Our Members & Trustees

Trustee - Chair

John is a former senior manager in Aviva’s Legal function. He has extensive experience in areas including strategic planning, leading and developing teams of professionals, change management, business improvement and procurement.

He was an early member of the Law Society’s Law Management section and actively engaged in developing the Law Society’s Lexcel quality standard for in-house legal teams. John also has many years of governance and school improvement experience.

Trustee – Vice Chair
Chair of Governors at Hellesdon High School

Mary Richards is Senior Development officer of Governors Services and has previously worked for NCC Planning and Transportation Department. She has experience in managing large teams, budgets, premises and contracts. Mary has an in depth knowledge of school/academy governance as well as providing advice, support and training to governors and school based staff.

Trustee

Patrick is a mining engineer with forty years of managerial, technical and project experience in a wide range of business, cultural and climatic environments and commodities.  Patrick has worked on over 100 projects in 60 countries and has managed development programmes, pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies, conceptual evaluations, scoping and acquisition studies and provided post privatisation support and technical audits for project financing. Patrick has hands-on experience in the formation, management and legal representation of a range of exploration, mining, consulting and construction companies and has served as either a non-executive director or executive director of public and private companies in the UK, Canada and Australia.

Patrick served his community as a Magistrate in Norwich for 10 years and was a volunteer Generalist Advisor for 3 years at Citizens Advice Great Yarmouth. 

CEO/Trustee

Trustee
Chair of Governors at Alderman Peel High School

Trustee

Reverend Louise Alder, Vicar of Hellesdon (St Mary’s, St Michael’s and St Paul’s), and her family are all involved with education in a variety of ways. A Priest since 2002, Louise began her ministry on the Isle of Wight, where she lived before moving as a family to Norfolk in 2007. Her ministry in Norfolk began as a vicar of a number of rural parishes before moving to take up her current post in Hellesdon in March 2014. Louise has always been involved with ministry to children, young people and families - sje seeks to ensure that there are opportunities for all round development through learning and new experiences which enables individuals to discover who they are created to be and to take their place as responsible citizens.

Trustee

Trustee

Maria's two children were educated at Wensum Trust schools, and she has been actively involved with our community for several years. This included assisting in classrooms, playing a part in fundraising committees and joining Hellesdon High School as a Governor, before becoming a Member of The Wensum Trust. 

With a background in the Civil Service and Governance, she currently works for the NHS at Hellesdon Hospital, dealing specifically with patient safety. Maria is a proud grandmother and feels very strongly about improving mental health for young people in our community.