Governance & Trustees

Paul Dodds

Currently: A third year postgraduate student, School of Earth and Environment.
Previous Experience: Paul has had experience working in various roles including: working on reactor safety and economics in the nuclear power industry, and has worked on farm water issues in Australia.

Matthew Fong (member of Appointments Committee)

Currently: A fourth year medical student.
Previous Experience: Matthew has been involved with the Awards Assessment Committee of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award for a number of years, and has also served Rogers Communications as an Advisory Council Member.
Matthew is an active member of the Canadian Ski Patrol System where he has served as a District Supervisor.

Ellie Russell (member of HR & Remuneration Committee)

Currently: A student at the University of Leeds studying Politics and Parliamentary studies.
Previous Experience: During her studies at Central Sussex College, Ellie was the Students' Union President and Student Governor. She then went on to be Vice President (Further Education) of the NUS for two years.

Cassie Simpson (member of Audit & Risk Committee)

Currently: Cassie is currently studying for a BA in Politics and Parliamentary Studies.
Previous experience: Cassie served for two years as a Director and Trustee of Connexions Berkshire, a local government service providing advice, guidance and personal development services to young people aged 13-19. She has also worked within the Youth Sector for 6 years in a variety of capacities, primarily in youth representation roles with local councils and youth charities, such as the UK Youth Parliament.

Ralph Coyle (Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of Appointments Committee)

Previous Experience: A graduate of the University of Leeds, he is a former Legal Director of Yorkshire Television and Company Secretary of Canal Plus International, part of the French pay television group. He was a board member of Leeds Media between 2001 and 2006 and is a senior adviser to the board of Bradford NHS Care Trust. He is deputy Chair of the board of trustees of Scarborough Museums Trust.
Ralph has extensive experience in advising commercial, charitable, educational and other organisations across the region on a wide variety of legal matters and has sat on many boards of directors and trustees.

Naomi Cohen (Member of Appointments Committee)

Previous Experience: A former student officer of Sheffield University's Students' Union and member of the NUS National Executive, Naomi has been a founder, trustee and committee member of several charities and has recently joined the board of the Internet Watch Foundation as a non-executive director and trustee. Naomi studied for an MBA and a first degree in psychology and began her career with various roles in the voluntary sector covering human rights, mental health and environmental issues.

Henry Fenton (Chair of HR & Remuneration Committee)

Currently: Retired, Henry now divides his time between voluntary work, family commitments and overseas travel. He serves as a Magistrate at Manchester City Magistrates' Court, one of the busiest in the UK and additionally sits on review courts, monitoring the rehabilitation of drug offenders that are under Probation Service supervision.
Previous Experience: After an extensive career in the Retail and Home shopping Industries Henry took early retirement in 2006 to pursue other interests. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge resulting from Senior Management roles and Directorships with blue chip companies including Great Universal Stores, Mothercare and Grattan.

Simon Palmer (Chair of Audit & Risk Committee)

Andrew Berman (member of Audit & Risk committee)

Currently: Andrew is a Chartered Accountant working in an executive role in a central London property investment and development company.
Experience: Andrew spent several years working in corporate recovery and investigations at a 'Top six' accountancy firm, but since 1999 his career has been focussed on the property and real estate sector, working at senior levels in both listed and unlisted businesses. A graduate of Leeds University and former sabbatical Financial Affairs Secretary of LUU, Andrew also served a full term of office as a member of NUS Conference Steering Committee. He has also acted as treasurer of a number of charities, and has experience in the financial accounting and reporting issues which they may encounter.

Angela Byram (member of Audit & Risk Committee)

Chris Cooke (Member of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee)

Currently: A graduate of the University of Manchester (BA Hons Politics and Modern History) and the University of Hull (MSc Human Resources), Chris is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.
Experience: Chris now has his own business in human resources and business improvement consultancy after having spent 20 years in corporate HR for a variety of large manufacturing and engineering companies.

Andy Welsh (member of HR & Remuneration)