Our Trustees
We are grateful to our Board of Trustees for their time, work and dedication to CYCA; and for their ongoing support. Diolch yn fawr!
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Bernardine Rees
Bernardine originally from Pembrokeshire now lives in Pembrey, started her career as a trainee nurse in the early seventies and worked across the three counties Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in a variety of roles, always looking for ways to improve the patient experience.
Bernie recently ended her term as Chair of Hwyel Dda University Health Board after 47 years in the NHS and is now Chair of Respiratory Innovation Wales. Bernardine was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to the Welsh NHS
“I am passionate about partnership working and how it can bring wider benefits for communities, which is why I look forward to my role as a trustee at CYCA.”
Trustee
Linda Williams
Linda is a wife, mother of three and recently retired as a Health Service Manager, after working for 34 years within the geographical boundary of Hywel Dda University Health Board. As part of this work Linda enjoyed being responsible for hospitals and community services, and strongly believes in an integrated service delivery across health and social care and related local authority services.
Born, brought up, and still living in Llanelli, Linda is passionate about supporting the area; having seen deprivation in some of the communities Linda sees the important role that CYCA plays in community development and strengthening individual resilience.
“This is what attracted me to become a trustee at CYCA; and I feel privileged to be part of such an innovative and progressive organisation that supports individuals to thrive, and not just survive. This is at the heart of the work I want to support. I look forward to learning more from CYCA and sharing my knowledge, skills and experience.”
Trustee
Caroline Rees
Caroline is an Early Years Advisory Teacher in Swansea Local Authority.
She has over 30 years’ experience working with young children, a passion which was started by Tracy Pike as her Child Development Teacher when she was 15 years old! Caroline has experience as a Nanny, a Teaching Assistant and qualified as an Early Years Teacher in 2005. She has since gone on to be an Advisory Teacher for Flying Start and Childcare, where she has a quality assurance role, supporting pedagogy, training and recruitment. She is able to support CYCA in the childcare element of the charity and has worked with them on policies, supporting the charity during the COVID period as everything moved quickly.
“I became a trustee at CYCA in 2018 because I have a strong desire for children to be able to achieve their full potential and believe that they should all have equal opportunities to succeed in life. The ACEs research shows us that many children start life with an unfair disadvantage through no fault of their own and I am proud to work with a charity that supports and understands the whole family, providing opportunities for them to learn and move forward as a family together.”
Trustee
Steven Mears
Steven was born and educated in Llanelli and is a retired Chief Superintendent from Dyfed Powys Police. During his career he was Head of the forces Criminal Investigation Department for 5 years which included being the Force lead on Safeguarding and Public Protection and latterly as the Divisional Commander for Carmarthenshire. During this period, he was the Vice Chair of the Community Safety Partnership and a member of the Local Service Board.
Steven’s first contact with CYCA was during a murder investigation he led in 2009, during which CYCA were engaged in providing bespoke support the to the family and siblings in very difficult circumstances and this ultimately led to Steven becoming independent trustee on his retirement from the Police. Steven has also previously performed a number of other voluntary roles, including as a Non-Executive Director of Jobforce Wales and as the chair of two Federated School Governing Bodies.
Since his retirement Steven’s work involves providing a Management Consultancy Service and also an independent investigation service relating to Safeguarding incidents in schools together with independent disciplinary and grievance investigations.
“CYCA makes a difference to people lives by empowering and enabling them to achieve and improve their situations through mentoring, support and training. “This is the core of what CYCA is all about and I am proud to part of an organisation that makes a huge difference to some people’s lives.”
Trustee
Beth Leyshon-Ellacott
Beth Leyshon-Ellacott has been involved with CYCA for 35 years. Initially, Beth managed an After-School Club for the CYCA team at the School that she was Headmistress at. She felt that the involvement with CYCA and the partnership was invaluable to the area and her school, which was situated in a socially-deprived area of Llanelli, and so has continued to be involved with the charity and has now been a Trustee with CYCA for 10 years.
Beth brings her expertise and experience of the education sector, which has been invaluable to the charity as it has grown over the years.
Trustee
Frederick St. John Roberts
Frederick was born in Llanelli and educated locally in Lakefield Primary School and then St Michael’s. After studying accountancy in the Midlands, and qualifying as a chartered certified accountant, he moved to Bristol with his wife where he furthered his education in Bristol Polytechnic and remained there for five years, lecturing in Finance. Frederick also studied for his Masters in Business at Bath University, on completion he returned to Llanelli where he became a partner in Charles and Co Accountants.
Through his work, he has been involved in a professional capacity and as a trustee in a number of local charities. Although retired from general practice, he is still very much involved in a number of charities as a trustee.