Our trustees
Our board of trustees meets quarterly and is ultimately responsible for the work of the charity.
Andy Carter - Chair
Andy worked as a broadcast journalist for 17 years, including stints with the BBC, Sky News and Virgin Radio. He moved into PR and communications in 2008 and became Head of Communications at Leeds City Council where he won the council’s Leader of the Year award. He then joined Northumbria University in Newcastle as Director of Communications and Development. Andy now runs his own public relations, corporate affairs and communications consultancy in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Public Relations Consultants Association.
Barbara Dinsdale - Trustee Board Secretary
Barbara has more than 25 years’ experience in the fitness, health and wellbeing industry, from managing a health and leisure centre to working as a self-employed health and nutrition consultant. She was Head of Lifestyle for the Leeds-based national medical research charity Heart Research UK from 2010 to 2018 and went on to serve as Head of Charitable Trust at B&CE until 2019. Barbara is now Director of Business Operations with Cloverleaf Advocacy, an independent charity that helps people to take control of their lives.
Di Flatt
Di is currently the Interim Fundraising Lead for Berkshire Healthcare Charity, the official charity for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF), Di has previously held positions such as Chair of the CIOF Yorkshire Region and Chair of the Regions and Nations Committee, alongside various trustee positions. Di has used her considerable expertise to focus on corporate, major donor, grant fundraising and special events, and more recently has pivoted to digital options where possible. Di has raised more than £52 million for the organisations she has worked for during her career.
Dr Phil Harris
Dr Harris qualified as a dentist in 1985 at Manchester University and has spent most of his career working in the NHS at a senior level. He has owned and managed a leading dental practice, and set up and managed a large chain of dental practices which was floated on the Off Exchange (OFEX). He has also worked for Leeds Primary Care Trust as a dental adviser. Dr Harris lives with his family in Leeds and is currently writing a novel.
Matt Mercer
Matt is a software engineer and architect with more than 20 years’ experience of building applications and large distributed systems using a wide range of technologies. Matt has worked in a variety of industries from local government to finance, banking, and healthcare. He is now a company director of a small software engineering company.
Neil Saunders - Treasurer
Neil has more than 20 years’ financial services and operations management experience, including five years overseas in the US. He studied mathematics at the University of York and has a certificate in management skills from Royal Holloway, University of London. Neil is a graduate member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA).
Scott McKinney
Scott is a graduate in biology with enterprise from the University of Leeds and has recently started a new role at Lablogic Systems in Sheffield. During his final year of university, he was part of a small group of students tasked with helping the Better Giving Partnership to improve aspects of the Givto initiative to aid growth over the coming months and years. He loved the concept of Givto and became a trustee shortly after completing his university assignment.