior Mental Health Advocate, I gained a huge amount of experience in the fields of information and advice provision and of delivering and developing services in the public and third sectors throughout Cheshire. Whilst at the Benefits Agency I worked collaboratively with Crewe and Nantwich CAB on a year long major benefits advice project and was asked to join their Management Committee, which I did for 5 years, gaining a good knowledge of the Citizens Advice Service. Working as an Advocate for Vale Royal CAB and being there when we merged in 2009 to become Cheshire West CAB ( now CACW) was a great time for me. Initially providing a full Citizens Advice service and general advocacy to clients with mental health problems, by home visit, at outreach venues and CAB offices, subsequently expanding to incorporate the new statutory advocacy duties that had been created under the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Acts, brought me into contact with thousands of clients and many service providers in Cheshire West - third sector and public sector. This has enabled me to feel I know almost every inch of Cheshire West and has given me a deep understanding of the areas of work carried out by CACW and the unique and crucial role it plays in our community. My role and what's important to me Having previously been a proud and happy employee of CACW for 16 years, I have a lot of affection for the organisation and remain passionate about its aims, principles, values and ethics. I am absolutely delighted to be appointed to the Trustee Board. As trustees we oversee and are ultimately accountable for the activities of CACW, ensuring it meets its aims effectively and sustainably. It is important to me that every member of the workforce (paid and volunteers) feels supported and valued in their roles as they continue to provide a great service to the local community. My hobbies and interests I very much enjoy keep fit classes - currently Zumba, Clubbercise and Pilates - it is good music and good fun! I like keeping up with current events, news and politics. I enjoy reading the odd crime novel - Linwood Barclay is keeping me glued at the moment. I love spending time socialising with family and with friends. I’ve been married to John for over 40 years and we have two wonderful children - Mike and Katie.
Erica Morriss Expand Erica Morriss Background Recently retired from a full time Corporate Relationship Banking career spanning 34 years with RBS/NatWest Group which provided valuable experience across many areas such as strategic thinking, digital transformation, enhancing customer service and people development. I am also a Board member for Healthwatch Cheshire and will divide my time between the two volunteer roles to support the aims of both organisations to positively impact Cheshire citizens. I am absolutely thrilled to be a recent addition to the CACW Trustees and I look forward to meeting the volunteers and the Team over the coming months. My role and what's important to me As a trustee along with the other members of the Board, I am accountable to ensure the Citizen Advice Cheshire West has a robust strategy in place, governance is adhered to and that we continue to strive to offer the best service possible to our local clients. We are in a time of great technological change and I am very keen to see how we can build on our strengths to provide advisory services to the clients that need it, in the most accessible channels. My hobbies and interests High Intensity training - its hard but over in 25 mins. Dog walking with my retirement and Xmas present puppy. Drinking fine wine and food, hence the training above.