Meet our team

Elaine completed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) at Durham University in 2001. Elaine has been a Trustee of Teesside Hospice for a year and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of Quality and Performance Committee. Elaine has worked in the NHS for over 43 years as a Divisional Director and has considerable experience in management and has a keen interest in behavioural change and transformational leadership. Elaine was a carer for over 15 years, and is passionate about helping and supporting other carers. Elaine is a mother of 3 grown up children and is thoroughly enjoying the role of “Grandma” to 8 grandchildren. In her spare time she enjoys walking, listening to music, concerts and films. 

Gary Whitehead is a business leader whose career has spanned commercial and industrial sectors. For the last 25 years Gary has gained extensive experience in troubleshooting and growing businesses in highly competitive markets.

He has held Director roles throughout Europe, Asia and Australia for companies including Suez, Visy Industries, Transpacific Industries, Newcastle College Group, DCWM Group and has also enjoyed senior positions with trade advocacy groups, liaising with Governments at Ministerial level.

Gary is alumni of Teesside University and Durham University. His MBA focused on Strategic Development and this remains as his strong professional interest, helping organisations ensure that they are sustainable, competitive and relevant to their customers and markets.

Tim spent 10 years working in head office positions in London for retailers including Debenhams and Disney Store. He moved to the North East in 2009 and has recently celebrated 10 years at the Clinkard Group where he currently sits on the board as Director of Retail.  Tim joined the Teesside Hospice Trading Company in November 2017 to provide input on commercial support for the hospice.  He became a trustee in May 2019 and has now taken on the role of Trading Company Chair.  When not at work or parenting, Tim can usually be found in the gym trying to forget he’s now in his forties.

Mike was pleased to join Teesside Hospice as a Trustee in March 2020 and Chairs the Finance and Facilities Committee. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984 and has worked in public practice throughout his career. Mike has provided accountancy, audit and tax services to a wide variety of businesses over the years including a number of charities. Since 2013 Mike has ran a Financial Consultancy providing strategic and operational advice to some notable local companies. He hopes to use those many years of experience to help guide the Hospice through the financial challenges it faces in the coming years.

Away from work Mike enjoys spending time with his family, breaks in the motorhome, lake fishing and walking to keep fit.

Carole has over 40 years experience of working in the health care sector having had a career that began as a nurse and then a health visitor and subsequently has included managerial positions in various hospitals and community services as well as regional health bodies. She is currently Executive Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive at County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Carole was delighted to join the board of Trustees in January 2020 seeing it as an opportunity to share her experience to help a valued provider of care to the people of the area where she lives.

As well as being a mum to 2 now grown up children, Cath has had a career in radio spanning over 30 years. Mainly working in the commercial arena. Cath has been fortunate enough to work with some amazing, talented and fun teams.

As well as commercial leadership she was lucky enough to launch and manage Cash for Kids in 2006, the Radio stations' charity. Cath spent 5 years working with another great team to consolidate all of our charities in order to create one great brand, helping sick and underprivileged children up and down the country. 

In 2019 after 32 years in Radio Cath set up her own consultancy business here in Teesside, and found herself with some time on my hands. The opportunity to join the Hospice as a Trustee, has been so rewarding. 

When she's not working Cath enjoys writing and spending time with her family.

John Sheridan began work in the NHS as an A and E receptionist in 1995, progressing into a career in nursing with the last 10 years developing clinical expertise and leadership in palliative & end of life care, across the Teesside and Yorkshire area. John is alumni of Teesside University, University of Birmingham, NHS Leadership Academy & University of Sunderland, holding a MSc in Healthcare Leadership. John is a Clinical Lead Nurse in Palliative & End of Life Care at a local NHS Foundation Trust and supports nationally as a Clinical Advisor to NHS England & Improvement on end of life care. John joined the board in January 2020 and is passionate about promoting excellent palliative & end of life care, enabling people to live as well as possible for as long as possible. When not working, John enjoys walking his dogs on the beach.

Following an early career in finance David entered the voluntary sector in 1995 working in housing and advice before specialising in mental healthcare and moving into end of life care in 2018. Developing a strong vision for good healthcare has allowed David to lead service redesign and develop lasting relationships with partners that clearly demonstrates the positive impact partnership working can have.

Holding a Master’s in Charities Resource Management, David regularly engages in public debate on issues such as mental health, end of life care, charities and leadership.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/davidsmithyork

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Debbie has worked in the NHS for over 38 years as a nurse, midwife and health visitor. She has worked in a variety of settings including hospitals, community and mental health, as a senior manager both locally and regionally. Debbie is an alumni of the Universities of Teesside and Northumbria holding a MSc in Organisational Development. Her specialism is service redesign and Lean techniques to ensure services are run as effective and efficient as they can be. Debbie joined the hospice in August 2020.

Debbie is passionate about delivering high quality patient care and offering support to carers and families. When not at work Debbie is a carer to her elderly mum and young granddaughter and any spare time is getting outside walking the local beauty spots.

Angie joined local accountancy firm Baines Jewitt aged 18 and was lucky enough to find a career which was perfect for her. Angie gained so much practical experience working closely with specialists who allowed her to grow into the not-for-profit sector, such as golf clubs, social clubs and charities. She has also obtained both the AAT and ACCA qualifications before joining Teesside Hospice 11 years ago. Angie is passionate about the fantastic work and the amazing people who underpin the services at the hospice. She appreciates a good work-life balance, and her main hobby is walking; Angie loves the outdoors and has a passion for animals too.

Debbie, an experienced Fundraising Manager, joined Teesside Hospice in 2005. Debbie has had a successful marketing career working for major blue chip companies in London, and secured a first-class honours degree and CIM professional postgraduate diploma in marketing.

With 18 years experience in the charity sector, Debbie leads both the fundraising and marketing functions to achieve a budget in excess of £3m. Debbie manages over 25,000 supporters annually through a variety of disciplines, including: community, events, corporate, retail, individual giving, lottery and grants and trusts fundraising.

Teesside Hospice recently re-launched with a new strategy to ensure better care and access to services for the entire Teesside community and beyond. Debbie and her team have developed the charity’s branding to ensure Teesside Hospice remains engaged with supporters and has strong connections with the local community. Alongside this, Debbie has an ambitious plan to increase income, ensuring that Teesside Hospice is sustainably funded both now and in the future.

With a retail career spanning over 40 years, Chris has held a number of senior management roles, overseeing retail store operations for large national retailers including Littlewoods, Index and T.J.Hughes. During his time at Littlewoods he project managed many new shop openings across the UK.

Chris joined Teesside Hospice in 2017 and as Head of Retail, he provides strategic direction and leadership for our retail operation. He is passionate about building high performing teams, helping others and offering fantastic customer service.

Out of work he enjoys spending time with his family, especially his two grandchildren. He also enjoys gardening, travelling, music and attending concerts. 

Jo is founder and Managing Director of Teesside’s leading human resource company HR Alchemy. A People Strategist, Jo has 25 years’ experience as an HR director and board member and knows what it takes to get a business to where it wants to be. Her company HR Alchemy is an ally to businesses of all ages and sizes where she uses her people knowledge to guide Tees business operators on how to become a standout employer of choice.

Jo hopes to combine her business community role with her trustee role to bring more conscience awareness to Tees Valley business community to enable employers to find ways to talk and support employees living and caring with life limiting illnesses in the modern workplace. 

Lucy has worked in Human Resources for over 20 years across the private and public sector. Lucy joined Teesside Hospice as the Human Resource Manager in 2022 after 10 years working in education. Lucy is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and has a Masters in Employment Law. Lucy is passionate about people management and supporting the strategic direction of Teesside Hospice. Lucy enjoys running and spending time with her family and friends.