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New board members bring wealth of experience

Chance UK has appointed three new members to its board of trustees this week – Mark Webster, Steve Leach and Simon Bottery.

All three were appointed to bring expertise on public relations and experience within the voluntary sector to the board of trustees, as the charity lays the foundations for major expansion in the future.

Mark Webster is the Executive Director, Communications, at the Charities Aid Foundation. He has over 30 years experience as a journalist at the Evening Standard, Financial Times, and as a correspondent for ITN and Channel Five. He was also the Senior Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats in 2007, under Sir Menzies Campbell’s leadership.

Steve Leach worked as the Deputy Chief Executive of the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation for over four years, restructuring of the service and putting into place a national development plan for all regions. Previously he worked as a senior manager for Scope’s Employment Support Services, involved in the practical development of Supported Employment. He has presented papers at a number of national and international conferences

Simon Bottery is the Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications at Independent Age. He has 25 years' experience in marketing, communications and journalism, most recently as Director of Communications at Citizens Advice, as well as at ActionAid, Guinness and in journalism and publishing.

Chief Executive of Chance UK, Gracia McGrath OBE, said, “We have actively sought individuals with this range of experience for some time. So we are delighted that we have found three people who can help Chance UK in its further expansion of services across the country.”

“Steve has unique experience in the field of one-to-one mentoring, Mark has over 30 years experience in press and PR, while Simon has worked in charity communications for many years.  They have a fantastic combination of skills, and I’d like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome all three to Chance UK.”