Our Trustees

Steve joined the board in September 2019 and took over as chairman in January 2020.

Prior to leaving full-time work in 2017, Steve had a long career in the international telecoms industry based in the UK and the US. He took a break in 2011 and then switched direction to lead a national non-profit in the charity fundraising sector. He has experience in leading and growing organisations, online technology, fundraising and advocacy. In the past few years, he has served as a local primary school governor and business mentor for the Prince’s Trust but is now focusing his energies on YMCA.

He became interested in YMCA because of its commitment to helping young people regardless of circumstance and background and its deep understanding of the complex factors that affect their lives, along with its professionalism and wide range of services.

Andy Lucas joined the YMCA Board in 2015. He has over 25 years of commercial experience focused around marketing, sales, customer service and IT from roles in public, private and not for profit organisations. Andy currently works as a Director of a Cambridge-based financial services organisation, which also brings him into active involvement with a number of Cambridgeshire-based charities and voluntary organisations.

Andy has also been an active volunteer in working with young people for most of his adult life, with different Christian organisations and firmly believes in giving people the right support and challenge to help them understand and achieve their potential – an equally important aim he’s had for his family as they’ve been growing up. He wants to use his skills and experience in continuing to develop still further the range, reach and quality of the services YMCA can offer, building on the substantial success already achieved.

When Lianne started her degree in criminal justice she was extremely interested in supporting the youth community and volunteered as an appropriate adult but after her degree, she side-stepped into retail and didn’t look back. She has worked for a number of high street brands but for the last 7 years, has been focused on business development and sales. Lianne has helped drive business into new markets and diversified ensuring new opportunities turned into results.

She then reached a point where she wanted to give something back and couldn’t think of a better way than to support our future, the young people in our community. YMCA Trinity has amazing services and a fantastic team and she is excited to be part of it. Lianne has just bought some land not that far from Peterborough and her dream is to be able to offer some sort of sanctuary where young people get to enjoy the benefit of being around animals.

Antonia Maclean joined the Board of YMCA in 2011. She runs an organisation effectiveness company and lives near Peterborough. Her background in the organisation of business and board development has assisted with our YMCA Board’s work in the last 18 months. Antonia sits on the Oversight committee, is involved in trustee recruitment and is looking at how to increase the participation of young people at Board level.

She is involved in YMCA Trinity Group because she wants to contribute to an organisation that gives the variety of young people another chance to achieve a better life with prospects for themselves. She is impressed by the leading edge projects YMCA do in a range of communities across Cambridgeshire. Antonia’s other voluntary activities include being Chair of a Building Preservation Trust, near Peterborough.

Chris Wilkinson joined the Board of YMCA in December 2018. She started her career in nursing after leaving school and has worked for the NHS for over 40 years. She has worked as an executive director and Chief Nurse in acute hospitals in Cambridgeshire and more recently as a health care consultant. She has experience in patient care quality improvement, clinical leadership and governance for quality, education and corporate functions. With a strong commitment to continuing personal and professional development she has enjoyed providing coaching services and co-ordinating leadership development courses for Cambridge University Health Partners.

Chris is mother to a son who has recently undergone the challenging process of finding employment after completing University studies. She has a high commitment to health and welfare for people and is pleased to use her NHS experiences to inform her work as a Trustee with YMCA, particularly in relation to safeguarding vulnerable adults and young people.

Tracy Simpson joined the Board of YMCA in July 2020 and sits on the Oversight Committee.

Tracy has over 30 years’ experience working within the Financial Services Sector. She started her career in financial services straight out of high school never believing she was college/university material – but with solid family support and opportunities for development presented to her through great employers, she has increasingly carved out a career which has not only provided security for her and her daughter but also one she has loved.

Her work experience focuses mainly around team leadership, customer service, business development, housing and risk management and just as important softer skills including kindness, mutual respect and encouragement. At the current time Tracy works for a Cambridge based organisation and has been closely involved with community based initiatives including assisting local young people with housing, homelessness and mental health.

Tracy lives in Essex and has one daughter in her twenties, who has recently started a career in mental health, specifically working with under 18s. Tracy is passionate about being able to help young people who are not fortunate enough to have the level of support she and her daughter have had.

This is Tracy’s first role as a Trustee and she is extremely excited to use her skills and experience to contribute to an organisation whose values are focused on enabling and encouraging young people to excel. The teams working at YMCA have hugely impressed Tracy with their commitment to deliver YMCA’s mission of Inspiring Communities, Transforming Young Lives.

Marlini is Managing Director of Challs International Ltd, who manufacture household cleaning products for the FMCG sector. Headquartered in Hadleigh, the company has grown into an international business with offices in the USA, Singapore and Australia. Its branded products; including Buster, Bin Buddy and Alkimi are supplied globally.

Marlini is an ACMA and CGMA qualified accountant, an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

In 2019, Marlini was named as one of the Top 100 by The Manufacturer, which lists the 100 most inspirational individuals working in the UK manufacturing industry. She also received the Unsung Hero Award. In March 2022 Marlini was recognised in the Suffolk 100, a list of influential leaders helping shape the future of Suffolk.

Marlini believes passionately in the wealth of opportunities that exist in manufacturing businesses, and in making every job aspirational and accessible. As such, she is a careers enterprise adviser for New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), working with Thomas Wolsey School. She is also a trustee for Ormiston Families.

Marlini lives in Eye with her husband, she loves running and has grown-up children.

Jo Mills joined the Board of YMCA in 2023. She brings a wealth of experience having worked at a senior level in the affordable and supported housing sector for more than 20 years, including as Director of Housing and Care Services for a housing association in Cambridgeshire. She was Director of Planning and New Communities for South Cambridgeshire District Council from 2008-2015, and more recently has worked on a consultancy basis in the housing and development sector. She is currently strategic adviser for a national construction company providing support to its decarbonisation team. Jo is also an executive coach and qualified social worker.

Jo was keen to become involved in YMCA Trinity Group because she is strongly committed to providing high quality housing and support options for young people, who need assistance at this critical stage in their lives.

Jo is actively involved in her local community and is part of the Hardship Team in her village, offering small grants and support to local residents. Jo has two grown-up children.

Ann joined the YMCA in 2021 and had worked in the NHS in leadership positions for nearly 40 years after doing a history degree at Cambridge.

She ran hospitals in London including the first acute hospital to achieve outstanding in the capital; a community Trust and the London Ambulance Service as well as large commissioning NHS organisations and latterly was the Regional Director for the NHS in the East of England. This gave her responsibility for all the NHS operations and strategy across the 6.5million people of the region. The last two years have been committed to leading the response to Covid19 including the roll out of the vaccine programme; the introduction of new services to treat covid and the after effects of covid and development of new responses to a unique challenge.

She now undertakes executive coaching for very senior leaders within the NHS seeking to support them to enhance their skills and respond to the current challenges.

Ann has two grown up sons, one of whom lives and works in Cambridge.

Ann’s roles have involved her working with a wide variety of communities and groups in some of the most complex and deprived parts of London; seeking to understand needs and create health services which not give a rapid response today but also create healthier and stronger individuals and families for the longer term. Both from her work and family experience she has developed a strong passion for improving mental health services and community support especially to young people.