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Trustee Board & Management Team

All local Citizens Advice are independent charities, governed by their own board of trustees, who are ultimately responsible for the quality and range of the service.  Day-to-day control is delegated to the Chief Executive and leadership team but the trustees:

  • Set the overall direction and support the development of the organisation
  • Ensure the organisation meets the needs of the local community and the Citizens Advice membership standards
  • Employ Citizens Advice staff and control the organisational finances
  • Earn and retain the respect of important and influential people and organisation in the community, including funding bodies
  • Ensure the organisation complies with relevant laws

Trustee Board

Management Team




 
Andy Setters (Chair for the Board)

Andy has many years’ experience in Human Resources, initially in the private sector and later as an independent HR consultant. He has worked in a variety of sectors including manufacturing, the NHS, private healthcare, central government, nuclear, automotive and not-for-profit organisations, before retiring in 2016.

Andy has held Trustee roles with several charitable organisations, including Eden Valley Hospice and the British Safety Council.

Originally from the south of England, Andy has lived in Cumbria with his family since 1984.



Jacqueline Nicol (Vice Chair for the Board)  

I am a chartered librarian but I spent most of my working life with Citizens Advice firstly as a volunteer then in paid managerial roles in Hampshire and Cumbria.

Currently I am involved with a number of organisations in a voluntary capacity including the North West Ambulance Service (several roles) and OPCC as a custody visitor and animal welfare visitor. I was previously a Heartstart instructor before the scheme that I was involved in ended.

I am currently a Governor with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS trust.

I have also worked with animal charities and have a number of rescued animals which take up my spare time


 
Kate Blue

Kate qualified as a solicitor in 1983 and for 25 years was a partner/director in Scott Duff & Co. She was based in Penrith but also spent time in the firm’s Keswick and Carlisle offices. Her practice was broad based but in later years she spent most of her time on family and property work. In the 1980s she provided advice to Citizens Advice clients under the solicitor’s rota agreement which operated at the time and is acutely aware of the need for free and independent support and advice in relation to a wide range of issues. Kate has significant management experience and as a lifelong Eden resident is very aware of local needs.

   Mike Taylor

Following three years of commissioned army service Mike Taylor graduated from Cambridge in History and Law and spent 22 years in management with Shell both overseas and in the UK. Subsequently he has held a number of posts in the public and third sectors – CEO MCI, Chief External Verifier IIP UK, NED Walton Neuro Centre NHS Trust, OUBS MBA Lecturer, Deputy Chair West Cheshire College, Chair West Chester Regeneration Board, Chair Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH), NHS Appointments Commissioner, Chairman Council of Reserve Forces & Cadet Associations (RFCAs), Honorary Colonel Commandant Royal Artillery and DL in Cheshire, Chair of Cumbria’s Third Sector Network, Chair of NHS Cumbria (and thus ex officio Co-Chair of Cumbria’s Health & Wellbeing Board and member of Cumbria Leaders’ Board), Chairman of St John Ambulance Cumbria and is now Chair of Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Mike is now Chair of Cumbria CVS, of Action for Health Cumbria, of Cumbria Armed Forces Covenant Partnership and Cumbria County President of St John Ambulance.

 
Beth Furneaux

Beth is originally from the Eden Valley, but has lived in Brampton for many years. She worked supporting people who were homeless for over 25 years, and alongside that served in the public sector as a councillor, a non executive director in the NHS, and on the Police Authority.

Beth is currently chair of Eden Housing Association, and Carer Support Cumbria, and is also an independent custody visitor.

Beth is an active member of the Labour Party.





Catriona Morton

Catriona is a former Civil Servant with over 30 years experience in DWP in Scotland and, most recently, in The Rural Payments Agency.

Catriona worked in a variety of roles in DWP including visiting officer, benefit processing (Pensions, ESA and JSA), appeals officer, Social Fund manager for Scotland, Contact Centre Manager and District Manager for Jobcentre Plus. In her role as acting Operations Director in the Rural Payments Agency, leading on Environmental Stewardship, she developed a good understanding of the needs of farmers and rural communities across England. She was a Trade Union representative and held lead roles in a number of areas including employer engagement, diversity and equality, estates and people engagement.

Prior to relocating to Cumbria in 2012, she was a listening volunteer with the Samaritans. She is a volunteer driver for the Fellrunner Village Bus service.



Mireia Munoz Soldado

Mireia is an experienced Product Operations and Sustainability Manager with over 23 years in the tourism sector.  She is currently a Ph.D. researcher in Risk and Disaster Management at the school of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Leeds Beckett University.
 
Mireia has held many different roles in international tourism businesses.  Her expertise lies in strategic planning, operations, crisis management, sustainability, risk reduction, and community-based tourism development.  In 2021 she relocated to Cumbria to take on the role of Company Aviation Manager with HF Holidays in Penrith.
 
Mireia has been a grateful user of Citizens Advice services since she moved from Barcelona to the UK over 13 years ago.  The organisation helped her greatly, as a foreign citizen, in adapting to living and working in the UK.





Sue Macgregor

Sue is a chartered accountant who qualified over 40 years ago with KPMG in London. Sue gaineda experience in operational efficiency and management systems in food & bev industry, hotels brewing and pubs and licensed trade management at Bass & Whitbread.

Sue had group accounting responsibility for Perry Group plc (group 10+ retail motor dealerships around North London) and then, following a move to the South West, was chief accountant at Hall & Woodhouse/Badger beer (vertically integrated licensed trade brewing, wholesale and retail business in Dorset).

Sue moved to Worcestershire following her husband’s career and had 2 sons and a career break. Sue then moved to Cumbria 1995 and worked in a variety of part-times roles in order to be at the school gate. During this time her work was varied but she had the privilege of working on two fantastic projects: setting up financial systems and controls for then newly established Cumbria Community Foundation in the throes of FMD and settling £40M of Equal Pay claims for care & support staff at Cumbria County Council. In 2011 Sue returned to full time work in finance in the NHS and has been responsible for corporate and estates and facilities finance management.
 Paul Forster

Paul was born and brought up in Carlisle and after university he qualified as a solicitor and returned to his northern roots. He was in practice for many years in Carlisle before working for a time in Lancaster. Paul now sits on a number of tribunals, including Social Entitlement, Property, and Immigration and Asylum, as well as chairing misconduct hearings. He was the chair of a charitable company providing mediation services in housing disputes in West Cumbria. Paul joined Citizens Advice in 2021 to make use of his legal experience and support the provision of free and independent advice to those who need it most.




Frances McClennan

Originally from Kirkcaldy in Scotland, Frances worked for many years in London in Adventure Playground work and as  Community Relations officer for Youth  in the Borough of Lambeth. 

In 1978 Frances set up a new charitable project to provide residential breaks for  schools, youth groups and community organisations, he was director of this charity for 32 years developing new funding streams and employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged Young people. Frances retired in 2010 following the death of his wife and he went on to run a children’s farm and soft play area as a social enterprise. This finally closed in early 2020 as the covid restrictions took hold. 

Frances has also lectured in colleges on Environmental Studies, Children’s Play and Early Years qualifications, and is a qualified External Verifier in Playwork and Early Years settings.

Frances has now retired to Carlisle to hopefully enjoy a long retirement and is currently acting as a youth mentor for individual young  people at Carlisle Youth Zone.

Frances is also a Keen gardener !
David Shepherd
 Andy Auld – Chief Executive
  Neil Edgar – Operations Manager