Trustees

Alzheimer's Society's board of trustees are the most senior governance group in the organisation, with overall accountability for the Society's strategic direction, the stewardship of our resources and the activities we undertake in the pursuit of our charitable objectives. They are all volunteers, who contribute a huge amount of time and wide-ranging expertise to the Society.

Trustees are elected by our membership by postal ballot - the results of the election are announced at our annual general meeting each September. They are elected to their roles for a term of three years, and can serve a maximum of two consequetive terms.

Full information about the role and responsibilities of our board of trustees is available in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Trustees of Alzheimer's Society

Alastair Balls, Chairman

Elected Chairman: September 2007

Alastair Balls recently stepped down as Chief Executive of the centre for Life, a medical science community in Newcastle, prior to which he worked in economic and social regeneration in the North East, following twelve years as a civil servant in Whitehall.

He has personal experience of dementia, as both of his parents had the illness.

Alastair was previously Chief Executive of the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation, Member of the Independent Television Commission, Deputy chair of Council of Newcastle University and a non executive Director of NStar, a venture capital company. He is currently a non exec Director of Northumbrian Water, a non exec director of a CELS, a biotech company, Chair of the Northern Rock Foundation, Chair of the International Centre for Life and a member of the Higher Education Council for England. He was appointed Companion of the Bath for services to regeneration in the north east of England.

Alastair is also chairman of the advisory council and the remuneration committee, and is a member of the nominations committee.

Eileen Winston, Vice-chairman

Elected Vice-chairman: September 2006
Elected to the Board: September 2004

Eileen Winston was a family carer for 24 years; latterly her mother had dementia. Her experiences led her to become committed to helping others understand dementia and she has provided dementia training for many years. For twelve years she was also chairman of a Carers Centre.

Eileen has a long-standing involvement with the Society. In 1991 she became secretary of the Buckinghamshire Branch, taking on the role of chairman in 1995, then becomjng chairman of the Aylesbury Branch in 1997. From 1991 to 2000 she provided direct support to people with dementia and carers, and has supported branch staff since 2000.

Since first becoming a trustee of Alzheimer's Society in 1997 (elected by central region within the former, pre-One Society programme governance structure), Eileen has been involved with a number of the board's committees.

Career wise Eileen held a broad spectrum of challenging positions in the secretarial field, as personnel officer, an international chairman's executive assistant contacting directors worldwide, British Government ministers and industry leaders; five years in Licensed Trade management and two years in Health and Social Care at The Open University.

Eileen is chairman of the audit committee.

John Grosvenor, Honorary Treasurer

Appointed to the Board: December 2008

John Grosvenor is a Chartered Accountant who has had a wide ranging international career in the professional services sector, recently retiring from a senior partner position at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

John worked in a number of roles in London, the Netherlands, New York and in Asia. He has worked for a variety of major clients and performed several management roles in PricewaterhouseCoopers, including head of Global Finance. During John's time in Asia he was a regular public speaker and made appearances as a financial expert on Singapore television.

John brings a wealth of experience to the Society, in particular extensive experience in presenting financial data to audit committees. 

Richard Crace

Elected to the Board: September 2004

Since joining the Birmingham branch in 1991, Richard Crace has been deeply involved in everything from driving the mini-bus to fundraising and public speaking. He was a member of the branch committee for over a decade, acting as branch treasurer for a number of years, before joining the board of trustees. He is also a member of the quality research in dementia consumer network.

Richard has particular interest in issues relating to younger people with dementia, diversity and inclusion. He represents the trustees on a number of internal working groups, including the management information systems project board and the integrated finance system working group and is a member of the audit committee.

He has extensive personal contact with people with dementia both within his own family (as a carer) and in the local community.

Wendy Jones

Elected to the Board: September 2006

Wendy Jones brings a valuable and wide-ranging combination of skills, knowledge and experience to the board of trustees. Originally a journalist and broadcaster, she worked across many national news and current affairs programmes, reporting on a range of political and social issues. For eight years she was BBC education correspondent.

For the past ten years, Wendy has occupied senior management positions at the BBC, first as deputy secretary, where she worked closely with the Board of Governors, and more recently as head of policy and public affairs for BBC Learning, where she leads a small team advising on policy issues and managing external relations relevant to the BBC's education output.

Wendy has experience of the Health Service, both through chairing panels to review complaints by patients and through acting as a lay reviewer in postgraduate medical training. She also has personal experience of dementia - her father suffered from early onset dementia in the 1980s.

Peter Laycock

Elected to the Board: September 2001

Peter Laycock has been involved with Alzheimer's Society for over 25 years - first becoming a member in 1980. He helped to establish his local branch, serving as its chairman for four years, as well as chairing the former eastern regional committee.

He has an extensive background in health and social care, originally training as a general nurse, before moving on to mental health and further qualifications. He became part of a new service, which moved care from hospitals into the community, and in 1976 was the first CPN appointed in Suffolk. In 1986, as a nurse specialist he was seconded by the NHS to a new multidisciplinary team, which helped to provide an open referral service for people with dementia and their carers.

Peter is currently a nurse specialist within a new service for younger people with dementia.

Marilynne Morgan

Elected to the Board: September 2003

Marilynne Morgan has been a member of the Society for nearly 15 years. She brings extensive knowledge of public law and government to the board, as well as having first hand experience as a carer.

After qualifying as a barrister, Marilynne spent over 30 years in the Government Legal Service, latterly running legal departments as Legal Adviser to several large Government Departments, including the Department of Health. She remains actively engaged in the affairs of her profession, and is a non-executive director of a Government Agency, where she takes a particular interest in human resources issues.

As trustee, Marilynne has taken a leading role in governance and constitutional issues. She is a trustee of the newly established Alzheimer's Brain Bank UK.

Marilynne is currently chairman of the nominations committee.

Carolyn Popham

Elected to the Board: September 2004

Over the last twelve years Carolyn Popham has gained experience at all levels of the Society. She has taken on a variety of voluntary roles - as a day centre helper, a fundraiser and a branch chairman. In 2004 she became a trustee, elected under the former governance structure by the Southern region.

Carolyn is a qualified doctor, having previously worked as a hospital anaesthetist. She is currently studying for an MSc in Mental Health and Ageing at University College London, and is about to start a research project on the quality of life for people with dementia in various long-term care settings.

Carolyn is chair of the volunteer consultation group (formerly the volunteer task force). She is also a member of the national fundraising development board steering group and the branch change management group.

David Richardson

Appointed to the Board: September 2006
Elected to the Board: September 2007

With close family experience of dementia, David Richardson has been active in Alzheimer's Society at branch, area and national levels. He has served as chair of the South Lakeland branch and the Lakes Area Forum; prior to becoming a trustee he also served on the Advisory Council.

David's career was in university administration. In his last post he was a member of the senior management team of the University of Manchester: his responsibilities spanned university governance, student services and international and public relations. He is now active in fundraising - he was co-founder of the North American Foundation for the University, and now works part-time as Senior Development Fellow. He has a record of success in securing major gifts.

He is a member of the development board for fund-raising, the audit committee and the volunteer consultation group.

Tom Haverty

Co-opted to the Board: June 2007

Tom Haverty MSc lives in Armagh. He is currently a Commissioner for the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, and as such is involved in strategic planning, networking, monitoring, policy development, and some media work.

Before his retirement he lived in Londonderry and was employed by the Western Health and Social Services Board holding the posts of District Social Services Officer for Derry, Limavady and Strabane District and Service Planner. He worked as a social worker in London in both childcare and mental health services where he gained experience in working with the West Indian and other ethnic minority groups. He is currently a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel Northern Ireland and was formerly a member of the Advisory Committee on Travellers and the Central Personal Social Service Advisory Committee.

Carys Howell

Elected to the Board: September 2007

Carys Howell is a communications and marketing consultant, specialising in the environment, heritage, culture and tourism. She also runs training courses and workshops on advocacy and press and media management.

Following a career in BBC television and radio she worked for the National Trust in Wales where she led a department that was responsible for external affairs and marketing. She is currently a member of the Authority of S4C and of the Advisory Committee for Common Purpose Cardiff and is a trustee of the Faenol Festival. She sat on the Board of the Wales Tourist Board for five years where she had special responsibility for the four regional tourism partnerships and was a member of the marketing sub board.

Carys is a fluent Welsh speaker, with wide-ranging experience of the political and policy structure in Wales.