Our trustees

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

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.

Caitlin moved to Bristol in 2017 from Sydney, Australia to settle in the UK with her husband. She is an Australian-qualified solicitor who has practiced for 5 years in the commercial property sector, and currently works at Thrings LLP where she joined in early 2018.

Caitlin has undertaken a number of volunteering roles alongside her employment, including volunteering in Bristol with ‘Caring at Christmas’ and, whilst living in Sydney, mentoring law students during their transition from university to professional life, and tutoring newly-arrived adult migrants in English. She is enthusiastic about helping people achieve their goals, and became interested in getting involved with Citizens Advice Bristol as a means of giving back to her new community, as well as becoming more engaged with it. Caitlin hopes to bring a different perspective to the board as a new resident of Bristol.

Her Board interests are:
> Strategic planning to set a new direction
> Promoting equality, and working to address social and economic inequalities within Bristol
> Risk management and good governance

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.

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.