Community360’s Board of Trustees is responsible for our governance and strategic direction. The Board is accountable for everything we do, including setting our strategic direction, scrutinising our performance and supporting and empowering our Leadership Team.
The CEO and Senior Management Team report to our board of trustees. They have an important role in guiding the charity and ensuring that we work in the best possible way.
The Charity’s Trustees are people who share its values and have expertise in areas to the work of our charity.
Annie has served as Chair of Community360 since 2019, which have been eventful years. She is immensely proud of the achievements of the staff, volunteers and Board throughout that very challenging time. The impressive commitment of the whole team has enabled us to take on a wide range of new tasks and responsibilities as the pandemic was at its worst. And those many activities continue to be drivers of change and innovation both internally and with our many partners. She is confident that this resilience and energy will serve C360 well in the years ahead.
Annie served as a Ward Councillor for Colchester Borough Council and as Portfolio Holder for Leisure Services and Communities from 2012-2017. She was the Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services from 2017-2018, which included the Chair of the Board for Colchester Commercial Holdings Ltd, delivering new commercial strategies whilst maintaining the public service ethos. Other experience at Board level includes the CBC Stakeholder Governor for Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust 2013-2015 and the Haven Gateway Partnership 2017-2018.
In the early 80’s Stewart worked as a Social Worker in the East End of London and had a varied career teaching Social Work, subsequently senior roles in Local Government, the NHS, Third Sector, holding an MSc in Human Resource Management and is an honorary fellow of Brunel University. More recently Stewart has run a family mediation practice in London and North Essex, until retiring in 2020.
For a number of years, Stewart was a trustee of a large social enterprise organisation, providing early years for nursery age children across London. He continues to act as a non-executive director for a small group of Montessori Nurseries in North Essex.
After retiring from the Essex Fire Services at the rank of Assistant Divisional Officer a number of years ago, Les obtained his Association of Accounting Technicians qualification (now a member) and worked at Community360 within the Community Accounts Project as an Assistant Community Accountant.
Towards the end of 2014, he returned to the Essex Fire Service initially as a Community Safety Officer for Colchester and Tendring before piloting a Tri Service Rural Community Officer role which has since become permanent in Maldon and the Dengie. The good thing is that his new role allows him to promote the work of Community360. When Les had the chance to return to the organisation as a Trustee he was more than happy to join the board, serving as Treasurer and from March to November 2019 also as Chair in a temporary capacity.
David worked in the Voluntary Sector for over 45 years. He joined CCVS (Community360’s previous incarnation) in 1993 – his arrival was as a representative from a local disability user group, and he is the longest-serving member of the Board.
David had previously been Chair of the Board of CCVS; he was a Trustee of the national charity Deafblind UK for almost 18 years, was their Chair for almost 8 years and has worked for Guide Dogs for over 37 years in a variety of roles. He was a member of Tendring CVS Committee before its company status and was a Board member of Tendring Community Transport.
Locally David was part of the Colchester Home-Start and Citizens’ Advice Bureau. He still works with the Department of Work and Pensions and attends their Disability Forums in Parliament, plus meetings with the service providers for the DWP.
Anthea has lived in Colchester for 40 years now, moving here via Surrey and Oxfordshire. After taking a degree in Physics she worked in research and software development before taking a career break to have a family.
Her subsequent return to work has been in workforce development and planning, and education, teaching at local schools and then working for the NHS for over 20 years. Her final post was with EPUT (Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust), the mental health trust covering Essex, as Associate Director for Workforce Development and Training. She has a professional doctorate based on her research in workforce planning.
Since retiring in 2022 she has been able to devote more time to some of the voluntary activities that she is interested in. She is a mentor for the Prince’s Trust and a trustee for Gateway Qualifications which has enabled her to continue her interest in supporting young people to achieve their ambitions.
She has been involved with the Colchester Soup Run for the homeless for some years and has recently been involved in a Community Sponsorship Group to house a refugee family.
In her spare time she enjoys dance, is a member of Rock Choir and has been part of a Book Group for over 30 years.
Tina is a primary school teacher with a particular interest in vulnerable children and families. She held executive roles as a councillor on Colchester City Council for 11 years, including partnerships, community, waste strategy, housing, health and performance. Tina is a firm believer in local government and community development via voluntary sector expertise and capacity.
Tina was born in Colchester and still lives in the city being very proud of the historical and cultural offer available. She encourages residents to get involved in their local neighbourhood and services through volunteering. Outside of work and volunteering roles, Tina plays the clarinet and saxophone and watches her four cats destroy her newly tended vegetable patch.
Carol has had an eclectic working life, running a range of SMEs, working in IT consultancy, and spending several years in the third sector for a large disability charity. She has also spent many years as a member of Toastmasters International, honing her public speaking skills and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow members.
This diverse experience has given Carol a deep understanding of the challenges faced by both commercial and third sector organisations.
Outside of work, she likes to stay active by going to the gym and swimming most weeks. In the community, she runs a local backgammon club, which has been a great way to connect with others. During the summer, she likes spending time in her garden finding it rewarding to nurture plants and enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of her labour.
Would you like to join our
Board of Trustees?
Contact Tracy Fortescue on tracyfortescue@community360.org.uk for more information
