Meet the Abbeyfield England Team
Any organisation, large or small, can only be as good as the people in it. Abbeyfield's well-earned reputation for providing excellent housing and care services is mainly thanks to the exceptional people - management, staff and volunteers - who have joined our cause.
Our Partnership Support Team
Michele Wainwright
As the Partnership Support Team Manager, I report directly to the Abbeyfield Board, supporting their strategic direction for Abbeyfield England and their support of all members. My past experience as Head of Service in a large metropolitan authority will certainly help with the responsibility for ensuring excellent governance for Abbeyfield England, and taking on the Company Secretary role.
With extensive background in partnership working, including the growth and management of a large strategic partnership that brought together members from the public, private and community and voluntary sectors, I know only too well the importance of delivering value for money services, and the actual benefits of collaboration for improvement and development that can be delivered.
I am the direct contact for all Member Societies who are based in the North Region, receiving help from Richard Lenthall who supports the North Regional Hub on an interim basis.
Richard Lenthall
Aa a Partnership Manager I am currently the primary support for the South East region. I will likely have met representatives of most of our Member Societies during my time here, and feel very much a part of our Abbeyfield Family.
I will continue to be the direct contact for all Member Societies who are based in the South East Region, and continue to help the PST Manager in the support of the North Regional Hub on an interim basis.
Claire McEnoy
As a Partnership Manager, primarily supporting the South West region, I am bringing over 20 years experience in community development with organisations providing care, support, and housing solutions that ensure older people feeling listened to and enabled to stay part of their community.
I will be the direct contact for all Member Societies who are based in the South West Region, and will be helping with the support for the South West Regional Hub (SWIPG). I am hoping to engage with all societies in the area, and I will be here to listen, and respond, to your concerns and needs. I will also be sharing my expertise across the PST to maximise the capacity within our team.
Melissa Levitt
As the Governance and Finance Officer I am looking forward to working in an organisation whose priority is to enhance the quality of life for older people by creating communities that keep people connected.
I hope to make use of my extensive experience in partnership working, digital communications and senior positions within Local and Central Government in order to assist Abbeyfield England in empowering member societies to successfully deliver their vision.
I will be providing support to the PST Manager and the AE Board, and taking charge of the new platform for sharing resources across all our Member Societies. You are likely to hear from me when I’m arranging the annual conference, collecting the census data (which will help the Finance Committee with reviewing the membership fee formula) and when you receive regular updates around policies and announcements that will affect you.
Our Board of Trustees
Our Board of Trustees is made up of volunteer members, each selected for their expertise and experience in sectors including housing, care and finance.
Geraldine Gilpin, Interim Chair
I am pleased to be acting as interim Chair for the next 12 months. I am committed to ensuring the future of the Abbeyfield and enabling people in later life to benefit from an ethos which keeps people connected and prevents loneliness. To ensure this ethos can continue to develop in the coming years, I would like to encourage Societies to work together, sharing their knowledge, dedication, and enthusiasm.
I studied law and then accountancy, although my working life has been almost entirely in the charity sector. My connection with the Abbeyfield movement goes back almost thirty years, retiring last year from my role as Chief Executive of Abbeyfield & Wesley. During this time, I have witnessed the difference which can be made to the lives of older people through a physical environment which nurtures relationships, maintains links with the community and encourages independence and autonomy.
David Summersgill
I have been a trustee and board member of Abbeyfield Braintree, Bocking, and Felsted Society since 1996. During that time I supported the Board in developing a 35 unit independent living facility and more recently successfully project managed their new independent living village from initial inception to successful completion in terms of both construction and financial outcomes. The village cost £23.5m to build and has 99 apartments, a bistro, a gym, a beauty and health parlour, a media room, a number of meeting rooms, a large greenhouse, etc.
My initial career was in local and central government, finishing as a Director in a London Borough. Subsequently I became a freelance management consultant, working as an associate of Deloitte Consulting. I specialised in embedding change management into organisations. Long term assignments included managing a large public sector procurement agency and strategic housing management for the largest local authority. My track record of achieving operation efficiencies and cultural change was achieved through engagement with staff, management boards, trade unions and elected members.
For over 20 years I also worked as an associate lecture for the OU Business School tutoring on the Diploma and MBA programmes, in Finance, Strategy, and across a wide range of management topics in the UK and overseas.
I am a passionate advocator of good, affordable housing that gives security, support and opportunities for interaction but at the same time enables independent living.
Geoff Walker
I currently chair the Abbeyfield Silverdale Society, and am also a Trustee at Abbeyfield Hartland House in Milnthorpe. For the last two years I have chaired the informal Morecambe Bay cluster group exploring collaborative working practices and potential mergers. In addition, I am a volunteer ranger with the National Trust.
I retired from a career of over 37 years in secondary education in 2020, and was a Headteacher in three large comprehensive schools in Lancashire, Warwickshire and Cumbria. I also worked as an Academy Director and had experience of advisory and inspection work.
As a trustee with two houses, I recognise and celebrate the strengths of local Societies and the importance of dedicated and long-serving trustees. As the chair of a regional group, I am well aware of the benefits of collaborative working with staff and trustees, and sharing best practice.
I will work to ensure that the Abbeyfield England board is relevant, responsive and empathetic, representing all Societies within the new organisational model and Abbeyfield Agreement.
Nigel Druce
I became involved with Abbeyfield on retirement as Director of Social Services at Cornwall County Council more than 15 years ago. My initial role was as House Chairman of a small home in my village which is part of the Abbeyfield South West Society. What attracted me to the society as a volunteer chair was the local management, considerable involvement from our community and an historical approach in the organisation which saw older age as an opportunity to try out new activities and make fresh friends whilst living in an affordable and safe home.
Abbeyfield is possibly more relevant today than at any time in its history. A fresh approach to the future, building on what we do best and making it even more relevant should be what we all are seeking to do.
Ruth Johnson
I am the chair of the Abbeyfield Loughborough Society and have been a trustee since February 2013 and chair from 2019. We are a 64 bedded dementia care home, having successfully completed the new build of a 33 bedded unit. As well as the board; I chair our staffing group looking at recruitment, retention, training, staffing levels etc, plus providing care management expertise. I am a member of the group reviewing all the financial issues of the home including budgets, cash flow and residents’ fees. I chair the NE England, Yorks and E Midlands hub.
My background is in nursing and general management. In my 38 years working in the NHS, I was required to work across organisational boundaries and with staff at all levels within health, social care and the voluntary sector in the areas of emergency planning, older people’s services and Continuing Healthcare.
I believe my experience working within the NHS in management, commissioning and strategy as well as within the Abbeyfield family equip me to represent the care sector and my hub/region on the Abbeyfield England board.
Steve Wood
I worked as a housing professional for over 40 years before taking early retirement in 2022. For much of that time I worked for and with organisations specialising in the provision of housing, care and support to older people. I took great pride in the work I led on and contributed to, improving access to services which will have helped thousands of older people maintain their independence and dignity as they moved on with their lives.
Perhaps the most enjoyable and fulfilling years were those as regional lead at Anchor Trust during the 1990’s, a time of significant expansion which saw the development of some of Anchor’s first integrated extra care services. I was able to take that experience to another level in the early 2000’s, working with mainstream housing organisations on their development of services for older people.
In 2012 I moved into consultancy, and up to my retirement worked with over 30 service providers and strategic commissioners across England and Wales on projects directly linked to older people. I have a good network of influential contacts within the profession and beyond, at both practitioner and strategic level and am currently a Trustee of the Foundations Independent Living Trust.
Wendy Sudbury
Abbeyfield addresses a vital and growing need in society. I have extensive experience in helping community organisations compete effectively and efficiently – without compromising their social goals.
I was an elected, non-Executive Director of HF Holidays Ltd, which has strong parallels with Abbeyfield. It’s a member-owned Co-operative with a community-focused mission, owning properties in the UK and also working abroad. Volunteers are a key part of the offer.
We faced financial and sustainability challenges: a tired estate, ageing guests, and a failure to attract younger people. During my time on the Board, we modernised governance, re-engineered strategy, formalised our code of values, and established a financial plan to refurbish the estate. I served on three key committees: finance & estates, strategy, and audit & risk – and on the emergency Covid-19 committee, navigating the forced shutdown and supporting the recovery. I also chaired a working party evaluating Board skills and performance.
The changes Abbeyfield are planning must meet the needs of Members large and small. I’m a Unitarian and we celebrate (and fiercely defend) the independence and localism of our 170 congregations, while building on the shared expertise and shared benefits of a long-standing national family. I will bring that approach to my work with Abbeyfield.
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