Staff and management
Management team
Bernadette Ashcroft – Chief Executive
Bernadette has been a CEO working in the older people’s voluntary sector since 2009. Previous to that she worked with individuals, families and communities who have been affected by substance misuse and mental health issues. Her first role within the Age UK network was at Age UK Tameside in Greater Manchester and since April 2017 she has been working to help local brand partners develop strategies and plans to remain sustainable and to continue working across many communities. Bernadette was appointed as Interim CEO and will be working with us until the end of September 2018, supporting our Board of Trustees to plan for the future. Bernadette was Chair of the North West Region of Age UK and has raised awareness of our work on TV and radio.
Fred Durrans – Commercial Services’ ManagerFred joined the charity in January 2011, taking over the management of Commercial Services.
During his time at Age UK Buckinghamshire, Fred has developed the range of chargeable services, which now cover Neat Feet, Help-in-the-Home, Gardening, Computer Training, Handyperson and Hairdressing. Prior to this role, he spent his working life in the industrial market specialising in equipment for the Compressed Air & Gas Technology sectors.
Catherine Tabor – Finance Manager
Catherine joined Age Uk Buckinghamshire as a Finance Manager in March 2012 having previously worked for Bucks County Council Adult Social Care. She attended Glasgow University for four years and gained a number of qualifications in Business Studies and accounting. On the completion of her course she moved to Aylesbury where she worked in the private sector for over 13 years.
Christopher Emmel – Business Development Manager
Graduating from Nottingham with an Economics degree Chris has spent his work life in the commercial departments of large organisations: ABF, Colgate Palmolive, Asda, Whitbread, Booker and NAAFI. Since Colgate this has been at the operating/trading board level. During his career he has specialised in Procurement and Supply Chain management. He took semi-retirement six years ago and now works part time for Age UK Buckinghamshire.
Board of Trustees
Age UK Buckinghamshire is a company limited by guarantee, governed by a Board of Trustees. The trustees are responsible for overseeing the affairs of the charity in accordance with its charitable objectives and to ensure continuing compliance with charity and company law.
The trustees meet on a regular basis and they have a wide range of experience and skills.
The committee has overall legal responsibility for the work and finances of the organisation, employs the staff who manage the volunteers.
Keith Horlock – Chairman
Keith became Chairman in April 2017, having been on the Board since 2015. Keith is also involved with The Prince’s Trust and has previously been involved in two other charities as a trustee and as Chairman for 4 years for one of them. He also sits on the finance and fund-raising committees and retail board. Before his retirement, he spent his working life in finance, working for a number of investment companies and banks at Board level and more recently as a consultant.
Mike Brooks – Vice Chairman
Prior to his retirement in 2012, Mike was the Chief Executive of Age UK Buckinghamshire for three years, having managed the Befriending Service since 2004. He became a trustee in 2016 and Vice-Chairman in April 2017 and sits on the finance committee. Before working for the charity, Mike spent his working life in the IT sector, working for a number of national and international companies before starting his own consultancy.
Andrew Swann – Treasurer
Andrew has been a trustee since 2014 and Treasurer since 2015. He is involved with a number of other charities, acting as Treasurer for two of them. Having gained his degree in Genetics, Andrew spent his working life in finance – for Baring Brother, ING and Alliance & Leicester among other well-known names. He also chairs the finance committee and carries out a great deal of financial research on behalf of the charity.
Caroline Abel Smith
Caroline has been a Board member since 2013 and has a wealth of experience in the voluntary sector. She is a trustee for a number of other charities, as well as a hands-on worker. She has organised fund-raising events for Age UK Buckinghamshire, sits on the Board for our retail shop (as well as on the fund-raising committee) and has worked in our retail shop. Originally trained as a laboratory technician at Lancaster and Guy’s hospitals, Caroline then moved into public relations at The Times and Sunday Times and was responsible for co-ordinating the Single-Handed Round the World Yacht Race.
Jerina Hardy
Jerina works as the PR & Communications Director for Dennis publishing and has extensive experience in the media industry. She is bilingual in French and English and also speaks Spanish and German. Jerina is also a keen runner and cricketer. She has been a trustee since 2015 and is also a member of the fundraising committee. She has been involved in organising fund-raising activities for Age UK Buckinghamshire, including a sponsored walk from Northumberland to our retail shop. She is also a fund-raiser for the Mouth Cancer Foundation and Cinderella Cancer charities.
Jasmine King
Jasmine joined the Board in 2016 and is a member of the fundraising committee. She is a chartered accountant, currently working in industry as a commercial accountant. She is particularly interested in financial reporting and analysis. Jasmine has been very active with regard to raising awareness of our retail shop with her work colleagues and in securing a number of high value donations as a result.
Henry Allmand
Henry became a trustee of the charity in 2017 and is the youngest member of the Board. He is a local authority Housing Development & Strategy Manager, responsible for delivering affordable housing. Having graduated from Manchester University in Criminology, Henry went on to study at the University of Amsterdam, gaining an MSc in Political Science. Henry also sits on the retail board.
Become a trustee
Many of us have supported and helped our parents as they get older; we know from first hand experience the level of expert help that can be needed. It can be comforting to know that the support of organisations such as Age UK Buckinghamshire is there when we need it.
Our diversity policy
Age UK Buckinghamshire is committed to equal opportunities. Our aim is that all our services should be accessible to every older person in the county, irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, or faith.