How our organisation is run
We are governed by a Board of Trustees who are responsible for directing how we as a charity are run, helping to ensure sure we are achieving what we set out to accomplish as part of our mission, and deciding future plans for the charity. Our Trustees are an integral part of our charity as they ensure we strive for best practice through regular visits to all our services, attend Board and Committee meetings to share their specialist knowledge, and review our policies and procedures to ensure we are functioning within the legal and financial requirements of a charity.
The YOU Group Board meets five times a year to undertake the business of the charity. We also have several Committees to specifically focus on different aspects of the charity’s work. The Committees include:
- Group Trust Executive Committee
- Group Remuneration Committee
- Group Finance and Commercial Committee
- Group Organisational Development Committee
- Quality Assurance Committee
Trustees
Derek Marshall
Chair of the Board
Derek Marshall, Chair of the Board
‘I applied to join the Board of You because I thought I could use some of my skills to support a terrific local charity which does so much to support people going through difficult times'
Derek is a barrister and the retired Head of College Chambers in Southampton. He is an Arbitrator, Civil Dispute Mediator and sits as the Chair of Police Misconduct Panels. Derek is also a trustee of MDRCollab, a medical/epidemiological charity.
Edward O. Vera-Cruz
Finance Committee
Edward O. Vera-Cruz, Finance Committee
Edward is a commercial solicitor and adviser with over 30 years legal, commercial, and strategic sourcing expertise across private practice, the public sector, and public utilities. Apart from various legal, commercial, and academic interests, Edward has experience in the not-for-profit sector, including as trustee/non-executive director.
Edward is passionate about all his work and interests, professional and otherwise, He is even more so about the positive impact that his contributions make to society. Using his wide spectrum of both commercial and legal expertise and experience, and a well-established, extensive network across local government, wider public sector, and among private/ not-for-profit entities which do business with the public sector and utilities.
Trudy Mansfield
Deputy Chair Trudy Mansfield
Trudy Mansfield, Deputy Chair Trudy Mansfield
I have always been driven to make a positive impact on peoples’ health and wellbeing. Being a Trustee at YOU enables me to do this in a way that benefits the communities The YOU Trust serves. I am passionate about safety and quality and sit on the Quality & Assurance Committee as well as being the Safeguarding Trustee Lead.
Trudy is a senior manager in healthcare with over 30 years of experience in the sector. Beginning as a clinician as a Registered Nurse, she has worked in leadership and management roles across the spectrum of healthcare setting at local and national level.
Caroline Sharman-Mendoza
Chair of Quality Assurance and Deputy Chair of the YOU Group Board
Caroline Sharman-Mendoza, Chair of Quality Assurance and Deputy Chair of the YOU Group Board
‘I have enjoyed heading up and working with excellent teams at three major cultural organisations. Passionate about the accessibility of the arts I am developing Article 12 Arts - a project to provide creative opportunities for young unaccompanied asylum seekers. Excited to share a mutual passion for the arts and culture, I’m looking forward to adding them to the YOU Trust’s healing mix of services.’
Anthony Quinn
Finance
Anthony Quinn, Finance
Anthony has spent much of his working career in the public sector with the aim of making a positive difference to communities. Becoming a trustee of The YOU Trust enables Anthony to continue making a positive difference.
Outside of his work, Anthony is a keen runner and has completed four ultra marathons to date, as well as marathons, half marathons and weekly Park Runs. He also enjoy watching rugby whenever he gets the chance.
Gareth Pugh
Communication, People and Culture
Gareth Pugh, Communication, People and Culture
Gareth’s working life has been split into two parts; retail banking and Human Resources. For 14 years Gareth worked for Lloyds Bank and then Lloyds TSB.
After that, Gareth has spent 20 years getting the best out of people. His HR experience is broad, and includes supporting small businesses and being an HR Manager for a large building and maintenance company. Most recently, Gareth has been involved in the public sector. He looks forward to supporting The YOU Trust and seeing it continue to thrive and develop.
Amanda Jobling
Finance
Amanda Jobling, Finance
Amanda stepped away from work to support local groups and organisations and found The YOU Trust. Having had a career in local government, she knows the importance and value that organisations YOU make to people’s lives and the communities they work in. Amanda is excited to be joining the charity and hopes to help build on its success.
Amanda has strong links to the Portsmouth area having grown up there, returning back 25 years ago. Her professional background is in housing and recently planning and has worked in all levels of local government. Although busy with lots of interests and projects, her focus is her family including, her much-loved dogs.
Jonathan Frost
Patron
Jonathan Frost, Patron
Jonathan Frost is Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth. Previously he served in two parishes, in police and university chaplaincy, inter-faith relations, as a Residentiary Canon, Bishop of Southampton and Dean of York.
Robyn Allen
Finance and Commercial
Robyn Allen, Finance and Commercial
Hello! I'm Robyn, I work for a Housing Association, leading a team to support customers to sustain their tenancies, challenging benefit decisions and providing debt management advice. Outside of work, I love the outdoors; whether it's hiking, running or cycling - I struggle to sit still!
I witnessed the brilliant work YOU were doing with the Dragonfly Project and knew I wanted to be a part of the Family.
Marcia Nguyen
Chair of Communication People and Culture Committee
Marcia Nguyen, Chair of Communication People and Culture Committee
I joined The YOU Trust because I wanted to volunteer my fundraising and charity sector skills with a local organisation. I am a critical friend, providing support, listening, and helping to look at ways to develop the charity's mission. As a professional fundraiser of over 20 years, I am currently the Individual Giving Manager with Kidney Care UK.
Steve Pitt
Representative for Finance, Quality Assurance and Communication People and Culture Committees
Steve Pitt, Representative for Finance, Quality Assurance and Communication People and Culture Committees
‘I am really proud to be Chair of the YOU Board as it’s a charity that truly lives its values’
Steve Pitt worked in social care for more than 45 years. A qualified social worker, he was Regional Director with the Social Services Inspectorate; Director of Adult and Community Services with Dorset County Council; a freelance consultant; and Knowledge Transfer Fellow at the Institute of Public Care, Oxford Brookes University.
Helen Andrews
Group Finance and Commercial Committee
Helen Andrews, Group Finance and Commercial Committee
"When looking for somewhere to volunteer my time, the values that underpin the You Trust were ones that I found inspiring, and I wanted to be part of an organisation with those values at its heart. Also, being born and bred in Portsmouth, it is rewarding to support a charity whose roots are in my beloved city."
Jonathan Crutchfield
Deputy Chair of Communication People and Culture Committee
Jonathan Crutchfield, Deputy Chair of Communication People and Culture Committee
Environmental Champion
Social Prescribing Champion
Anne Ridley
Deputy Chair of Quality Assurance Committee
Anne Ridley, Deputy Chair of Quality Assurance Committee
‘I wanted to become involved with YOU because of the amazing work the Trust does supporting vulnerable people to live safe lives’
Anne is a volunteer caseworker for Victim Support, Sussex, working with survivors of crimes including domestic abuse. She has recently joined their Young Witness Service. Before that she was an Associate Professor of Psychology at London South Bank University, specialising in vulnerable victims and witnesses of crime. She also researched factors that predict student success and was a director of learning and teaching enhancement.
