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

If you’re interested in joining our Trustee Board, please visit our Volunteering page.

Trustee Board

	Catriona Morton (Chair of Trustees) 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.
	Jacqueline Nicol (Vice Chair for the Board) Jacqueline is a chartered librarian but spent most of her working life with Citizens Advice, firstly as a volunteer then in paid managerial roles in Hampshire and Cumbria. Currently, she is 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. Jacqueline was previously a Heartstart instructor before the scheme that she was involved in ended and she is currently a Governor with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS trust. She has also worked with animal charities and has a number of rescued animals which she care for in her spare time.
	Sally Sarginson Sally is a retired Registered General Nurse with a wealth of experience in health and social care. As an independent consultant, she specialized in training professionals across the care sector, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to provide high-quality support. She has also worked at a senior operational level in domiciliary care and with Procter & Gamble UK, managing staff development, delivering training, and overseeing services and projects. Born and raised in Cumbria, Sally has lived in the area all her life. She is passionate about empowering people to achieve the results they want and enjoys volunteering to make a difference in her local community. Married with two grown-up children, she brings a deep commitment to supporting others through her role as a trustee.
	Mike Whelan Mike is Cumbrian born and bred. Born in West Cumberland before moving to Carlisle, Mike spent his working life in IT, starting on Computer Mainframes and ending his working career with his wife running a small business that supplied, installed, maintained and networked computers, primarily for businesses throughout the north of England and south west Scotland. Mike originally started as a trainee adviser for Citizens Advice before taking a seat on the board. He was a volunteer for Samaritans for a number of years as the Director of the Carlisle Branch and for a period of time was the Regional Director of the North of England. He is currently the chair of the Carlisle branch of Parkinsons UK and is an active volunteer for Abilitynet, a charity that provides free IT support to anyone of retirement age or anyone with any form of disability.
	Andy Setters 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.
	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.
	Katie Feltham Katie is originally from West Cumbria but has lived in the Eden Valley for many years.  She is a trainee solicitor at Milburns Solicitors, in their Family department. Katie advises on a wide range of family and children matters, including matrimonial finances and divorce, child contact and care proceedings.  Prior to her training contract, Katie studied Law at the University of Edinburgh. During her time at university, she volunteered with Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden remotely as an advisor. Katie also has experience as research coordinator at Edinburgh International Justice Initiative, contributing to and leading pro bono research projects with charities in Nepal and Cameroon.  Outside of work and volunteering with CACE, Katie enjoys hiking in the Lake District and taking part in community theatre.
	Beth Furneaux Public service has always been my priority, and I have served on both Carlisle City Council and Cumbria County Council, 2 local NHS trusts, and the Police Authority, always trying to ensure that local people get the best possible service. I worked with people who were homeless for many years, and learned through this how essential good advice, support and representation is to help people who are struggling for whatever reason. I recently retired as chair of Eden Housing Association, and am currently a trustee of Carlisle and Eden Carers  and Brampton Foodbank, and I am an independent Custody Visitor. To relax, I love walking and watching Carlisle Utd!
	Cheryl Cowperthwite Cheryl has lived and worked in Cumbria for over 40  years.  Originally from the North East she worked initially for the Magistrates Court Service.  In the late 1980’s she went to work for Cumbria County Council (CCC)working there until 2016 when she was made redundant.   During her time with CCC Cheryl had a number of roles.  In particular, working with a wide range of partners; commercial, statutory and voluntary organisations to attract government funding to improve access to services and sustainable transport solutions. This also involved working with other rural authorities in England to encourage additional funding for sparsely populated areas.   In the mid 1990’s Cheryl was sponsored by CCC to attend Northumbria University where she was awarded a Diploma in Management studies.  This provided very useful academic knowledge in Strategic and Organisational Management, Marketing, Finance and Statistics.  The most rewarding part was working on projects with other students from CCC and other organisations.  In addition students were encouraged to develop their presentation skills both oral and written.   In latter years with CCC Cheryl had a number of management positions and had lead roles in services being developed across the County.  A keen networker she worked with colleagues across different departments as well as officers from the District Council and the Health Authorities.  Within the Council she took an active role in advising on policy development within the context of budget savings.  Throughout her career there was always an emphasis on community engagement and customer service.   Since leaving CCC Cheryl has been unable to work firstly due to her own ill-health and then caring responsibilities.  She has kept active walking her dog and enjoying the countryside.   She is looking forward to having an opportunity to help Carlisle & Eden CAB to continue to provide good quality advice and support to a wide range of people in the area.
	Steve Smith Steve worked for Lloyds Banking Group for over 40 years. During his career, Steve gained broad expertise and experience from a variety of roles; from corporate strategy and governance to leadership and relationship management. Following his retirement in 2016 Steve volunteered with Citizens Advice in Carlisle and enjoyed 4 years working as a part time fundraiser for the RSPB. He continues to work on the board of 2 further local charities. Originally from the north east of England, Steve is married with 3 grown-up children and has lived in Cumbria since 1999.