Trustees & Governance

Every charitable organisation, large or small, is run by a Board of Trustees. Trustees are legally responsible for making sure the organisation does what it was set up to do and that the money it receives is spent efficiently and for the right purposes. In a small charity the trustees usually do most of the work, but in a larger charity such as Deafness Support Network the work is mostly delegated to professional staff.

In DSN, the Board of Trustees is usually referred to as the 'Council' but the function is the same. they meet four times a year, receive reports on the work of the Network; examine financial statements; make suggestions about how things might be done better; and generally check that our work meets the aims of the organisation, i.e. improving access and equality for D/deaf people.

So who are the trustees? All DSN Trustees are volunteers. They come from different backgrounds, but mostly they are people who have come into contact with DSN in some way and have become interested enough to want to help run the organisation. Many are themselves Deaf, deaf, deafened or hard of hearing and have a valuable knowledge of the problems faced by deaf people.

If you are interested in the work of the Trustees and feel you can contribute, please contact us with any further questions.

DSN Trustees

Philip Brown - Chair

I was born with limited hearing and followed a traditional aural deaf education path achieving academic success at Mary Hare School. I pursued a career in Environmental Health with Stockport & Macclesfield Councils. It was only when I met a fellow school mate many years later, I realised there was a regional service under the name of Cheshire Deaf Society (former name of DSN) offering assistance to D/deaf people in Cheshire which I had not encountered.

After introducing myself, I was offered to assist in representing DSN in the influential County Council’s Social Services Committee. Shortly after, I was appointed to become a trustee, formally approved in 1998. I was appointed to Vice-Chair in 2004, becoming Chair in 2005. My mission since becoming Chair was to develop better access for D/deaf people residing in the east part of Cheshire, which came to fruition with the formal opening of the Macclesfield Office in July 2011.

Brian Cadwallader - Vice Chair

I’m married & have 3 grown up children. I joined DSN in 1997 as a volunteer working at Stepping Stones, through this experience I got to know DSN & the different work they did in the D/deaf communities throughout Cheshire. I continued to do voluntary work & supported many fundraising events.

In 2000 I arranged the Millennium challenge & got together 20 volunteers to climb Mt Kilimanjaro to raise funds to build Lavender Lodge.

The fund raising didn’t stop there! 2004 saw another fund raising challenge to the Andes in Peru, trekking at high altitude, to secure a sensory room for our tenants in the lodge.

As a serving Fire officer with CFRS I saw the importance of partnership working & how both organisations would benefit working together. Through consultation & many hours of networking between both parties I can say I’m proud this partnership is now well developed & we have a D/deaf persons advocate working between the organisations helping our D/deaf communities.

I applied to become a Trustee some years ago now & have been working with our management team to take DSN forward to meet future challenges & opportunities.

Pete Garrett - Treasurer

I am married with two grown up daughters who have both flown the nest. Having started out as a teacher I soon moved into IT, working for one of the larger high street banks. My interests include badminton, hill walking and real ale. I have been a good friend of Philip Brown for some years and when he was looking to recruit trustees from the hearing community I was happy to be nominated. During my two years as a trustee I have been greatly impressed by the professionalism of the staff and fellow trustees in making DSN such a success.

Peter Jackson - Trustee

I am the chairman for the Vale Royal Deaf Centre. I have been involved in the Trustees for over 20 years.

I was one of the founders of Cheshire Deaf Society now known as DSN. I became a Trustee because I felt I could contribute to the work DSN does. Also, a ‘Deaf Voice’ was needed on the Trustees panel.

Richard Elviss - Trustee

When we moved from Yorkshire to Cheshire in 1985 our 3 children were still at school. So that she could be at home when they returned from school, my wife became a Registered Childminder. One of the first children that she looked after was Lauren Colville, Martin & Jane's daughter. Martin persuaded me that I would find becoming a Trustee of the, then, Cheshire Deaf Society very rewarding - and also that the Society would benefit from having a hearing trustee who worked in industry as opposed to the public sector. And so it all began!

I have seen many changes in my long association with DSN and have become increasingly aware of the particular problems and challenges that the D/deaf community face. I have found it to be a very rewarding experience.

Peter Morley - Trustee

I am Peter Morley and I was born Deaf. This was because when my mother was pregnant she contracted German Measles.

Growing up, I regularly went to Warrington Deaf Club as well as attending Manchester Deaf School in Old Trafford. I left school in 1960 and worked as an engineer. There was always something new to learn and I was continuously learning for 46 years. I only recently retired.

Judith Kidd - Trustee

I am profoundly deaf since birth and also my parents were both deaf. I was brought up in the deaf community. I come from the North East of England. I came to live in Macclesfield when my husband was a student at Manchester University. I enjoy living in Cheshire. I teach sign language and deaf awareness to hearing people. I am also a member of Macclesfield Deaf Club, which we started back in 1981. I became a trustee of DSN in 2008. I did this to support DSN and also to show that deaf people can also be a trustee.

Tom Gibbons - Trustee

I am a Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, specialising in media and communications law and regulation. My interest in DSN arose because of family and friends who experience deafness and hardness of hearing, and I was impressed with the range of services which it offered and its professional approach to providing support. As a trustee, I bring my university experience of senior management roles, as a former Head of School and Director of Research.

David Scott - Trustee

I am currently Managing Director of Vision Support Trading Ltd (VST), the trading subsidiary of Chester based Charity, Vision Support. Vision Support provides services to the visually impaired while VST provides commercial transcription services into Braille, audio or large print.

My early career was industrial marketing, working for a variety of companies, and then in the management of leisure trusts in Wigan and Manchester. I am also Chair of the Cheshire & Warrington Social Enterprise Partnership and served on the Board of High Peak Community Housing for four years.

I live in the village of Cuddington, Cheshire

Peter Mackriell - Trustee

I am a hearing person who has been working within the deaf community since 2001, when I started to learn British Sign Language. I have a brother who is Deaf but, like many Deaf people of his generation, he wasn’t allowed to sign as a child. He does now!

An interest in the education of Deaf children led me into teaching but I then trained as a minister in the Church of England and was ordained in Chester in 1994. Since then I have worked in Birmingham and in north Wales, where I was part-time Chaplain with Deaf People for ten years. During this time my concern for the mental health of Deaf people and an interest in counselling led to further training and to work with SignHealth in their Psychological Therapy service. I was then asked to be part of the team establishing the BSL Healthy Minds project in the North-west.

I also work as a Vicar, responsible for the parish of Kelsall, between Northwich and Chester, where I have lived since early 2011 with my wife, two of our three children and our cat. When I have some spare time I enjoy theatre, art galleries, music, reading and holidays in France and Italy

Neil Cumberlidge - Trustee

I was born partially deaf but, with the use of hearing aids, have been able to lead a full life. After leaving university, I worked for nearly 30 years in the Civil Service, rising to senior management and my last two posts were Regional Director for the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Director of Strategy & Planning at the North West Development Agency. I now run my own company, providing management consultancy and other strategic services. I am married with two children, live in Knutsford and a fanatical Liverpool supporter. I am really looking forward to supporting DSN to continue to deliver the valuable services they provide to improve the quality of life for people with hearing loss.