Our trustee bios

Helen joined the hospice in the early part of 2019 and in 2024 became the Chair of Trustees.  Born and brought up in Wakefield, Helen still lives in the district along with many members of her family.  She is married to Ian, has a fifteen year old daughter, Rebecca, a step daughter Vikki and a granddaughter, Freya, who’s three
 
Helen is also the Chief Executive of Bradford District and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group. She has worked in the NHS in Bradford for nearly 30 years.  During that time she has also undertaken work with the Department for Health/ NHS England as Director of Primary Care Commissioning (2010-12); Director of CCG Development (2013/14) and with Vale of York CCG as interim Chief Officer in 2016.  She is currently also responsible for the System Development and Leadership Programme and the ICP development programme for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Integrated Care System.
 

John Milne grew up in Wakefield and attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Following training at Leeds dental school John has been in dental practice in the Wakefield area since 1980. He has also represented dentists at both local and national level and  was chair of general practice at the British Dental Association from 2009-2015. He was awarded MBE in the birthday honours 2015 for services to dentistry. 

John is now the senior national dental advisor to the Care Quality Commission. John has been a supporter of the hospice since its foundation  and is delighted to bring his clinical and regulatory knowledge to assist the hospice at this time. He enjoys playing golf (badly), skiing when the knees permit and is also a keen bridge player. 
 

Nina joined the Hospice in 2019 as a trustee. She has over 20 years of IT experience, specialising in Infrastructure, Risk Remediation, Transformation, and service sustaining change, within the Finance, Telecommunications, Motor and Retail Industries. With her Business and IT knowledge she is an active member of the Finance, Estates and Resources committee. Nina lives in West Yorkshire with her family and keen on travelling and exploring new cultures and countries, she is an amateur sommelier learning more through her travels and experiences.
 

Alan joined the board in 2020, having been a hospice supporter for over 25 years, since two different hospices cared for his grandparents in the last stages of their lives. His background is Cyber Security, Risk management, Crisis and Continuity management, having held several senior posts in a number of financial institutions, he is currently Head of Information Security for Royal London Insurance.  

Alan is a member of the Clinical Governance & Quality Committee where his experience in risk management plays a key part in the skills that he brings.

He is married to Angela, and has three teenage boys, and enjoys hill walking and motor racing in his spare time.
 

Rob became a Trustee of the Hospice in 2020.
 
He has lived in and around the Wakefield area for most of his life and works in Wakefield.
 
A Business Studies Graduate and Chartered Financial Planner, Rob is a Director of a Financial Planning business based at Calder Park.
 
Rob is married with three school age children and a dog, who keep him fully entertained outside of work!
 

Claire became Trustee in December 2022 and is a Director at Richard Kendall Estate Agent, a family business which has been serving the Wakefield community over 50 years with 6 local offices across Wakefield and Pontefract. 
 
Prior to this, Claire work as a commercial surveyor and has experience with landlords on both rental (residential and commercial) and the sale residential properties. 
 
Claire has worked with the Hospice over many years on the valuation and disposal of Hospice owned properties and has extensive experience with her own marketing within the local and national media.  She has also been part of the Hospice’s numerous fundraising initiatives over the years.  Keen to assist in marketing of the Hospice, working closely alongside our values and aims within the community.
 
She was born and bred in Wakefield, and with the exception of a 7 year stint working in London as a Chartered Surveyor, all her life has been about Wakefield and seeks to work on behalf of the Hospice to the best of her endeavors.
 

Chris became Trustee in December 2022 and is currently semi-retired/non Exec Chairman of Beaucare Medical Limited and was the Card Factory executive Director & shareholder (2007 to 2020) 
 
Formed and chaired the Card Factory Charitable Foundation from inception in 2017 to retirement in 2021
 
Governor of Bradford Grammar School, covering Resources, investment, Pensions working party, and Chair of Junior School Development project
Worked 15 years international Accounting firm (Mergers & Acquisitions)


Strong connection to Wakefield through personal ties, duration at Card Factory with national infrastructure based locally and connections to network of peers in and around Wakefield area. 
 

Pam became Trustee in December 2022 and is Founder and Managing Director of Banwait Group Holdings.
 
Pam has an extensive background in HR and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.  Prior to setting up Banwait Group Holdings, she has over 16 years’ experience in Senior HR roles in both the private and public sector.
Pam’s proven track record in Business Growth and HR is renowned and recognised as best in industry. Pam is a key note speaker speaking at a professional development seminars for aspirational Entrepreneurs, Business leaders & HR professionals.

She is passionate about working with the elderly and improving the end of life experience. Pam has raised money for charities including raising money for Hospices.  She now wants to give a greater commitment to working with a Hospice as a Trustee and to dedicate her time, skills and experience in really supporting a Hospice on a wider strategic level.



 

Sarah Fawcett joined the hospice in 2019 supporting as Director of Trading, focussed on building multiple business ventures to bolster the income of the hospice. Late 2024, she also became a Trustee. Sarah has 20 years corporate business experience leading and managing operations and commercial teams, and lives locally with her family. 
 

Jo-Anne brings a wealth of expertise to her role as a hospice trustee, with 35 years of experience in education, having served across a number of  local authorities and multi-academy trusts as a primary school head teacher. Passionate about fostering connections and care, Jo-Anne complements her professional experience with a background in running her own travel business and a love for exploring the world. A committed environmentalist, she enjoys homemaking, walking her dog, and contributing to causes that promote well-being and sustainability.

A general practitioner with over 9 years’ experience of primary care in Wakefield.
 
Saadia’s medical background gives a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities in palliative care, and she is eager to contribute her expertise.  Saadia is a palliative care lead of her practice and actively involved in the care of patients.
 
As a trustee she is able to combine professional experience with her passion for improving end-of-life care, helping to ensure that the hospice continues to deliver exceptional services and support to those in need.
 
 

Practicing solicitor for over 20 years in the area of corporate and commercial law.
 
This has included advising companies on their constitutional documents. Faris has also advised charities in the past, including those registered with the Charity Commission, providing them with corporate advice.
 
In his previous career as a Chartered Certified Accountant, he dealt with audit of charity accounts and audit of grant applications made by charities for funding.
 

Having spent over 30 years in the NHS, encompassing some 20 years in busy clinical practice as a consultant in medical oncology, with educational roles and senior managerial positions including Medical Director, Barbara has seen first hand the highly valuable impact of hospices. For the last ~ 6 years of her clinical career she was consultant in the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust until retirement in 2021, working closely with colleagues in the Wakefield Hospice. Since retiring from clinical practice she has participated in the Wakefield Hospice Clinical Governance and Quality Committee, and is now serving as a Trustee.