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 Auld – Chief Executive
	Neil Edgar – Operations Manager

	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) 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
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.