Our Trustees

Who We Are

Rick Bedson

Chair of Trustees

I served for 25 years in the Corps of Royal Engineers, completing my service in 1997 with the rank of Warrant Officer. In 1997 I was appointed as the Estates Manager at Dinas Bran High School, two years later I moved to Coleg Powys. I left Coleg Powys in 2001 to become the H&S Manager at Deeside College and from then on, held several appointments as the college grew and transformed into Coleg Cambria. I retired in 2021 as the college’s Head of Estates; managing a department of over 60 staff responsible for providing teaching facilities for some 26,000 students and staff spread over five sites. I welcomed the opportunity to become a Trustee with ABF in 2019 and was delighted when asked to become the Chair of Trustees in 2021. I am married with three grown up children with families of their own and live in Colwyn Bay.

Rob Cox

Trustee

Hello there, I’m Rob and I’ve been a Trustee for over seven years.

I joined the RAF as an apprentice Avionics Engineer when I was 18 and left with a pension at the ripe old age of 35. I then taught IT at Yale College for seven years before starting my own IT company.

My company, MSC Technology, help ABF when and where we can with IT issues. The company has recently reduced to just 3 of us. We have worked with all sorts of varied companies from ocean going super-yachts to dentists and chemists. I was introduced to ABF to help sort out the nest of cables that had accumulated under staff desks at the time. I think I felt a bit faint when I was first shown it, but thankfully it’s all now gone.

If you have any IT issues, then by all means give me/us a call and we’ll do what we can to help.

Jim Hayward

Trustee

I have worked for TSB bank for 36 years, in a variety of roles. For the past 15 years as a bank manager, in a number of local branches. I am passionate in making a difference for those I meet, customers, colleagues, or local communities.

Over the last few years my teams have been involved in fundraising for a number of local charities. In 2019 we raised £1,688 for ABF. During this time, I was surprised how many customers and staff told me about the impact of ABF's work in Wrexham.

When Lorrisa asked me to stay involved as a Trustee I was delighted to accept. I live in Pentre Broughton, and I'm married to Tina, who has worked for the NHS for thirty plus years.

Marc Jones

Trustee

I've been a Wrecsam County Councillor for the Grosvenor ward (which covers Rhosddu and much of the town centre) for the past six years. I'm a journalist by trade - having worked on the Leader, Daily Post as well as making TV programmes for ITV and BBC Wales. I currently work as a media and communities’ officer for a north Wales Senedd Member. I serve on the board of Saith Seren, the community-owned Welsh centre and bar in Wrecsam and am a governor at Ysgol Plas Coch, where both my boys were educated. They're now in their twenties - one married and the other hopefully ready to fly the nest soon.

My wife is a nurse on the Special Care Baby Unit at the Maelor, currently seconded to the Royal College of Nurses. I'm proud of the quiet and effective work that Advance Brighter Futures does in our area, which is why I've been a Trustee (my second stint) for the past three years.

Justine Mason

Trustee

Hi, I'm Justine and I've lost track of how long I've been a Trustee with ABF now! It's a pretty special organisation that seems to have always been there and being a Trustee feels like a real privilege and a way of helping it to thrive. By day I teach mental health and wellbeing and social prescribing at the University in Wrexham and the rest of the time is dedicated to something linked to horticulture in some way. I volunteer at Erlas Victorian Walled Garden once a week as well as maintaining my own allotment, complete with a small crew of 3 feral cats, 3 hens and a hive of bees. When rain stops play there, I'll be either baking something or using plants as natural dyes. I'm currently aiming to learn how to make fabric from nettles (yes, it's a thing!). It's the one thing I grow successfully so I might as well get the best use from them (they're edible and make a fabulous natural dye and infused balms as well) and learning new things about the plants around us is a great wellbeing boost too.

Cath Taylor

Trustee

I have been involved with ABF for over 10 years; as a volunteer, a member

of staff and as a Trustee. This is my second time around as a Trustee, I was previously the Chair of Trustees for four years. ABF’s values are close to my heart and I have always valued and respected the approach we take to supporting people in their recovery. My background is in community development and poverty reduction. I currently work for Denbighshire Council, managing their community development teams, Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Liaison, partnership and greenspace development and digital infrastructure services, which sound like an odd mixture but it does link together nicely. I am passionate about reducing inequality and believe organisations like ABF have a huge part to play in this. I live locally to Wrexham and enjoy a range of activities including gardening and walking my border terrier ‘Pip’. I love the great outdoors and believe it is powerful to aid recovery and a massive boost to wellbeing.

Molly Whelan

Trustee

I was pleased to join the Board of Trustees in 2022. Having worked with ABF in the past with the PAR project (Promoting Awareness & Resilience). I was excited to support the charity going forward as Trustee.

My career has predominately been in the third sector; however, my current role is an Education Manager in the NHS where I oversee learning and development interventions including managing our apprenticeship service along with the volunteer service and all widening participation programmes and outreach work with schools and community organisations to help widen access to NHS careers.

I live in Chester and have two young boys and look forward to helping the charity in any way I can.

Rosemarie Williams

Trustee

As a founder member of ABF I am proud to remain involved as a Trustee helping ABF to grow, develop, and achieve success alongside the people it supports. The key to this success is the value that ABF places upon everyone regardless of their situation, as well as the unconditional belief in people`s ability to realise their hopes, dreams, and aspirations. This is the glue that binds ABF together. My life experience; including my early family life, my informal and formal education, as well as my children have all contributed to the preparation of my continuing apprenticeship to work with people. I have three sons and ten grandchildren who keep me on my toes together with their pets, especially their dogs Bentley and Bear, who come to me for sleepovers, short breaks, and holidays. I feel that I am in a privileged position, being part of the amazing stories that people share describing their journeys with ABF. It is this involvement that motivates me to continue in my role as a Trustee with ABF.

Duties of a Trustee

The Trustees, as a team work together to undertake the following: -

Ensure the charity is carrying out its purpose for public benefit.
Ensure the charity operates in accordance with charities governing document.
In all aspects, operate and act in the best interest of the charity.
Manage the resources of the charity in a legal and responsible fashion.
Act with reasonable care and skill ensuring the charity is fully accountable.

Being a Trustee at Advanced Brighter Futures is a rewarding, worthwhile and stimulating role. Working closely with the CEO the Trustees ensure that the charity constantly works towards achieving its stated objective and that the charity is well managed, complies with legal requirements and is forward thinking. The role of Trustee is voluntary and unpaid but nevertheless vital. Without Trustees no charity can be legally registered.