Chris has been working and volunteering in the VCSE sector since 1988 – he loves it! He has been a sexual health worker, volunteer coordinator, trainer, fundraiser, community development specialist, consultant, and has managed numerous advice organsiations.

Chris is the Chief Exec of the charity, Up For Yorkshire, which manages 4 community buildings, provides support to members of the community across a range of employability, wellbeing, and support services. In 2024 they dealt with over 42,000 enquiries. Chris Chairs numerous partnerships addressing Equity and Advice, Anti-Poverty, Dementia, and Police practices. He is a Director of Better Connect and a Trustee of Selby Hands of Hope.

Chris has spent years supporting people and organisations to achieve their aspirations. As a life and business coach Chris continues to support people with their employability skills, career development, and the development of numerous new organisations and services.

Chris loves to laugh, chat, visit charity shops, expand his 1980s record collection, and countdown to Christmas.

As a mentor Chris wants to listen, challenge, throw in thoughts and ideas, and support as much as he can.

David is the CEO of North Yorkshire Youth which supports young people with a number of provisions including youth clubs and one-to-one sessions. Here is his biography:

I have been Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Youth (NYY) since November 2011. As well as supporting young people through 1 to 1 mentoring, community-based youth work around North Yorkshire and other open access support services, NYY owns and operates Carlton Lodge Activity Centre, so I’m really fortunate that my job allows me to combine two of my greatest passions in life – outdoor activities and working with young people.

Prior to becoming Chief Exec, I had been with NYY for 9 years. Before that, I went straight from college into a 12 year career in local authority leisure services – working up to Assistant Manager. Throughout my time as a student and in leisure services I also worked part-time as a youth worker, based in Ripon. This gave me a great experience of working with young people, from running football sessions to canoeing across Scotland!

In addition to the day job, in the past I have been involved in my local Parish Council, my sons rugby league club and was involved with The Clock latterly Community Works in Thirsk for 19 years. I’m currently the Chairman of Community First Yorkshire, Company Secretary for The Regional Youth Work Unit and a Board member of Arete Learning Trust. In additional I’m the VCSE rep of the Children’s Safeguarding Executive, Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee and NYC’s Corporate parenting Group.

With over 30 years of experience in healthcare working in many different roles, latterly in the charity sector, Dawn is a seasoned leader, published author, speaker and renowned advocate for human factors, quality improvement and kindness.

Having held a senior role in the charity sector she brings a deep understanding of compassionate leadership, organisational development and the transformative power of empathy.

Some of her previous roles have included commissioning new hospital and GP surgery builds, IT implementation programmes, customer care, team building and leadership training strategies.

Since ‘retiring’ Dawn has formed her own consultancy business and joined the British Association of Day Surgery as their Lay Member, she has also worked with Pentland Medical supporting their work around patient safety and has (with a colleague) started a charity peer group to support charity leaders through the provision of expert sessions and peer group discussions.  She is also the Trustee Treasurer for the Harrogate Homeless Project.

She has developed a programme of Kindness training to inspire teams, providing a message that blends lived experience, clinical insight and a strong belief in the human capacity for change.  Her work reflects a commitment to improving systems through kindness, resilience and ethical leadership.

Dawn continues to work at the intersection of health, charity and personal development, helping individuals and organisations to thrive through connection, care and purpose.

Her philosophy is that kindness is infectious and a renewable resource, kindness can support change and encourage growth for everyone around you, so BE KIND.

I have a background in working in national and regional charities within the maternal mental health, infant development, maternity, unpaid carer and older people sectors. I have also worked as a practitioner for the National Childbirth Trust utilising my person-centred counselling and group facilitation skills. As a Director of Development, CEO and currently independent consultant, I have gained extensive experience in the charity sector. This experience includes change management; securing and delivering large, commissioned contracts; fundraising and business development; maintaining effective governance; strategic development; running trading arms; and leadership and growing teams.  As an independent consultant, I am currently working with small charities to support them in all aspects of their strategic and operational governance. I understand and appreciate the true value of being mentored as I was lucky enough to have mentoring for the first year of being a CEO. I have mentored many leaders over the last six years and am passionate about working in a person centred, collaborative and innovative way.

I am a Londoner, living in Yorkshire for over 30 years. I have always worked in the voluntary or public sector, primarily in communications eg Director of External Affairs. I have been a chief executive, a chair, a trustee – several times. I am currently on the board of the Association of Chairs, a small but important charity supporting VCSE chairs. I have worked at local, regional and national level. I am now “unretired”, a serial volunteer and enthusiastic elder. I find mentoring fascinating, challenging, keeping me on my toes in the best possible way.

My mentoring work has frequently focussed on how to become comfortable within, then make the most of a senior role, for the organisation as well as the mentee. I do my best to provide mentees with a practical toolkit, containing ideas and approaches to try in particular situations. I also discuss my communications experience, when relevant.   And I am fascinated by governance, why it matters so much and can so easily go wrong. Again I take an essentially practical approach.

With a passion for education and a heart dedicated to supporting others, I have spent over 15 years shaping young minds as a primary school teacher. As a mum of four, I have mastered the art of patience, organisation, and endless encouragement, skills that seamlessly extend into my professional life.

Currently working as a Learner Engagement Officer within North Yorkshire Council Adult Learning, I thrive on helping individuals unlock their potential, offering guidance and support on their educational journeys. My expertise as a Mental Health First Aider highlights a deep commitment to the well-being of those around me, ensuring people feel heard, valued, and empowered.

Beyond my professional life, I find solace in the simple joys of countryside walks with my beloved dog, the warmth of a cosy café, and the comfort of a good book.

Caring, organised, and ever-supportive, I am someone who finds fulfilment in uplifting others, making a meaningful impact where possible.

Lifelong learning is something I’m passionate about. In my mentoring relationships, it’s been a delight to see people developing into capable and confident leaders.  My career has been long and varied. Being able to share and transfer some of my skills to someone else and help them make choices they didn’t think they had, or were capable of, has given me great pleasure, along with many insights into human behaviours.

My expertise lies in leadership development and managing change. In my last 10 years as a civil servant, I worked with senior leaders helping them work through organisational issues where they needed to focus on building and refining leadership styles and interpersonal skills to lead, inspire and motivate their teams, very often in times of significant change.

I’ve been a charity Trustee, mentor and volunteer.  I feel fortunate to have been part of making a difference in the community and understanding clients from different backgrounds with different needs, and the people who have chosen to serve them.

I worked with Prince Charles’s Charity, PRIME, The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise. This experience led me to setting up my own community interest company focussed on helping people over 50 who left work early, thinking it would be the best thing for them, then became disillusioned and stuck. I helped them make decisions about their future. I was a Trustee for a homeless charity and currently I’m a Trustee with a charity supporting disabled and autistic people to live life well.

As CEO at Time Together, Louise believes that everyone has the potential to learn and develop with the right support, and she leads with compassion and social responsibility. She likes supporting individuals on their professional journey to help them grow. Enjoying giving back to her community, Louise is also a trustee for a youth charity and a governor at a primary school. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga and a good book or podcast.

Lucy has worked as a CEO at a small Housing Association and Youth Work provider for some time, and has been involved in the development and management of young people’s services for most of her career. She has previously worked in several large and small VCS organisations as a senior manager.

In her current role, Lucy has developed provision, policy, staffing and planning to create a robust organisation that has grown year on year. Lucy is particularly proud of the renewed governance structure of the organisation, and the work carried out within a variety of formal and informal quality frameworks and regulatory requirements.

Lucy is undertaking a Level 7 CMI Coaching and Mentoring Qualification and enjoys working with individuals to reflect, set goals and move forward. While she does a bit of everything in her role, she would particularly like to support an individual interested in governance, organisational development and leadership.

Liz has been the Chief Officer of Hambleton Community Action since 2019, after spending most of her career in operations management roles in a range of fields within the private sector. She is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, with more than 15 years practitioner experience in senior leadership roles, balanced with theoretical understanding and academic study. Liz has postgraduate degrees in social sciences, manufacturing leadership and international human rights law. She is an advocate of lean management and agile approaches, and has a “green belt” in Six Sigma (process improvement methodology). She is highly analytic, definitely unorthodox, and passionate about reducing and removing inequality, injustice, abuse and neglect.

Paul is responsible for the operational and strategic leadership of a regional charity providing care to adults with learning disabilities and complex needs. He is most interested in personal and professional development in addition to workplace wellbeing.

Sally has experience working across business support services, education, third sector and not-for-profit organisations.  She has significant senior leadership experience, holds trustee roles at a number of organisations, and is a marketing consultant predominantly in education.  An experienced mentor, Sally has worked with individuals to help them progress in their careers, overcome challenging situations and support personal development.

I run an award-winning community interest company which I founded to promote community cohesion and engagement.  As well as being a Director of Tadcrafters CIC,I am also a Development Officer for Community First Yorkshire.

I am currently helping to steer initiatives to develop a more sustainable economy and environment in Tadcaster, and also to instigate the creation of a community arts centre.

I am skilled at helping people to understand complex issues and enabling them to be able to make their own informed decisions. I have a good grounding in both science and the arts.

With a varied background of teaching, business and voluntary sector community engagement I think I can be an effective and supportive guide to empower and inspire a mentee.

Valentina Hynes is a distinguished social entrepreneur, and speaker, with over 15 years experience inspiring diverse audiences globally. As the founder and CEO of SVH Inc. CIC (Strong Vibrant Happy & Incorporated), a workplace wellbeing solutions provider, she brings a unique perspective that emphasises success with purpose and social impact. Her extensive experience and insight make her an invaluable guide for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking to drive positive change.

As well as being an area manager for volunteers in Yorkshire Ambulance Service, I have been involved as Chair, Trustee and Director with a number of service delivery charities.

This has included a range of experience in leadership and personal development particularly with small charities that have undertaken the journey from informal to formal structures.

We can take a journey of exploration together. So much of what you need will be within yourself.

I pride myself that many of those who have worked with me have gone on to progress to successful careers in their area of interest.

All of the organisations I have worked for have faced changing environments with both financial and regulatory challenges. Navigating these successfully needs an understanding of where to place your energies and the new skills that you need to develop for success.

In all of these experiences knowing yourself first allows you to strive with enjoyment. I hope that you will enjoy our time of growth and exploration together.