Our trustees

Dr Lesley Hewson OBE

Chair of Trustees

Lesley retired after 21 years as an NHS Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She worked in Bradford where she was also the Director of the Young People’s Mental Health Services. Lesley became nationally renowned for pioneering new ways of working including home treatment for teenagers. She was a long -standing member of Bradford’s Safeguarding Children’s Board. After retiring she worked in an advisory capacity to the Government and has experience of being a trustee to a counselling charity for many years.

Tim Burt

Tim is a family solicitor at Ison Harrison Solicitors so he brings relevant experience to the board in terms of his knowledge of law, including family law and issues such as child protection. Tim has also volunteered at our Tuesday club for the last 2.5 years and enjoys helping the club members with a range of messy and creative activities.

Sharon Clarke

Sharon is a retired Head of Service and registered nurse for people with learning disabilities within Public Sector service provision (Health and Social Care) with a track record of driving organisational change & service transformation. Areas of expertise include: leading inter-agency projects, providing professional clinical advice and placing users & carers at the heart of service provision, with a track record of achieving a Good rating as judged by the Care Quality Commission.

Chris Murray

Christopher Murray is a Programme Coordinator for Royal Mencap Society delivering employment services across the East Midlands and the North. Chris is a qualified Careers Adviser and Project Manager and has worked with various organisations across the public and private sectors. He has experience in service delivery design and implementation, learning and development, and quality assurance.

Howard Cohen

Howard is a solicitor at Winston Solicitors and has been practising law for over 35 years. His fields of expertise include wills, probate and trusts (for disabled dependants).He has however gained a vast knowledge in other areas of the law. He brings relevant experience in terms of his legal knowledge. In addition he has a daughter with a learning disability, who is now an adult but who has over the years accessed Leeds Mencap services. Howard is able to offer the perspective from a parent’s point of view as well as that of a legal professional.

Kate Goldring

Kate Goldring has worked in the voluntary sector for over 15 years, her very first role at Leeds Mencap! She is Leeds born and bred and currently heads up the fundraising team at St Gemma’s Hospice.