Meet our Trustees

GOVERNANCE

The Trustees of the Trust share collective responsibility for ensuring good governance and they have adopted ‘Excellence in Governance’ – The Code for members and good practice guidance, as issued by the National Housing Federation. Trustees also follow guidance and regulations as issued by the Charity Commission.

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The Board of Trustees between them have a deep understanding of housing, care and support issues. In addition, they are responsible for setting high level strategic objectives, ensuring the financial viability of the Trust, for approving business plans and importantly, in monitoring operational performance to ensure that we’re actually achieving agreed objectives.

Julie Holder – Chair

Julie was appointed as a Trustee in March 2014 and is a professionally qualified accountant and coach. She worked within the public transport industry for many years as Head of Finance and later as Head of Business Management and was an Executive Board Member. She believes passionately that her role as a Board Member is to work within a constantly changing environment to ensure clarity of vision and strategic direction and consistent demonstration of values and culture. Aside from being a Trustee and Chair of Finance Committee, she is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit Committee at George Elliot NHS Hospital Trust. She has for many years used her experience and skills to support others in their own personal development through coaching and mentoring and now uses these skills within her own Coaching business.

Alethea (Leeya) Balbuena

Alethea is Director of Operations for a larger Mind charity.  She is responsible for a diverse portfolio of services including children and young people’s mental health provision, housing support services and registered CQC services and brings considerable experience of service design, development and management in the health and social care sector and tender/bid writing.  

Brian Burke

Brian is Global Head of Strategy & Corporate Development for a pioneer in cell line engineering tools and services.  Brian has a strong track record of building high performing commercial teams in new and existing markets and extensive experience in long term strategic planning, market development and mergers and acquisitions.

Ian Bush

Ian has a diverse background having a First Class BSc Hons degree in Building Services Engineering and is a Chartered Accountant at KPMG in Birmingham, coming first in the UK in their Professional exams. He has subsequently launched several new businesses, including an award winning landscape gardening business; a specialist honeymoon travel agency; the UK's best rated wedding gift list service (sold to Park Group Plc in 2015); city tourism app company Walk Run Cycle and organic fashionwear brand Kerfuffle & Malarkey. Along the way Ian has also offered mentorship and support to other start-up businesses.

Roxy Moseley

Roxy joined Sir Josiah Mason Trust as a Trustee this year. She has worked in the housing and care sector for many years, with considerable experience in older peoples care services and homelessness. Roxy now works as an undertaker for a Birmingham based alternative funeral directors.

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Alison Coad

Alison qualified as a solicitor in 1981 and has worked in private practice as well as lecturing in Law. In 1988 she joined the Law Society working in the Professional Ethics Division and later became Director of Regulation Policy and Compliance. Alison is now a legal services consultant and she joined the Board in early 2011.

Cllr. Ken Meeson

Councillor Ken Meeson has been a Trustee since 1995 and is currently the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing at Solihull Council with responsibility for Adult and Children’s Services, as well as Public Health. He also chairs the multi-agency Health and Wellbeing Board and sites on Solihull’s Adult Safeguarding Board.  Professionally he spend many years as UK Development Manager for Lloyds of London underwriting group and now serves on the Local Government Associations People and Places Board.

Betty Foster

Betty has deep ties to the Trust having been a child at Sir Josiah Mason’s Orphanage. She had been a Trustee since January 2010

Cllr. Gareth Moore

Gareth is a serving Councillor with Birmingham City Council representing the constituents of the Erdington Ward. Gareth was appointed as a Trustee in October 2011 and he has a particular interest in housing issues.

Edward Rutlidge

Edward is a former Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and was the sole principal and then Senior Partner of Lawrence and Wightman, Chartered Surveyors for nearly 40 years. Edward, who joined the Board in 2019, has been an Arbitrator/Independent Expert in a broad range of rental and valuation disputes and an Assessor for the RICS for over a period of 30 years assessing and interviewing candidates who were seeking to become Chartered Surveyors.

Philip Soule

Philip qualified as a Solicitor in 1981 and has been practising since then, specialising in commercial property and later working as a self-employed consultant, exclusively providing advocacy in child care and contact cases. Philip is also the Club Secretary of Edgbaston Priory Club, a private members sports club situation near Birmingham City Centre. He was appointed as a Trustee in September 2016.

Jonathan Pyke

Jonathan was appointed as a Trustee in December 2016. He qualified as a solicitor in 1993 and is employed by a Retail Bank as in-house Counsel, dealing with a wide range of operational issues. He has worked at the Bank since 2003.

Liz Alvey

Liz joined Sir Josiah Mason Trust as a Trustee in 2019. She has worked in the housing and care sector for many years, with considerable experience in extra care housing. Liz has also worked in the construction industry and in commissioning services. She has also been a Board member for a number of charities in the past and is currently a Trustee for Birmingham CAB.