Forum Central is delivered in partnership by two organisations: Volition and Leeds Older People’s Forum (both Registered Charities).

There are three Boards of Trustees which meet regularly to ensure the smooth running of the organisations and partnership:

  • Forums Partnership Board – meets annually
  • Leeds Older People’s Forum Board – meets monthly
  • Volition Board – meets bi-monthly

Details of who is a Trustee on each of the boards is below.

Forums Partnership Board

The Forums Partnership Board comprises of trustees, including the chairs, from each of the trustee boards of Volition and Leeds Older People’s Forum, which in partnership form Forum Central. The role of Chairperson at the Forum Partnership meeting alternates, with each of the boards taking it in turn.

TrusteeOrganisationRole
Roger HaringtonLeeds Older People's ForumChair
Julie BadonSwarthmore
Neil FranklinVolition
Ruth KettleInspire North

Leeds Older People’s Forum

Leeds Older People’s Forum is made up of older people and managers, chief executives and project workers from some of the forum’s member organisations – all of which work with older people.

TrusteeOrganisationRole
Roger Harington*IndividualChair
John O'DwyerCaring Together in Woodhouse & Little LondonVice Chair
Bill Rollinson M.B.E.*IndividualTreasurer
Cath Mahoney*Individual
Tricia Gradys*Individual
John Welham*Advisor - Chair of SDSG
Susan Phillips*IndividualVice Chair
Julie BadonSwarthmore
Caroline MacnamaraIndividual
Tom ArmstrongBurmantofts Community Friends
Shabana KosarFeel Good Factor
Howard ForemanIndividual
Cllr. David JenkinsLeeds City Council - Representative from Leeds City Council

A minimum of 75% of the charity trustees must be older people (an older person is defined by Leeds Older People’s Forum as a person aged 60 years of age and over).

Volition

The Volition Board of Trustees is the governing body providing leadership and direction for the organisation. The Board is drawn from Volition member organisations, all of which are third sector and offer services to people with learning disabilities, physical and sensory impairments or mental health problems.

The Volition Board is currently recruiting for new Trustees. Anyone who wishes to express their interest in joining the board can visit our recruitment page for more information and how to apply. We are particularly looking to fill skills and experience gaps on the Board.

Mark Law - Chair
Mark Law - Chair
Ruth Kettle
Ruth Kettle

Ruth became a Trustee in 2015 and has worked in the field of mental health in Leeds since 2003. Working for a Leeds-based mental health charity, she had long been aware of Volition’s work and joined the board to help highlight the impact of the third sector in supporting clients and communities.

Ruth is passionate about the third sector and has worked within it throughout her career. She believes it makes a significant difference, often reaching people in ways that other services cannot. Her priorities as a Trustee are to influence service provision and system change, ensure the third sector is a genuine partner, and support solutions to the challenges facing communities and providers across Leeds.

Alongside running a large mental health, homelessness and domestic abuse charity across the North of England, Ruth is a single parent to two school-age children. In her spare time she enjoys running, swimming and cycling, and has taken part in the Leeds triathlon since it began.

Adrian Curtis
Adrian Curtis

Adrian joined the Volition Board in 2020 and has nearly 20 years’ experience as a Trustee on other boards, including Voluntary Action Leeds. He works for Groundwork, a national environmental and social regeneration charity, where the link between environment, health and wellbeing is central to the organisation’s work.

Adrian brings experience of how access to green space and environmental improvements can positively impact communities. He is particularly concerned about the effects of fuel and food poverty across Leeds and believes we must work towards long-term solutions as well as immediate support. As a Trustee, he is keen to support Volition’s role in influencing health partners and strengthening collaboration across infrastructure organisations.

Outside of work, Adrian enjoys gardening, travelling with his family and cycling. His favourite place in Leeds is the Dark Arches and Granary Wharf, where the canal towpaths run beneath the city centre.

James Hill
James Hill

James is Director of Pyramid, an arts organisation supporting people with learning disabilities to explore creativity and develop as artists for over 30 years. He previously served as a Trustee of Tenfold before it merged in 2020. He believes many of the barriers faced by people with learning disabilities stem from organisations not working closely enough together, which makes Volition’s partnership role especially important to him.

As a Trustee, James is keen to better understand the range of groups supported across the sector and to strengthen collaboration. He is particularly passionate about tackling inequality of opportunity in health and care for people with learning disabilities in Leeds.

Outside of work, James enjoys playing guitar, writing music and walking. His favourite place in Leeds is The Cardigan Arms, a historic local pub that welcomes families and dogs.

Pam Bhupal
Pam Bhupal

Pam works across West Yorkshire ICS and Calderdale Council, helping to ensure the Local Authority voice is represented within partnership working. She supports Health and Wellbeing Board Chairs and council leaders across West Yorkshire and has led on the BAME Covid-19 action plan in Calderdale, as well as co-chairing the council’s BAME network. She brings over 13 years’ experience of working in local government and tackling health inequalities.

Pam believes Leeds is a vibrant place to live and work, but recognises that inequalities remain and were further exposed during the pandemic. She is committed to strengthening the voice of the VCSE sector within regional and local decision-making, particularly advocating for communities from racially minoritised backgrounds who are often under-represented.

Pam is also co-health lead at Sikh Alliance Yorkshire and a trustee of Northern Broadsides theatre company, linking health, wellbeing, arts and culture. Leeds born and bred, she enjoys the outdoors, shopping and socialising across the city.

Rob Wilson
Rob Wilson

Rob is the founder and coordinator for the Angels of Freedom, an LGBT+ community safety and support organisation based in Leeds. He has extensive knowledge and experience on community development having previously volunteered with the Leeds City Council LGBT+ Hub and Yorkshire MESMAC, in addition to setting up The Leeds Hunters LGBT+ rugby team and The Bad Mittens LGBT+ badminton group, the latter of which he continues to coordinate.

In his employment at Leeds City Council he’s worked extensively on staff voice and representation through support and development of employee resource groups alongside delivery of EDI projects, and currently focuses on internal communications, staff engagement and wellbeing.

Rob is keen to bring this learning, experience and connections to the board of trustees to support a truly intersectional approach to health and wellbeing in Leeds.

Steve Hoey
Steve Hoey

Steve is the CEO at Turning Lives Around (TLA). TLA has 150 staff working at a number of schemes in Leeds and Wakefield, housing and supporting 1200+ homeless people a year in a range of settings. TLA works in partnership with Local Authorities and other key partners including GIPSIL, Foundation, Touchstone and Basis Yorkshire. Steve is also the Chair of the Homelessness Prevention Forum in Leeds.

He was the Director at the United Nations ‘World Habitat Award’ winning Canopy Housing (2008 – 2017), where he led an innovative, sustainable and replicable organisation with a strong global reputation in community-led housing. He graduated with a BA degree from Leeds University and has since gained an MBA. His career since 1993 has been in housing and leadership, in positions ranging from volunteer to Founder, from Resettlement Worker to CEO.

Outside of work he enjoys family time, climbing, running and learning.

Graham Hyde
Graham Hyde

Graham is an experienced health and care leader with a background in business intelligence, data quality and system improvement across Leeds and West Yorkshire. He has worked at senior level within the NHS, most recently at the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, supporting the use of insight and data to inform decision making across complex partnerships.

He brings extensive experience of working across statutory services, local authorities and the voluntary sector. Graham is particularly interested in how better use of data and insight can help improve population health outcomes and reduce inequalities. As a Trustee, he is keen to support the voice of the VCSE sector in shaping health and care strategy and strengthening partnership working across Leeds.

Originally from Ripon and now living in Harrogate with his family, Graham enjoys running, taking part in parkrun and walking his dog, Ted, through the Nidd Gorge.

Sharon Brown
Sharon Brown

Sharon is Director of Strategic & Business Partnerships at Leeds based mental health and wellbeing charity Touchstone, responsible for delivering Touchstone’s Business Development & Income Generation strategy and ensuring the organisation’s sustainability in line with its values.

Sharon has gained extensive experience working in Operations, Development and Communications for a number of Housing Associations and Charities in Yorkshire. She brings a background of developing and managing health, wellbeing and homelessness projects including services for Asylum Seekers & Refugees, Women, Older People, and People in contact with the Criminal Justice system.
As a trustee Sharon has an interest in supporting partnerships that address health inequalities and improve access to support minority communities and community based organisations. In her spare time she a Francophone who enjoys French Film and Literature.