Management Team & Trustees
Management Team
Chief Executive Officer
Ann Ewens
Rothesay Court Service Manager
Vacancy
Catherine Court Service Manager
Finance Manager
Rothesay Court Senior Family Practitioner
Fundraiser
Catherine Court Senior Family Practitioner
Board of Trustees
Ele Morrissey - Chair
Ele is a Global HR Director with over 25 years’ experience across a range of sectors. She brings a knowledge of HR, Employment Law, Continuous Improvement and Digital Transformation to her role.
Ele has been with Gingerbread since 2016, and became Chair in 2019. She lives locally with her family.
Fiona Miller
Fiona had been supporting local charities informally for a number of years, before joining the Board of Trustees in September 2019. Alongside supporting on strategic direction, Fiona also supports the operational team with marketing strategy.
Fiona has worked in the field of marketing for over 15 years and it’s a huge passion of hers. Her experience is a real fusion, which includes working for the media, a stint in private sector and running her own business.
Anne-Marie Tierney - Treasurer
Anne Marie is a financial accountant for a communications company. She has worked in accountancy for over 30 years and still enjoys enabling the business to make good financial decisions based on accurate figures. She is married and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Anne Marie said “I was approached for the role as trustee for Gingerbread and knowing a small amount about the charity decided to see what is was they actually stood for, a decision I’ve never regretted. The work of the charity is amazing bringing a light to the end of a dark tunnel for many families.”
Leanne Kerry
Leanne is a Management Consultant who specialises in customer experience and continuous improvement, with a background in both public and private sector industries including having previously worked in social housing.
Leanne joined the Board having volunteered for the charity. Leanne said “the best thing about being a trustee is the ability to ‘give back’, and shape the lives and improve the outcomes of people accessing Gingerbread services. I’m really proud to play a small part within a charity with such a great ethos and strong values.”
Jack Brereton
Jack is the MP for Stoke-on-Trent South. He was first elected in 2017 and was re-elected in 2019. He was born and bred in Stoke-on-Trent, and lives locally with his wife Laura and their son William.
Before taking his seat in Parliament he was a councillor at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, where he was the cabinet member for regeneration, transport and heritage. In this role, he was responsible for delivering £500 million of investment into Stoke-on-Trent to improve local infrastructure. He has also served as a governor at Hillside Primary School.
Farah Mendlesohn
Farah is a retired academic and a charity development manager.
She still remembers how much support The Gingerbread Centre provided her mother in the early 1970s.
Adele Wakefield
Photo and information to follow.
Emma Williams
Emma is a Consultant Forensic Psychologist who has worked in prisons, with both adults and young people, and is currently leading a team providing therapeutic services for a national Residential Therapeutic Childcare provider. Emma lives locally with her husband and two children.
Emma made the decision to join the Board due to understanding on both a personal and professional level the impact that early trauma and adversity can have for individuals, families, and communities. Additionally, being from Stoke-on-Trent supporting a charity with the ethos and commitment that The Gingerbread Centre demonstrates in supporting local families is close to her heart.
Malcolm Jolliffe
Malcolm is an experienced Finance Director, who has operated in both the public and private sectors and in the UK and abroad.
He is a recent Trustee appointment and looking forward to using his experience to support the Charity.
Photo to follow.
Suzanne Banks
Suzanne recently retired from her role as a Executive Chief Nurse, having worked in the NHS for 35 years.
She now works independently, working nationally as a Clinical Lead for the Menopause Improvement Programme in the NHS. She also coaches senior nursing and midwifery leaders and is a member of the Chief Nursing Officer (England) Exceptional Leaders Network.
Suzanne was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to Nursing in the NHS.
Photo to follow.