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Our trustees

Andrew Leahy, Vice Chair

Andrew joined Citizens Advice Bristol in October 2022 having retired after 30 years in the Logistics and Supply Chain sector with DHL. He worked across many industrial sectors in the UK and internationally. His most recent role was as Vice President in Programme Management which included leadership roles in large scale organisational change, merger and acquisitions and business turnaround. Andrew lives in Bristol and also works as a community volunteer for Fareshare South West.

His management experience includes strategy and business planning, organisation change, project/ programme management, implementation, new business development, account management and supply chain design.

Andrew’s board interests include

  • Board governance and decision making
  • Financial and operational governance
  • New funding opportunities
  • Collaboration across local and national advice services
  • Organisational learning and development

David Taylor, Treasurer

Originally from Yorkshire, David has lived in Edinburgh, London and Manchester before settling in Bristol in 1997 to bring up his family.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, David has worked as a Finance Director in the housebuilding sector for twenty five years gaining experience of operating as a key director with specific interest in strategy, operations, finance and governance. In addition to this, David has gained experience volunteering as a trustee School Governor for three years as well as being a volunteer run director at Ashton Court parkrun and marshalling events for two of his other passions: running and cycling.

Judith Forde

Judith grew up in Bristol and has worked in social housing for nearly 30 years. She has worked for a variety of Housing Associations in the South West managing both the tenancy management and property maintenance aspects of the service. She went onto specialise in income management leading rent collection and money advice teams. During this time; she often saw the difference the Citizens Advice service made to her customers.

She since moved into service improvement project and change management. She has also been a long-standing mentor for the Housing Diversity Network, where she has helped a diverse range of people achieve their career goals.
As her first board membership, she wants to use her experience to support the board to maintain this vital service for all communities in Bristol.

Lawrie Jones

I’m a copywriter and former journalist who runs content agency 42group. I’ve lived in Bristol for 25 years, but grew up in the Forest of Dean. I work with leading businesses, brands and charities to help them improve how they communicate. I’m proud to be a board member of Citizens Advice and hope to use my professional skills and personal insights to help those who need its essential services access them.

Lucy Saunders

Lucy has a huge respect for the valued work and impact that Citizens Advice Bristol has on so many lives. She is excited about being a member of the Trustee Board and is passionate about helping to make a positive difference in Bristol. Lucy has 16 years’ experience of fundraising within the charity sector and significant experience with Grant and Foundation Applications. She is currently Head of Development and Fundraising at Young Bristol and has previously enjoyed working for both smaller local and larger national charities. This means she has broad experience and a good understanding of the voluntary sector funding environment and available income streams.

At Young Bristol, as a member of the Strategic Management Team, Lucy develops and leads the income generation strategy for Young Bristol and enable Young Bristol to secure the resources required to deliver its strategic objectives, both now and in the future. Lucy has identified opportunities for growth in existing areas of income generation and identified and developed new opportunities for income generation.
Lucy also spent 7 years working for the British Heart Foundation as the Community Fundraising Manager for Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Somerset. Here she was required to assess ongoing funding priorities and develop and implement the annual community fundraising plan for the area successfully delivering the area financial target.

Miranda Creese

Miranda grew up in Bristol and its surrounding areas and, after time living in London and in Cambodia, returned to the city in 2017. Her career to date has been spent in the voluntary sector working in UK based charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support and Mind, and in international organisations such as VSO and Oxfam. Miranda has over 15 years of experience in charity income generation and is currently the Head of UK Partnerships for Oxfam GB, leading Oxfam’s engagement with UK based funding institutions.

Having worked on a number of advice services throughout her career, Miranda was drawn to the opportunity to volunteer as a Trustee to help ensure that Citizens Advice Bristol can provide its vital services to as many people in Bristol as possible. Her Trustee interests are around strategic planning, funding and inclusion.

Philip Parry, Vice Chair

After working in marketing in commercial organisations, Phil moved to the not-for-profit sector during the economic recession of the early 1990s.  Since then he has worked as an executive director, trustee, volunteer and freelance consultant in a range of charities and social enterprises including Oxfam, Bristol Energy Centre, Prince’s Trust, The Big Issue South West, Bristol Foyer and Bristol Citizens Advice. He currently manages Brandon Trust’s portfolio of social enterprises, which provide training and employment for people with learning disabilities.

His management experience includes business and strategic planning, organisational development and change management, fundraising, mergers, evaluations, research, and project and interim management.  Phil was a Trustee and Chair of Bristol Foyer during its development and opening phases and led negotiations around its transfer to a housing association.

Phil joined the trustee board of Bristol Citizens Advice in 2003 at a time when the organisation was facing financial challenges and became Chair in 2004, before standing down to become Vice-Chair in 2016 having seen the organisation grow and develop its range of services and become more financially sustainable through broadening its funding base. Phil  is also a Trustee of Caring in Bristol.

His Board interests are:
> Business planning to ensure the financial sustainability of the organisation
> Social Policy – the ability of Citizens Advice to change policy and practice at both national and local levels
> Addressing the increasing economic and social inequality in our society
> Maintaining and developing an advice service that meets the needs of all Bristol’s citizens, and in particular those individuals and communities who are the most marginalised
> Demonstrating the impact of the service
> Ensuring the service is resilient and demonstrates leadership in the advice sector, particularly in the face of funding cuts and regionalisation

Robin Geller, Chair

Originally from Canada, Robin and her family lived in the UK since 2005 and made Bristol their home in 2012.  Robin worked in the higher education sector – both in Canada and in the UK – for over 20 years before retiring from the University of Bristol in 2018. As Chief Operating Officer, Robin led the University’s professional services, other than the finance function, embedding a culture of partnership working between academic and non-academic staff. She championed professional development, strategic planning and accountability as well as a progressive and inclusive approach to people management and leadership.

Robin  has broad experience of governance in both the for-profit and charitable sectors. She currently serves on the Boards of London Marathon Events and Bristol’s Hannah More Primary School, having recently stepped down from the Board of Young Bristol. She is a regular volunteer at her local Oxfam bookshop as well as an enthusiastic long distance walker and runner. 

Samantha Flowers

Originally from Hampshire, Samantha has lived in Bristol since coming to study Geography as a mature student in 1998. Since graduating she has worked at Bristol City Council as a project and programme professional – delivering programmes of system-wide change for children’s, adults and education services. It was her work on a programme looking to respond to the raft of welfare reforms being introduced by the government in 2013 where she experienced the valuable work the advice sector does. It was a natural progression to apply for the role of trustee at Citizens Advice Bristol when the opportunity arose and she joined the board in July 2022.

Samantha’s board interests are:

  • Board governance and decision making
  • Strategic planning and financial sustainability
  • Safeguarding