Brenda Warrington - Chairperson of the board

Brenda is the Chairperson of our Group Board, having been appointed in October 2022. She’s a current councillor in Tameside, the former leader of Tameside Council, and a Greater Manchester Combined Authority member responsible for Equalities, Healthy Lives and Quality Care. Brenda also chaired the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

Peter Allen - Chair of finance, risk and assurance committee

Peter comes originally from Liverpool but left there for University in Manchester, subsequently went south and returned to the North West to live in Cheshire since 1988.

He worked for 35 years in the oil industry, as a Chartered Chemical Engineer, managing oil and chemical production facilities and logistics operations throughout the UK. He has also worked extensively on capital investment projects and commercial contracts both in UK and in other parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.

He then ran his own consultancy business for the oil and chemical industry before retiring several years ago. He has retained his loyalty to his birth town as a Liverpool FC supporter, despite spending far more of his life in the Manchester area!

Peter has been a Mentor and Assessor with the Engineering Development Trust for several years as a strong advocate of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) subjects for schools and young people.

David Trafford

Dave worked for over 40 years at Liverpool University and retired in 2012 as the University’s Training Officer. He is a member of Unite and the Labour Party.

Dave has held many positions in the TU movement at Branch, Regional and National level culminating in his election as National President in ’03-’04.

He is Chair of Governors at Bridge Hall Primary School and a member of the GOVAS management committee. Dave is also a Trustee Director of Liverpool University Pension Fund.

He has been very active during the various lockdowns undertaking a number of volunteer roles with organisations such as Handy Ladies, offering support to vulnerable adults across Stockport. He is also a volunteer at a local vaccine centre.

His interests include Everton and Stockport County and he is also a member of the Lancashire Cricket Club.

Dave is also a member of a local consortium that bought out their local pub which was under threat of closure, Ye Olde Vic, Edgeley.

Emily Allen - Chair of people Committee

Emily (MCIPD MA) has a background in HR, having worked in industries including commercial radio, healthcare and education.  She then moved into the world of professional training to her current role at MOL Learn, where she leads on creating, developing and improving the current suite of CIPD / HR professional qualifications at level 3, 5, 7 and MSc. She has spent the last 5 years bringing qualifications online due to changes in market demand and has expertise in the area of online delivery as well as leading on large change management projects. 

Following a degree in Anthropology, Emily is currently a Chartered member of CIPD and has achieved a Masters in Strategic Human Resource Management. Her research project for her Masters was on the culture within the charity, Crossroads Together, where she was previously a Trustee for 6 years. 

Emily has undertaken other voluntary work for many years including befriending and giving talks to help support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get their first jobs- through the charity Uprising. Emily is an active Media Volunteer for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Her mum was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2010, and she is passionate about using her experience to help others.

A link to Emily’s LinkedIn is here.

Martyn Beauchamp - Chair of transformation and development committee

Martyn is an international financial services leader with a passion for helping charities and local communities thrive. He has worked across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia in board-level leadership roles for organisations including General Electric, Tesco and Sainsbury's. Martyn is currently Chair of Tinka, the Netherlands-based financial technology company, and an advisor to Candidate X, a fast-growing tech start up that enables diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

As a Non-Executive Director of CAF Bank, which is wholly owned by the Charities Aid Foundation, Martyn helps provide banking services to the UK's charities and social purpose organisations. He is the latest in a line of Beauchamps to join Citizen Advice, with both his Mum and Dad being seasoned volunteer advisers at their local CA.

Martyn lives in South Manchester with his wife and two teenage children and is learning the piano, studying Dutch and playing as much tennis as the Mancunian climate allows.

A link to Martyn’s LinkedIn is here.

Sarah Diller

Sarah brings a wealth of public and private sector financial service experience to the trustee board, and brings independent oversight and challenge to the organisation, ensuring the group delivers the best service possible.  Starting her career in the Civil Service, Sarah moved into the financial services industry, working for several large banks across the global where she developed expertise in Risk & Business management and specialising in Financial Crime/Issues Management.  Her work has focussed on helping organisations who operate in highly regulated environments manage their risks, deliver challenge to find solutions  that then enable organisations to work more effectively and efficiently resulting in better outcomes for customers. 

For Sarah the pandemic crystallised the imbalance within society and heightened the need for organisations such as Citizens Advice to ensure that all in the communities we serve, but especially the most vulnerable, have access to the best quality advice, guidance and parity of treatment which enables them to help create a brighter future for themselves.

A link to Sarah’s LinkedIn is here.

Mags Bradbury

Mags Bradbury is Head of Social Responsibility & Civic Engagement at the University of Manchester.

She joined the University in September 2021. She is developing the University’s approach to civic engagement based on the University’s strong anchor institution commitments to the city and the city region. Mags works with the Greater Manchester Civic Universities Board to help deliver the commitments made in their civic university agreement.

Prior to working at the University, Mags worked for major institutions in the city of Manchester. She was an Associate Director for Inclusion, Wellbeing & Community at Manchester Universities NHS Foundation Trust, the largest NHS Trust in the UK, and she was the National Project lead at the Co-operative Group, a large consumer cooperative. At the Cooperative Group Mags set up the Co-operative Academies Trust, a trust that runs over 30 schools in areas of high deprivation. She remains a board director on the Trust.

She is also a governor at Manchester Adult Education Services.

She is passionate about social mobility, education for all, and transformational partnerships that create new ways of working between communities and institutions.

A link to Mags’ LinkedIn is here.