Staff
Board of Trustees
Colette HarperTrusteeColette is currently the Company Secretary for a small private Consultancy. Prior to this she worked in the Mortgage and Financial Services sector for a considerable number of years before returning to education as a mature student, obtaining a degree and becoming a teacher. After living for 14 years in the Scottish Borders she moved to Berwick upon Tweed in 2018 when she joined the Board of Trustees. She brings a variety of experience particularly of dealing with people of all ages from all walks of life and believes that this and other transferable life skills are useful to the Trust in helping it to achieve its objectives.David HarperTrusteeDavid joined the Trust in 2018. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Town Planner and has held senior positions in the Public, Private and Consultancy Sectors specialising in the extractive, waste management and energy industries before establishing his own Planning, Property and Environmental Consultancy in 2012. He has also worked with the voluntary sector, having been a Director of Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) an organisation responsible for the management and distribution of Landfill Tax Credits for charitable purposes. David is also a Justice of the Peace for Lothian and Borders.Keith SisemanTrusteeKeith has been a trustee since 2016. He previously had a 30 year career in advertising supporting a number of familiar household brands. He sat on the London board of a major international agency and was a member of the institute of marketing. Keith has long standing ties with Berwick and has always viewed it as his spiritual home. He recognised that the Community Trust was a driving force for change in the town and wanted to use his marketing skills to it's benefit.Monica BurnsTrusteeMonica joined the Trust in 2015 and has worked in social housing for 40 years and laterally for the National Housing Federation where I was Head of member relations. My work included shaping national housing policy and working with Housing associations to develop social housing. I formerly worked as a Rural housing enable in Northumberland working with coal communities to tackle housing need. She is also a board member for English Rural Housing Association.Sally HolburnTrusteeSally is a native of Berwick upon Tweed and joined as a Trustee in September 2019. She retired in 2019 after spending 18 years working as the Finance & Facilities Manager at Sure Start Children's Centres North for Northumberland County Council. During this time she was heavily involved in the development of the Children's Centres in Berwick, Wooler, Alnwick, Seahouses, Rothbury and Hadston. She is a past member of the Institute of Management and the Association of Accountancy Technicians.David PurvisTrusteeDavid is a craftsman who has ran a stained glass design and manufacture business for 27 years, the last 20 in Spittal. He has taught classes in this field both privately and for the mental health charity Mind, has worked part-time as an adult education organiser and ran various projects for local organisations including Surestart. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2019, with particular interest in the food bank (as he had volunteered there for the previous few years, and worked in a soup kitchen in Bradford in the 90's).John FisherTrusteeJohn became a Trustee in 2017. He has worked for over 30 years in Financial Services in the North of England, with a brief sojourn to London to work for the FSA following the financial crisis of 2008. His current role is with AlbaCo Ltd as Chief Compliance and Risk Officer. The Community Trust is his first venture into the voluntary and charitable sector, except for previously acting as advisor to a credit union in Merseyside. Outside of work and a couple of children at school means his free time now tends to focus around U18 rugby, university open days and various transport duties, but when possible, he does have an abiding interest in history, antiques and the recent addition to the family; a Newfoundland cross puppy!Alan BowlasTrusteeAlan is the longest standing Trustee who joined in 2008. Alan’s career involves some 30 years in management roles in sales, marketing and retail operations in the oil industry with ESSO -Cleveland and British Petroleum, now retired from full time employment is actively involved in the Town and is a former Town Councillor and Mayor of Berwick-upon-Tweed and in 2008/9 was Sheriff with the old Berwick Borough Council. Currently Alan is a Board Member of Berwick Community Development Trust and was a Board Member at Borders College and chair of the Audit committee having served for the maximum of two full terms. He continues in an advisory capacity to BC consultants the business arm of the College.
Colette Harper
Trustee
Colette is currently the Company Secretary for a small private Consultancy. Prior to this she worked in the Mortgage and Financial Services sector for a considerable number of years before returning to education as a mature student, obtaining a degree and becoming a teacher. After living for 14 years in the Scottish Borders she moved to Berwick upon Tweed in 2018 when she joined the Board of Trustees. She brings a variety of experience particularly of dealing with people of all ages from all walks of life and believes that this and other transferable life skills are useful to the Trust in helping it to achieve its objectives.
David Harper
Trustee
David joined the Trust in 2018. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Town Planner and has held senior positions in the Public, Private and Consultancy Sectors specialising in the extractive, waste management and energy industries before establishing his own Planning, Property and Environmental Consultancy in 2012. He has also worked with the voluntary sector, having been a Director of Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) an organisation responsible for the management and distribution of Landfill Tax Credits for charitable purposes. David is also a Justice of the Peace for Lothian and Borders.
Keith Siseman
Trustee
Keith has been a trustee since 2016. He previously had a 30 year career in advertising supporting a number of familiar household brands. He sat on the London board of a major international agency and was a member of the institute of marketing. Keith has long standing ties with Berwick and has always viewed it as his spiritual home. He recognised that the Community Trust was a driving force for change in the town and wanted to use his marketing skills to it's benefit.
Monica Burns
Trustee
Monica joined the Trust in 2015 and has worked in social housing for 40 years and laterally for the National Housing Federation where I was Head of member relations. My work included shaping national housing policy and working with Housing associations to develop social housing. I formerly worked as a Rural housing enable in Northumberland working with coal communities to tackle housing need. She is also a board member for English Rural Housing Association.
Sally Holburn
Trustee
Sally is a native of Berwick upon Tweed and joined as a Trustee in September 2019. She retired in 2019 after spending 18 years working as the Finance & Facilities Manager at Sure Start Children's Centres North for Northumberland County Council. During this time she was heavily involved in the development of the Children's Centres in Berwick, Wooler, Alnwick, Seahouses, Rothbury and Hadston. She is a past member of the Institute of Management and the Association of Accountancy Technicians.
David Purvis
Trustee
David is a craftsman who has ran a stained glass design and manufacture business for 27 years, the last 20 in Spittal. He has taught classes in this field both privately and for the mental health charity Mind, has worked part-time as an adult education organiser and ran various projects for local organisations including Surestart. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2019, with particular interest in the food bank (as he had volunteered there for the previous few years, and worked in a soup kitchen in Bradford in the 90's).
John Fisher
Trustee
John became a Trustee in 2017. He has worked for over 30 years in Financial Services in the North of England, with a brief sojourn to London to work for the FSA following the financial crisis of 2008. His current role is with AlbaCo Ltd as Chief Compliance and Risk Officer. The Community Trust is his first venture into the voluntary and charitable sector, except for previously acting as advisor to a credit union in Merseyside. Outside of work and a couple of children at school means his free time now tends to focus around U18 rugby, university open days and various transport duties, but when possible, he does have an abiding interest in history, antiques and the recent addition to the family; a Newfoundland cross puppy!
Alan Bowlas
Trustee
Alan is the longest standing Trustee who joined in 2008. Alan’s career involves some 30 years in management roles in sales, marketing and retail operations in the oil industry with ESSO -Cleveland and British Petroleum, now retired from full time employment is actively involved in the Town and is a former Town Councillor and Mayor of Berwick-upon-Tweed and in 2008/9 was Sheriff with the old Berwick Borough Council. Currently Alan is a Board Member of Berwick Community Development Trust and was a Board Member at Borders College and chair of the Audit committee having served for the maximum of two full terms. He continues in an advisory capacity to BC consultants the business arm of the College.