Oakleaf Trustees

Lorraine is an experienced business manager and organisational and process transformation expert.  Having spent over 20 years working at senior management levels in global financial services organisations Lorraine is now semi-retired and focussing on using her skills and experience to support the not-for-profit sector alongside undertaking consultancy roles.

“I have personal experience of how hard it is to find the right support when family members are suffering from mental health issues.  Oakleaf strikes the right balance between providing support for our clients’ wellbeing and social inclusion, building self-esteem and confidence, and also vocational and work-based skills training that leads to many of our clients being able to successfully move back into employment.  For all of our clients, whether they are able to return to work or not Oakleaf provides a safe and supportive environment that gives the anchor that they all need to move forward.  As Chair of the board my aim is to see Oakleaf grow sustainably, wether organically or through partnerships with others, to enable more and more clients to access the support it gives.”

James is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and a Barrister.  He joined the Oakleaf Board in March 2015 and is also the Company Secretary.  James is semi-retired and before taking retirement was the Company Secretary of Zotefoams plc, a British manufacturing company listed on the London Stock Exchange.  James’s expertise is in corporate governance.

“I was attracted to Oakleaf as I wanted to help a local charity that provides a much needed and valued service in the community.”

Anna is a qualified and BACP accredited counsellor specialising in offering support for children, young people, and adults, as well as supporting counsellors and allied health professionals as a clinical supervisor, and lecturer in counselling teaching on a counselling degree course.

“Over the past 25 years, I held various professional roles dedicated to promoting mental health and wellbeing, both in the public and private sectors. Supporting a local charity has always been important to me, and Oakleaf Enterprise stood out as a perfect fit, given its focus on mental health—a cornerstone of overall wellbeing for everyone.

Becoming a trustee felt like a meaningful extension of my work, offering a unique opportunity to contribute my skills, experience, and time in a different volunteering capacity. When invited to join the trustee board, it felt like the right time to step up, and I gratefully accepted as a way to give back to the community.

It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of Oakleaf Enterprise, a widely well respected, client-focused local charity, and to collaborate with a dedicated board of trustees to shape and enhance vital services.”

Phil is an experienced HR professional, and a Fellow of the CIPD. Building on over ten years in Director-level roles in international professional services, he now operates in the not-for-profit sector. Phil is an HR generalist, with a strong track record of developing the capability and performance of organisations large and small.

“As an HR professional, I know how important work is to people’s self-esteem and identity. Oakleaf’s focus on re-building confidence and connections through work-related training has been shown to really help people to improve their mental health. As a Trustee my key focus is on developing this aspect of our work.”

Professionally, Angela spent 25 years working in the banking industry; the latter 10 years included writing communications for staff (including social media) & managing content on an in-house intranet. Following a business restructure she then left the bank to work as a manager for a charity that supported unpaid Carers which involved working with other charities and fundraising. For the past five years Angela’s used her skills and experience as a Guildford Borough and Surrey County Councillor to help and support people in her community.

“As a new member of the Board I’m pleased to be part of the Oakleaf family; I look forward to working / championing the help and support people need to improve their mental health.”

Richard runs a specialist training business, Attitude Solutions, where his mission is to equip and enable his clients to measurably improve the way they manage their conflicting priorities and deliver their mission critical results within demanding workloads. Richard’s been doing this since 1999 and supports clients in many countries. Before that he was a Chartered Insurer, specialising in Corporate Risks in the City and, for 15 years in Africa, the Middle East and Far East. Richard is also the Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Surrey, the second largest branch in the UK and serves as the HR Ambassador as well.

“Through my specialisation I’m acutely aware that most people pay too high a price for the results they deliver every day. This interest in Stress management opened me up to the importance of managing our mental health. Oh, and I also love what Oakleaf does.”

Mark is a business leader, coach and mentor with 20 years of Senior IT leadership guiding organisations through transformational change as they grow/scale or contract. He is well known for a safe pair of hands who “gets the job done” by deploying a pragmatic/agile approach to address business problems/opportunities. Mark is a highly passionate and determined individual who loves to combine new and old skills to deliver value to customers, clients and his teams.

“Having seen the impact of mental ill heath in my professional and personal life, it was a very natural move to join the wonderful team at Oakleaf and support their great work”

Stephen is a Chartered Surveyor who has been in the property sector for around 40 years in a variety of roles and currently works at NatWest Bank advising colleagues and customers on commercial real estate matters.

“As a Guildford resident I have seen the hugely valuable work that Oakleaf does in our community and very much look forward to working with the wider Oakleaf team”.

Rob was a Civil Servant for 34 years, the majority of it in senior and Board roles with an emphasis on leadership, operational delivery, strategy development and risk management.

Following a significant mental ill health episode, necessitating over a year off work, Rob returned to full time employment but quickly realised he wanted something very different from life. He now balances a bit of freelance consultancy (senior leadership development; Board EDI coaching) with chairing a national charity (the UK Men’s Sheds Association), and youth and adult mentoring for two other charities. Alongside that, he’s been teaching himself woodwork, makes natural replacements for household items, occasionally performs on stage, and most of all loves being out in nature with his dog, all of which is part of his plan for sustaining good mental health.

After speaking about his mental health journey at one of Oakleaf’s regular lunches for local businesses, Rob was asked if he’d be interested in joining the Oakleaf Board. For obvious reasons, he wasted no time in saying ‘yes’ to the idea of supporting this fantastic charity.