Our Board of Trustees

Sandra was a serving police officer for 32 years, the last 5 years based in Sawston as a neighbourhood sergeant.

During this time she got to know about JHC and witnessed first-hand the impact the charity’s support had on the lives of local people who, for whatever reason, found themselves in need of help.

On her retirement, Sandra became a JHC trustee and this has given her a further insight into the kind of challenges people face. Sandra contributes a wealth of specialist knowledge and experience to the trustees’ decisions about how and where to focus JHC’s support and services.

Holger’s career to date has focused on promoting economic and social development in support of poor and disadvantaged communities particularly in Africa.  During almost 20 years with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) he lived and worked in Senegal, China and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as London and Scotland.  He is particularly interested in the contribution private enterprises can make to sustainable development and was a founding member of DFID’s cadre of private sector development advisers.

Upon leaving government service in 2017, Holger and his family relocated from Perthshire to Sawston.  He is the Managing Director of a consultancy firm and social enterprise in Great Shelford which advises governments, companies and international organisations such as the World Bank on how the mining sector in developing countries can do more to support economic growth and stability.

He found out about JHC when the charity advertised for a new trustee through Bellbird Primary School, and joined the board in May 2019. 

“I’m proud to be part of a local charity, helping local people and organisations, seeing the difference it makes”

David and his family have lived in Sawston for over 20 years, his two sons attended local schools and his wife Diane works at the Bellbird Primary School.

Professionally, David splits his working week between a Christian Charity in Coton and Saffron Walden Almshouses. He trained originally as a Therapy Radiographer at the Royal Marsden and worked for 12 years in the Oncology Centre at Addenbrooke’s, so has a strong understanding of people’s changing health and social care requirements.

John Huntingdon’s Charity came to David’s attention early on when he was impressed by its commitment to those in need, offering advice, support and grants. David has been involved with JHC for over 10 years.

Tom Butler has been involved with the charity for some time, knows Sawston well having raised his family locally, and continues to live in the village. JHC benefits from his professional knowledge and experience of the construction industry, and he is currently Building Services Co-Ordinator for the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine.

“I feel so proud to be a small part of the JHC team that makes such a difference to the lives of local people, and share its determination to ensure that Sawston families can access sfe, good quality housing.”

A Cambridge graduate and qualified solicitor, Eleanor moved to Sawston in 2005 and and started supporting JHC in 2008. Her experience of London and Cambridge’s legal and property sectors has proven invaluable to us ever since.

Eleanor also knows our local schools very well, both as parent and through her involvement with Bellbird School and Jigsaw Preschool. She is also a passionate champion for the Greener Sawston group which helps individuals and communities to live and work more sustainably.

“We’re very lucky because our Trustees share the charity’s values whilst contributing different ideas and skills relevant to our decision-making”

A qualified surveyor, Reg has extensive knowledge of housing, development and planning and grants management from his distinguished career with a number of local authorities including South Cambridgeshire.

He and his wife settled in Sawston in the late 1960s and raised their son and daughter here. Reg quickly became involved in voluntary community work within the village and the National Scouting Association.

His long association with John Huntingdon’s Charity began in the early 1970s through an introduction by the then vicar, Roland Bircham and he was Charity Chair between 2007-2014.

Reg continues to use his professional experience to inform JHC’s staff and its other trustees about how best to help clients navigate today’s complex benefits’ processes and social housing policy.

“After all these years I still feel privileged to be a part of JHC’s strong and dedicated team of trustees”

Chris has been a JHC Trustee for about 13 years after retiring in 2006 from the headship of John Falkner Infant School in Sawston. During her 20 years at the school, John Huntingdon’s Charity supported many of its pupils in school which is how Chris came to know the Charity. She retired in 2006 before the school closed in 2007 and the new Bellbird School opened.

Whilst not Sawston-based, Chris has had long connections with children and parents in the village. She now works closely with other JHC trustees to make decisions about grants for individuals and organisations, as well as liaising with the Support team on issues such as benefits, specialist family services and housing.

Chris also sits on a number of other JHC committees to do with property, finance and HR, all of which she finds both interesting and challenging.

Originally from Cheshire, Sue trained as a generalist Citizens’ Advice Bureau Advisor and Guidance tutor. In 1997 she moved to Sawston with her family and became a JHC trustee vacancy in 2000.

For the last 20 or so years Sue has been a Money Matters Advisor at Cambridge Housing Society where she now leads a team of Advisors. She helps to facilitate the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Financial Capability Forum and also delivers Financial Capability Training. These enable Sue to keep up to date with Welfare Reform issues to the benefit of fellow Trustees.

She also chairs the JHC Advice Hub and is a valued sounding board for the JHC Support team which leads on these issues. She feels very strongly that everyone deserves to have access to good information and advice to make informed decisions about their own lives.

“Sawston has a particular character distinct from other villages in the area because of its size and diversity”

 Sue moved to Sawston nearly 30 years ago having begun a career in clinical research at a London teaching hospital. Since then she’s worked for a number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, focusing on clinical trials for new treatments to help people with asthma and other long-term lung conditions. 

Sue joined our board earlier in 2019, enabling JHC to benefit directly from her people skills and experience of managing complex projects and finances. She appreciates the positive contribution JHC makes to Sawston and is keen to maintain its character so that people will continue to want to live and work here.

She recognises how we connect with the community and are always open to new ideas, directly and in partnership with others. Sue has an allotment in Sawston and can often be seen pushing a wheel barrow down the High Street, so is very much the embodiment of this philosophy!

“As the new vicar of St Mary’s Church, I’m really pleased to be a trustee of JHC which does so much, in so many different ways, to care for, and support, people in the community”