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Our team of governors has a remarkable breadth of experience, knowledge and skills that hugely benefit Coleg Cambria and everyone involved with it. They’re responsible for Coleg Cambria’s financial solvency, its effective management and the standard of services provided.
They’re also responsible for the proper use of the public funds entrusted to them. Members of the governing body are an integral part of the work of the college and generously donate their time and expertise. The term of office for members is 4 years, excluding student members who are appointed for one year.
Tim was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester in 2005, from which he retired in 2020. He was educated at the University College of North Wales, Bangor. During his career, he has held posts at universities in England, Ireland and Scotland, and a period as a Senior Visiting Research Scholar at St John’s College, Oxford.
Much of his work has involved academic and industrial consultancies, in addition to experience in Europe, America, China and Australia. He has published over 120 articles, books and research reports in a diverse range of areas including dyslexia, psychopharmacology, communications and safety.
He has been a school governor and FE corporation governor for over 30 years. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire and is actively involved with Chester Cathedral as a Lay Canon. He is a freeman of the Cities of London and Chester. He assumed the role of Chair of the Board in January 2021.
Marjorie is a member of a number of the Board’s Committees and supports the College in her Link Governor role.
Marjorie has worked in the field of education for over 35 years. Initially as a primary school teacher, then as a Head Teacher and latterly as an associate tutor/link tutor for both the University of Chester and University of Cumbria.
Marjorie has built and maintained strong relationships with her community over many years. She is a Community Councillor for Gwern-y-Mynydd representing them on the One Voice Wales Committee for Flintshire and she also represents Flintshire on the One Voice Wales National Executive Committee of which she is Vice Chair.
In addition, she is Chair of Age Connects North East Wales and is one of the trustees for both Home-Start Flintshire and the Flintshire Local Voluntary Council as well as a member of the Flintshire committee for the Rural Development Partnership. She formerly acted as General Adviser for Flintshire Citizens Advice Bureau.
Yana Williams became Chief Executive of Coleg Cambria in January 2020. She was educated at both primary and secondary school level in Mold, and completed her A Level studies at the former Deeside College.
An alumnus of Cardiff Metropolitan University, her first teaching role was at Knowsley Community College in Liverpool. She later moved to Runshaw College in Lancashire before rejoining Deeside College in a management role, overseeing the curriculum in a wide range of areas from construction to catering.
It was then on to a Vice Principal role at Blackburn College and later Hugh Baird, Liverpool where she was CEO/Principal for 8 years.
Martina has been involved in the Education sector in various roles since 2014 when she became a Governor at a primary school in Flintshire and currently holds the position of Vice Chair.
She has also been a member of the Wrexham Education Services School Appeals Panel for 5 years and participated in both School and Exclusion Appeals for Wrexham, Flintshire and Cheshire West. Martina became a Lay Inspector for Estyn in 2018 and has participated in a number of inspections.
Martina was born and raised in Germany and graduated from the University of Cologne with a degree in English and French. She has worked as an interpreter for the British Army of the Rhine before spending a year in Kampala/Uganda as a project administrator for the GTZ (German Aid). Following her move to the UK, she worked in aviation as a language tutor and cabin crew until very recently.
Currently she is studying for a CELTA teaching qualification at Blackburn College with a view to graduating in July this year.
Martina is married with two children, one of whom attended Coleg Cambria’s Deeside 6th. She has a particular interest in furthering the teaching of Modern Foreign Languages and wishes to draw on her experience in that field.
Judge Dutton was appointed the Resident and SeniorJudge at Chester Crown Court in 2016 and he also became the Honorary Recorder of the City of Chester. In 2010 he was appointed the Chancellor and Consistory Court Judge for the Diocese of St Asaph. After 44 years in law, he retired in 2018 and in 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Chester in recognition of his service to the administration of justice in Cheshire and the north-west.
He was born and bred in Wrexham and was educated at Acton Park Primary School and Grove Park Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Kent with a BA (Hons) in Law. He practised locally as a barrister until 1996 when he was appointed one of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges to sit on the Wales and Chester Circuit. At 44 years of age, he was the youngest appointment to the Circuit Bench.
Among his many other roles, he has served his community with enthusiasm over the years. Judge Dutton has been a Rotarian, governor of Glyndwr University, a church warden in Rossett, and President of the Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges. In 2019 he became chairman of the Chester Cathedral Safeguarding Advisory Group.
In his younger days he was an energetic sportsman but now restricts himself to club golf at Wrexham where he has been a member for over 40 years. He is an avid follower of Welsh Rugby, cricket, and the fortunes of Wrexham Football Club.
Lee has over 36 years experience in the Finance Industry with both large insurance companies and in private practice as a Director and owner of Williams Financial Planning Ltd in Wrexham. Lee became Wrexham’s first Chartered Financial Planner in 2006 and continues to provide specialist advice to individuals, businesses and charities.
Lee graduated from the University of Wales and is married with 3 children. Two of Lee’s children progressed through further education in Deeside and West Cheshire on their way into the workplace and their own careers.
A committed sportsman in younger days Lee continues to be a keen cyclist and faithful supporter of Aston Villa. Lee’s other passion is music and enjoys playing in a local R&B band.
Martin is Head of the Industrial Academy for Airbus and is based at Broughton in north Wales. Previously Martin has held senior positions in Quality, Manufacturing Engineering and Performance Management/Improvement and has worked in the aerospace sector for over 30 years across Europe and the US.
Martin is an active member of the Manufacturing Working Group within the ‘Aerospace Growth Partnership’, an Ambassador for ‘Aerospace Wales’, and locally a Governor at Elfed High School, Buckley.
In his spare time, Martin enjoys listening to music, cycling and watching sport, particularly following his local football club Wrexham FC.
Martin is the Link Governor for Work Based Learning and Employer Engagement.
Mark Hughes is the Student Voice Engagement Officer in the Learner Experience department.
He currently coordinates Student voice and clubs and societies between all 5 sites at Coleg Cambria.
Mark has a long history of working with students of all ages. From working in high schools to working as a Progress Coach at Coleg Cambria, Mark has been able to work with a variety of students with different needs and has loved witnessing each student develop and grow on to bigger things.
Mark truly believes that every student should have a chance to “Raise” their voice. To speak up for what they believe in and to have their say in how their college is run. His aim is to ensure that every student feels like they are being heard and that they are valued within the college.
Gareth is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and is past Chair of the Welsh Panel of CARAS (Council for Awards of the Royal Agricultural Societies) and has been Chair of the Welsh Region for The Moredun Foundation.
Gareth is originally from Caernarfon and studied Agriculture at the Welsh Agricultural College in Aberystwyth gaining an HND in Agriculture. After a period milking cows in New Zealand he spent time managing beef, sheep and arable farms in Mid Wales, followed by a couple of years working as a beef specialist for the Meat and Livestock Commission.
Gareth has recently retired having formerly been employed by Lord Newborough as the Estate Farm Manager at Rhug in Corwen. The farm was converted to organic production in 2000 and has an on-site meat cutting plant together with a farm shop and a drive through outlet. The in-hand farming operation now extends to over 6,000 acres.
Jill is the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. She is an experienced board member, business leader and advisor, acting as a non-executive for a diverse range of organisations.
A Chartered Accountant, she is well networked, regarded and respected in the business community. Until 2020 she was the Regional Managing Partner of RSM, the 7th largest firm of accountants in the UK, and a member of the firm’s National Leadership Team, a Main Board Director and Acting Chief Operating Officer.
Geoff was born in Wrexham and has lived there throughout his life. He is a former student of Yale Sixth Form College, where he studied A Levels prior to joining the NHS to train in accountancy. He has been a qualified Chartered Accountant (CIPFA) since 1989.
Geoff spent the whole of his career working for NHS organisations across North Wales and held several Executive Director roles during his career, both in finance and general management. He has over 20 years experience as a Board Member.
Jayne is a Barrister at Law for the Crown Prosecution Service and a member of Gray’s Inn, London.
She read Law at Liverpool and, following a commendation in her Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, began her 25 year legal career working a breadth of casework for Allington Hughes Solicitors. Jayne followed her passion and today specialises in crime working at one of the UK’s largest prosecution areas in Merseyside and Cheshire.
Jayne has a keen interest in the development of others working as pupil master, mentor and has assisted in the training of newly qualified barristers at Gray’s Inn. She recently featured on BBC’s documentary The Prosecutors as well as BBC North West news discussing the recent pandemic and effects on the criminal justice system.
Jayne was born in Wrexham and is a former pupil of Yale Sixth Form College. She is an advocate for social mobility, equal opportunities and raising the aspirations within North East Wales. Jayne resides in Wrexham with her husband and two children.
Paul has over 40 years experience in the finance industry with Barclays Bank PLC.
Having completed a variety of roles, for the last 30 years Paul has been a lending manager operating as a relationship director in the corporate part of the Bank dealing with a variety of clients in the SME market.
Paul is originally from Wrexham and still lives in the city. He is a former pupil of Yale sixth form college.
He has held several Governor roles in local schools at Primary and Secondary level, previous board member of Careers Wales North West and is a Prince’s Trust mentor supporting young people starting out in business.
Paul is an avid supporter of Wrexham FC since 1976 and is a keen charity fundraiser over the last 20 years having completed several cycling and trekking challenges including conquering Kilimanjaro in 2022.
Anna retired from her role as Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Chester at the end of September in 2020 and has worked in education for 47 years.
Anna has had a varied career spending the majority of her time in higher education. She trained as a teacher at St. Mary’s College Bangor qualifying in 1973 and for the first ten years of her career taught in primary schools in Flintshire/Clwyd. This period culminated in Anna becoming headteacher of St. Asaph Infants school.
Anna went on to take up a post at the then North East Wales Institute (NEWI) in teacher education. She remained at NEWI for eighteen years. During these years she progressed to lead primary teacher education as a Principal Lecturer.
In 2002, Anna moved to take up a post at the University of Chester. She became Dean of the Faculty of Education and Children’s Services and relinquished this post after fifteen years to take up the role of Deputy Vice Chancellor, she also became Provost of the new University Centre Shrewsbury. She has worked abroad in Palestine, America and Sweden.
Anna has worked with Estyn and has considerable experience as an external examiner of HE programmes. She has always retained her interest in schools not least through her experience as a school Governor.
Jane is a chartered accountant who has worked as an education and charity specialist for over 25 years focusing solely on advising clients in these sectors. During this time she has worked with a number of Welsh Futher Education colleges, academy trusts and independent schools together with a variety of charities and other not for profit organisations. She is currently a senior manager in the Charity and Education team at WR Partners, a local accountancy firm.
Jane lives in Wrexham and is a former pupil of the former Yale 6th Form college. She is married and has four children, three of whom attended Coleg Cambria before moving on to University.
In her spare time Jane enjoys walking her border terriers,supporting Wrexham FC and is currently learning how to play golf.
Sara is a Basic Skills lecturer and Curriculum Lead in the Adult Basic Education department. She was educated through the medium of Welsh up until University where she undertook her undergraduate degree in Education and ALN, her teaching qualification and Masters degree.
She works both on college sites and out in the community with adults who wish to improve their literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
Sara has an extended history of working with students in a variety of different sectors. From working in primary schools to HMP Berwyn, a category C prison for males in Wrexham. She recognises the importance of providing individuals with the right tools and resources to develop, succeed and become lifelong learners.
As a staff governor, Sara is supporting the college to be an inclusive, transparent and a positive working environment by contributing a lecturer’s point of view to the Governing body of Coleg Cambria.
Annesley is a member of the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee and Link Governor on the Learner’s Campus Council Meetings at the Bersham Site and attends the meetings.
Annesley’s primary career has been as managing director of Japanese manufacturing companies in North Wales initially with Hoya Lens in Wrexham and latterly with TRB, a Toyota manufacturing subsidiary, in St Asaph. His background is in finance and accounting and evolved to general management in which he rapidly developed a reputation for success in managing change and growing companies.
Annesley is a fluent Japanese speaker and was honoured by the Japanese Government in 2008 for service to Japanese corporates and the Japanese community in the UK. In 1998 he was awarded the Achievement Wales Business Person of the Year, and in 2006, the University of Bangor sponsored Wales Business Person of the Year, both in association with the Welsh Government.
He currently holds Welsh Government Board appointments in Careers Wales, Deeside Enterprise Zone and, locally, Cefndy Healthcare. He also holds board appointments on the University of Chester Business Advisory Council, National Youth Advocacy Service, Adoption Matters, Advance Brighter Futures, Wrexham Foyer and Q3 Academy and sits on several charitable trusts as a trustee.
Rajan is a public health doctor who worked in senior medical management positions in the NHS until his retirement. He serves as a trustee of a number of voluntary organisations in Wales and as a non-executive director on the Boards of Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (England) and Citizen Voice Body (Wales).
He lives near Ruthin in Denbighshire and is actively learning Welsh.
Alexander is currently studying Hospitality and Catering at Level 2 at Yale and is a Student Governor at Coleg Cambria. Alexander is a keen volunteer and uses his lived experience and knowledge to advocate for and support the voices of children and young people being heard and listened to. He is a member of Senedd yr Ifanc / Youth Parliament and spoke at House of Commons in November 2023, is a youth representative at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and contributed to the Children Charter Recipe Book and spoke at its launch. He was also a member of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Youth Advisory Panel between 2021 – 2023.
Alexander is passionate about making a difference and is keen to use his voice as a Student Governor to help shape projects and initiatives in the college to benefit and enhance fellow learners’ experiences.
Finn is currently studying Animal Management at Level 3 after coming from Animal Care Level 1 and Level 2 (and being homeschooled prior). He’s been a part of the Student Voice programme for the college since first starting at Coleg Cambria in September 2021. Finn is a Student Governor on the Board.
Finn is passionate about making sure that the animals on his course are properly looked after and maintained to the best of the college’s abilities. He is also keen to ensure that the college stays inclusive and that he and his peers continue to enjoy, and feel supported through, their courses.
Claire is a partner at Aaron and Partners solicitors. Recommended in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, Claire represents a wide range of employers and has over 20 years’ experience working with companies including multi nationals and PLCs, charitable organisations, and education sector clients.
Her practice includes supporting and advising boards (including governing bodies) and businesses on a range of complex and time sensitive issues.
An active public speaker committed to educating employers and their teams in best practice, Claire has presented at national events including the recent national ACAS hybrid and flexible working conferences, she also carries out both external and bespoke in-house training courses on topical employment law issues.
Claire leads the education team and acts as a mentor and mental health first aider at Aaron and Partners and is particularly interested in equality, diversity and inclusion, dignity at work, wellbeing at work and suicide prevention.
