The Board of Trustees provides strategic direction and oversight for the Active Partnerships charitable company and comprises a diverse team with six members drawn from Active Partnerships and four from other sectors, all appointed for the value they bring to our work.
Doug has held the post as a Local Authority Chief Executive for the past 17 years, serving three different Councils, most recently for the London Borough of Bromley. In these roles he has developed extensive competencies, skills, knowledge and experience working in this challenging, political environment. Previously his roles have been Director of Community Services, Director of Health & Recreation; starting his Local Authority career in Sports Centre Management.
Doug’s first and committed passion has always been sport, starting his career teaching in the east-end of Glasgow and coaching a variety of sports at his local sports centre. In his wider community role, more recently he coached the Bromley Handball Squads for the London Youth Games. Doug is particularly driven by the contribution that sport makes to the social, physical and mental wellbeing of children and young people.
On a personal level, Doug is very keen on personal fitness, regularly cycling to work and when work commitments allow, he enjoys a round of golf.
Start Date: April 2018
Finish date: March 2021
Nigel has a long and a successful involvement with Active Partnerships from both his executive and his non-executive roles. He is CE of a large Active Partnership and a former NGB lead for the network, leading and chairing a national group of Active Partnership managers involved in NGB work.
He is also a non-executive Board member and Chair of Governance with the Yorkshire Netball Association and Chairman of Oldham Community Leisure – an Industrial and Provident Society operating nine leisure facilities on behalf of Oldham Council.
Nigel brings a strong track record in the sector coupled with experience of strategy development and governance within a number of related organisations. He is also an accredited sports tutor and tennis coach.
Nigel is looking forward to joining the Active Partnership national board. “Through increased insight into changing customer needs and new national strategies we are entering into a new phase of how the sector supports people to take part in sport and Active Partnerships have an important and unique role in this. I want to do what I can to support Active Partnerships in their development by being a member of the Active Partnership national board.”
Start Date: 7 September 2016
Finish Date: March 2020
Sue began her career as a teacher of Italian and French. She then moved into education administration and took on responsibilities ranging from school place planning and school improvement to the development of special educational needs provision and early years’ places. Following this she took up a post in the Department for Education, working on a number of national initiatives, such as Asset Management Plans and school targets. She returned to local authority work as a Director of Education and then Director of Children and Young People’s Services. Sue now runs her own education consultancy business.
She is particularly passionate about all children and young people having opportunities to achieve the very best outcomes. The importance of the very early years of childhood and the development of our young people’s emotional intelligence and resilience are areas of specific interest. Sue is also a champion of the importance of physical activity and sport in young people’s physical and emotional development and she has just been appointed Chair of LEAP.
Start date: April 2018
Finish date: March 2021
Mike is Director of Public Health (DPH) for Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council being appointed to the post in February 2014. Mike has worked in public health since the early 90’s in a number of public health intelligence, r&d development, manager and consultant roles for both the NHS and academia.
Mike moved to the East Midlands in 2005. Before that he spent most of his career working across Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Mike is the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) Council representative for the East Midlands and represents the Faculty of Public Health on the Independent Advisory Panel for Data Release (IADPR) of Public Health England. Mike’s public health interest lies in the health improvement capability of asset-based community development approaches, moving public health from a focus on disease and illness to one that recognises the context in which people live their lives.
Mike is vice chair of Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport (LRS). Whilst still keen on swimming, cycling and bouldering (injury permitting), Mike’s sporting career peaked early as a member of the 1983 Plymouth Schools Cricket league and knock-out cup double winning side. A dashing left handed number 3 batsman, with a crushing vulnerability to chasing the ball outside off stump, he remains available for an England call up.
Start Date: September 2019
Finish Date: August 2022
Ian is Founder and Chief Energy Officer at Energise.me.
Around 12 years ago, he went on a journey that transformed his life. He discovered that investing in himself both physically and mentally had a significant positive impact both personally and professionally. This took him from couch potato to a Team GB Ironman triathlete. It took the company he was CEO of from Good to Great.
He now describes himself as an Energy Coach, and energises other business leaders and their businesses. His mission is to energise 10 million people. He’s also a Dad of 3 fabulous girls and a husband and a foster parent.
He also holds Non-Executive Director positions with four other SME organisations.
He is a past President of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, and originally trained as a Chartered Accountant.
Start date: September 2019
Finish date: August 2022
Adrian has been the CE of Lancashire SP (LSP) for over 10 years following an earlier career in local government where he held positions in community safety and youth offending. At LSP he has grown and established broad networks and partnership working with a wide range of stakeholders beyond the traditional sports and leisure organisations, including public health and third sector organisations (MIND, mental health trusts, Groundwork), housing associations and DCLG, the Home Office and the local Police Crime Commissioner, tourist bodies and other government bodies.
Adrian offers good experience of partnership and joint working at a regional level and a background in strategy development and implementation.
Adrian holds a number of non-executive roles, including Chair of the regional ASA, Chair of the NW CSP Group and Chair of Third Sector Lancashire.
Adrian is looking forward to joining the board, “I believe that Active Partnerships have the potential to make a more significant and wider contribution to health outcomes and the economy, I wanted through involvement with the Active Partnership national board to help shape the direction of travel and support the dialogue with national bodies to enable us to be seen as an invaluable strategic partner nationally and locally in achieving this goal”.
Start Date: 7 September 2016
Finish Date: March 2021
Marg is the Chief Executive of a social enterprise and leisure trust offering leisure and health services, including the largest ‘pay and play’ golfing operation in the UK with 16 sites across the Midlands and the South, and an award winning child weight management programme that extends nationally.
Marg joined Mytime Active from the international development charity, VSO, where she was Chief Executive, and combining this experience with an interim role at Volunteering England, she is committed to the importance and power of volunteering to build a stronger and healthier society.
Having qualified as an accountant early in her career, Marg brings financial and commercial skills from worked in a range of finance roles in the third sector, including as Finance Director of a large Housing Association and of the British Council.
Alongside her paid work, Marg has held a number of national and local non-executive positions with not-for-profit organisations, including Sporta (where she is currently the Treasurer), Akram Khan Dance Company and the Nationwide Foundation.
Margs motivation for joining the Active Partnership national board is “I really believe that we can get our communities healthier and happier by getting them more active – and that the Active Partnerships have big potential to make this a reality. It has to be local to make sense, and it has to be joined up nationally to make a difference. I am a personal admirer of the work that the Active Partnership has done for my nephew who has autism and complex needs. And I am excited by the Sport England strategy that emphasises the importance of broadening our reach. So I am really pleased to have the opportunity to join the Active Partnerships national board.”
Start Date: 7 September 2016
Finish Date: March 2020
Ali has enjoyed a career within leadership, organisational development, HR and Learning and Development for over 20 years. As a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD she is a passionate advocate of business improvement and developing high performing teams, with a genuine enthusiasm for any organisational approach which places people at the heart of its vision and strategy.
She has a strong background working in strategic people leadership roles, especially in commercial environments and has enjoyed developing her own successful management Consultancy business. She brings to the board extensive experience in effective strategic business planning, coaching and behaviour profiling as well as understanding governance arrangements and the development of effective Board ways of working. She thrives on helping organisations transform through developing its workforce and believes in the importance of understanding the style and strengths of the individual and teams.
Having worked within the sector for a relatively short time across a few years, Ali is hugely committed to helping Active Partnerships develop, learn and improve opportunities which drive the achievement of their goals. She has recently joined the Active Partnership Quest PMIF team and worked with West Midlands CSPs in helping design and align competency frameworks with their strategic plans.
On a personal note Ali firmly believes in the power of sport as a tool for changing lives. With a lifelong passion for any and all sports, Ali now enjoys, when limited time allows, her passion for rowing forged from University days. More and more she spends her time travelling the West Midlands helping her children play out their growing love of sport and being a side-line cheerleading Mum!
Ali says “my experiences within the sport and physical activity sector have inspired me; I’m excited to join the Board, and help reach and engage with the broader Active Partnership network, ensuring learning and skills improvement sits at the heart of their success in transforming lives through participation in sport and physical activity”.
Start Date: 20 Sept 2018
Finish Date: August 2020
Eamonn is a former senior officer in local government sports and leisure. He has a track record of promoting sports and physical activity programmes and strategies to maximise sport an all levels, from developing sports facilities within Manchester to active involvement in bidding and attracting major sporting events to the City, including the Commonwealth Games, World Squash Championships, World Indoor Championships and seven other national championships which are held in Manchester each year.
His interest in sports has extended into a range of non-executive over a period of 15 years with regional sports and leisure organisations. He has chaired the Velodrome Trust and the Forum Futures Board and is currently a Board member with the Trafford Leisure Trust and the Greater Manchester Sports Partnership.
Eamonn has a wealth of experience in working with local authorities and government in the field of leisure, sports and active lifestyles, and has considerable involvement in local and regional sports, as well as playing and supporting the development of strategies to grow the water polo at a national level.
Eamonn motivation for wanting to Join the Active Partnership Network Board is to be able to contribute at a national level to the strategies for sport and active lifestyle and to influence policy making that impacts directly to an increase in opportunity for people to access sport at a local level. This is a passion of mine and I want to influence a change in line with emerging Sport England strategy's to increase participation within communities.
Start Date: 7 September 2016
Finish Date: March 2020
Adam is the founder of a successful management consultancy company working within sport, education, and the 3rd and corporate sectors. Since the company’s inception in 2008, it has built a respected reputation for delivering innovative advice and solutions along with an excellent return on investment. Its clients currently include, premier league and championship football teams, national charities, FTSE 100 companies, universities, multi academy trusts, housing associations and national governing bodies of sport.
Prior to its establishment, Adam held senior positions within Team Origin the British America’s Cup team, UK Athletics and the Lawn Tennis Association. In addition to his professional career, Adam has also been an active volunteer, acting as a non-executive trustee within a range of sport and none sporting charities. Adam offers considerable experience of working with CSPs and insight into their challenges and opportunities against a changing environment, in particular in the area of income diversification.
Adams motivation for joining the board “I am passionate about helping people to improve their lives and firmly believe the current and future work of the Active Partnerships has and will continue to play a vital part in making this happen. The Active Partnerships has reached a very exiting phase of its development and I am really excited about being given the opportunity to help them shape their future and reach their potential”.
Start Date: 7 September 2016
Finish Date: March 2021