Meet our Trustees

Ben grew up in Morpeth, attending Newminster and King Edward VI High School before studying pharmacy at Nottingham University. He has since held several senior management positions with significant experience in patient care, budget management, business strategy, and external oversight. Ben currently supports NHS primary care organisations in England, Scotland, and Wales with medicines optimisation in his role as a Pharmacist Account Manager for Optum UK.

Before returning to Morpeth in 2020, Ben was based in Yorkshire and volunteered as a Governor and Trustee, including 4 years as Chair of Governors for a Leeds primary school.

Ben is delighted to continue as a Trustee for Cheviot Learning Trust, having formerly been a Trustee for Three Rivers Learning Trust; and will strive to ensure young people experience a diverse, enriched education and leave as confident young adults with the skills to overcome life's challenges.

Although originally from Lancashire, Steven has been a resident of Northumberland for the past ten years, after spending twenty years in London working as a nurse and then as a commissioner in the NHS. He currently occupies a regional leadership role with NHS England.

Steven has been a trustee/chair for several charities operating at local, regional, and national levels. He was until recently on the editorial board of the BMJ’s Evidence Based Medicine journal and much of his focus now in healthcare and education is focused on how we use evidence to provide the best value interventions we possibly can in those settings.

Steven is driven by the belief that all children and young people should have access to the highest quality of education, regardless of their background. He did, until recently, serve as the chair of governors for Ovingham Middle School for three years, and served as the vice chair of Wylam First School for three years before that.

Peter has been a resident of Morpeth for 30 years. He is a chartered civil engineer specialising in offshore geotechnical engineering for both renewable and oil and gas projects. He has started and grown two engineering companies, both of which have been purchased by offshore survey contractors and their successors are still based in the North East.

Peter believes that his engineering background and commercial experience will be of benefit to the schools and help further enhance the experience and employability of the students as they move on from school.

Joan was born in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). At the age of sixteen Joan was accepted into the Royal Ballet Upper School in London. Here she pursued self-directed “A” level studies in English Language and History, alongside a demanding and fulfilling ballet schedule. Finally deciding that a career in ballet was not what she wanted, Joan returned home and then to the University of Cape Town, where she gained a bachelor’s degree in English Language and History. After working in commerce for a while Joan embarked on her professional career as a chartered accountant and returned to the University of Cape Town for further part time studies, concurrent with her accountancy articles. She qualified as a chartered accountant in 1986.

Joan worked for large financial institutions in South Africa, including Old Mutual, now listed on the London Stock Exchange, where she was head of Internal Audit in its Investment Division.

She and her family moved to the Northeast in 1998. Joan has extensive business experience as a “hands on” finance director and as a consultant, working with early stage developing companies and third sector organisations. She is particularly interested in organisational governance and streamlining systems within businesses. Joan was a Trustee of the Theatre Royal for nine years and chaired the Finance and General Purposes Committee. She also served as an independent chair of the Audit Committee for the Tyne Community Learning Trust.

Joan believes in the need to foster a love of learning in young people and her own interests include theatre, reading modern history and tennis.

Joan retired in 2021 but wants to continue to use her skills and experience in a meaningful way and looks forward to contributing to the growth and development of The Cheviot Trust.

Deborah is a chartered accountant and has worked in financial roles in both public and private sectors for the last 20 years. She has worked in internal audit and accountancy roles and now provides financial support to schools, academies and local authorities. Deborah also works with the DfE as a School Resource Management Adviser.

Caroline came to the northeast, from Scotland, to study law at university before becoming a teacher. Having fallen in love with the region, she made the northeast her home and became a headteacher of a school in Newcastle before going into school improvement work in a local authority. A graduate of both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, she has worked in 6 of the region’s 12 councils, from Teesside to Tyneside. She was director of education in both Hartlepool and Durham before becoming Strategic Director of Children and Adult Services in Gateshead.

During her career Caroline worked as an Ofsted inspector, taught at a number of the region’s universities, assisted in writing the parts of the national curriculum and wrote advanced test questions in science and technology. She had a number of research articles and teaching resources published, during her time as an editor of the Association of Science Education journal.

Caroline is currently the Local Government Association’s Children’s Improvement Adviser for the northeast region, providing advice and support to Directors of Children’s Services, Chief Executives and Lead Members of Children’s Services. She has led a number of peer reviews and challenges across the country and provided national training for leaders in children’s services. Caroline also works for the DfE, on a consultancy basis, as a children’s improvement adviser, supporting councils, across the country, which have had disappointing Ofsted inspections.

Ruth has worked in the NHS all her adult life until her retirement in 2020. She has a deep commitment to state education and believes high quality education can enable greater social mobility and opportunity. Her aim is to use the skills she has gained over four decades in public service to benefit students in the Cheviot Learning Trust.

Having moved to the North East from Yorkshire to study medicine at Newcastle University, Ruth went on to work as a consultant old age psychiatrist. As a senior doctor her focus was developing high quality, patient centred services, that delivered good outcomes and value for money. This approach involved quality improvement activity, a focus on high quality leadership and effective team working. Ruth believes that the same approach is applicable to education through the active engagement of students, teachers, parents and the wider community. As an NHS leader she understood the centrality of strategy and clarity in improving outcomes for users, especially when faced with resource constraints Ruth now wants to support the Cheviot Learning Trust as a trustee by using the skills she has developed through her professional life.

Ruth has previously served as Chair of Governors at Whittonstall First School, also volunteers with Barnados, Fareshare and a local gardening project. She is a keen cyclist.

Education changed her life. It gave her the opportunities that she could only have dreamed of as a child, therefore Ruth wants to contribute to every child in the Cheviot Learning Trust having similar life chances.

Alex is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Fellow of the Women’s Engineering Society. After a career of over 15 years in Industry working in engineering consultancy and innovation, she founded STEMAZING; a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to inspiration and inclusion in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).

Alex is also Mentor and Visiting Professor with the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2023 Alex was named as one of the top Inspirational Business Women in STEM at the House of Lords and won a Special Recognition Award for her contribution to STEM Education in the North East. She also previously won the We Are The City Champions Award in 2020 for her work to champion diversity and inclusion in STEM.

Alex moved to Northumberland from the South of England in 2021 and has two children in schools in the Cheviot Learning Trust. Outside of work Alex enjoys walks on Northumberland beaches with her dog.