Our trustees
The Trustee Board of Citizens Advice York is responsible for the governance of the charity and, together with the Chief Executive, for determining the strategic direction of the charity. Our trustees bring a wealth of skills and experience from across the private, public and voluntary sector.
Our current trustees are:
Joanna de Groot : The Chair
Joanna became a Trustee of CAY in 2021 and Chair of the Trustee Board in 2022. She has lived and worked in York since 1974 and has been employed at the University of York, undertaking research, writing, and speaking to academic and non-academic audiences as well as teaching and supporting students. Since the 1980s she has also been active as a member of her trade union, representing academics, professional staff, and researchers by acting as a volunteer advisor and negotiator.
She deals with individual employment, health, welfare, and discrimination problems, and also works with the university authorities to implement equality and dignity at work policies as well as improvements in employment conditions.
She has been a member of the University Senate and the university’s harassment and teaching committees. Joanna has worked on union issues at UK as well as local level, having been for many years an elected member of her union’s National Executive Committee and its elected President in 1995-6 and again in 2017-18. In York she has been a member of the former Community Health Council and of the governing body of York College, as well as Secretary of the York Trades Council.
Gill Bull
Gill Bull began her career as a housing advice worker and is pleased to be supporting Citizens Advice as a trustee. She has worked in senior roles in local government, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and most recently as Director of Freedom of Information at the Information Commissioner’s Office. She is now qualified as an executive coach and facilitates a management programme to help people use a coaching leadership style. She is a member of the Housing Ombudsman Service Advisory Board and a trustee of the United Kingdom Community Foundations.
Tom Jenkins
Tom is retired; at various periods in his professional life he was a senior manager in Human Resources, Operations, Projects , Sales and Marketing for a major UK manufacturer.
Additionally, he was for a number of years a director of his Company’s pension scheme.
In retirement as a volunteer he has acted as Chair for many years for two voluntary organisations dealing with low cost furniture reuse and low cost private rental.
Other recent voluntary work includes being a trustee with the local Community Furniture Stores in York, Selby and Scarborough, selection work for an international aid organisation, and previously Board Membership of an HM Prison, Housing Associations, substance abuse counselling, and Citizens Advice advisor.
Lauren Peel
Lauren is a Director of Marketing, Consumer Insights and Propositions at Fair4All Finance, a publicly funded organisation that aims to improve financial resilience for those in vulnerable circumstances. She`s an expert in consumer insights and research, specialising in seldom heard groups, and in product and service design in financial services. Lauren is also a consumer spokesperson for financial inclusion. Lauren has also been involved with, and an advocate for LGBTQ+ community for the last decade.
Kate Robson
Kate is a qualified solicitor and has worked in the financial services industry in York for over 23 years. Kate brings experience in people leadership, legal, risk, regulation, strategic planning and trustee board governance. Kate has been a local school governor for over 8 years and is passionate about supporting our community in York.
Kate Wiggins
Kate is a Head of Employee Experience in the rail industry in York and has experience in communications and People & Culture work across the charity, public and commercial sectors.
Kate’s passion lies in creating great places to work that are accessible to all and where everyone feels like they can belong and grow. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Having grown up in York, Kate is passionate about the city and it’s community.
Phil Zastawniak-Thomas
Phil is our Treasurer, an experienced finance and governance professional spending the last 18 years in a varied career in a FTSE100 company covering everything from small business advisory to business partnering multi-£bn revenue streams. Phil is currently also FD at an SME and volunteers extensively including homeless outreach and with York City Council, being an Independent Visitor, Appropriate Adult and Community Panel Chair for York Youth Justice and York Childrens services.
Interested in becoming a CAY trustee? We announce all trustee vacancies on the Volunteer section of our website, as and when they arise.