Emmaus UK Board Members (Trustees)

Chris Briggs
Christopher was appointed to the Board in December 2011 as the first Companion from within the Federation. Previously, Chris spent a year working on the Federation Committee as a representative of the national Companions Forum, where he was a main driver in Companions becoming more pro-active. Before joining Emmaus, Chris worked in various strands of hospitality at management level and was co-owner of a café and a delicatessen. After losing his second business, Chris spent eight months living street homeless in London. He has been with Emmaus for two years in the South Lambeth and Brighton Communities.

Jim Caldwell
Jim was co-opted onto the Emmaus UK Board on 9 December 2010 to enhance HR expertise at Board level. Before his retirement from full time employment, Jim enjoyed a successful career as an HR professional, culminating with a senior HR role in a major international chemical company. Since 2006 he has become involved in a number of voluntary activities, primarily advising Third Sector organisations on change management and HR management. He is a Director of a local charity and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Emmaus Preston.

Alain Capmas
Alain has wide experience of the Emmaus International Movement over many years. He was Vice-Chair of Emmaus Bougival in France, sits on the Regional Board of Emmaus Europe and is a Councillor of Emmaus International.

Mathieu Delarue
Mathieu was elected to the Board on 26 March 2009. He has been involved with the Emmaus movement since 1995 when he joined Emmaus Cambridge as a Companion. In 2004, he was appointed Community Leader of Emmaus Brighton and Hove. He represented Emmaus in the UK as National Delegate for the old Centre-South region of Emmaus International and helped set the statutes for the Emmaus Europe Region, which was established in 2005.

Michael Heap
Michael was elected to the Board of Emmaus UK on 8 December 2011 and became Chair in November 2012. He has extensive management experience in both the public, private and voluntary sectors, particularly in social care, mental health and housing. He was appointed a trustee of Emmaus Gloucestershire in August 2009 and Chair in December 2009.

Dermot Lamb
Dermot was elected to the Board of Emmaus UK on 8 December 2011. Since joining Oxfam Scotland in 1988 he has held senior positions in the voluntary sector, specialising in retailing, marketing and fundraising. He retired as General Manager of Emmaus Glasgow in 2009 and has been a trustee since November 2010.

Don Pinchbeck
Don was co-opted to the Emmaus Federation Board in April 2009. He has experience at senior executive level with several multinational companies, has successfully led the re-organisation of several high-profile concerns, including Seiko Epson, the grant giving cycle and process of the National Lottery Charities Board, has worked as a Youth Leader and as Chair of HospiceCare North Northumberland. Don provides market research consultancy to several universities, and is a visiting lecturer at both Newcastle University and Edinburgh Business School. He conducts Due Diligence assignments for local venture capital companies and mentors young companies for the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences. He is a Trustee of Emmaus Gateshead.

Don Simpson
Don joined the Group which established Emmaus Mossley in 1995. He has served two earlier terms on the Emmaus UK Board, is Chair of Emmaus Mossley and is a trustee of Emmaus Preston and of Emmaus Salford. He is also Secretary of the Emmaus North West Partnership. Don was Acting Director of Emmaus UK for 3 months in 2000. He has degrees in Electronic Engineering and Operational Research, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and a Certified Member of the Institute of Fundraising. His career, until entering semi-retirement in 2005, was mainly in the Local Authority housing service but he has also had spells as a university lecturer and as a housing consultant. He was a trustee of Shelter for several years. Don was elected to the Emmaus UK Board on 9 December 2010.

Alison Thompson
Alison was elected to the Board of Emmaus UK on 8 December 2011. She originally came to Emmaus as a result of a ten-year period in a Day Centre for homeless, isolated and marginalised people in Winchester. Since 1998 she has dedicated herself to the establishment of a Community in Hampshire, and continues as a Chair of that Community which opened in 2009.

Keith Tolladay
Keith was co-opted to the Emmaus Federation Board in April 2009. He retired from the Civil Service in 2008 having been Director of Finance at the Cabinet Office and Deputy Chief Executive of Energywatch. His expertise is in strategic planning, organisation and finance. Keith is active in local charity work and, prior to being co-opted to the Emmaus Federation Board, has visited the Emmaus UK office in Cambridge and the Emmaus Village Carlton Community.

Frank McMahon
Frank was appointed to the Board of Emmaus Village Carlton in 2006 and became Chairman in 2009. He retired as a head teacher in 2005, after 25 years leading three different schools and having worked in four local authorities. He has a wide experience in serving on and chairing numerous advisory and professional committees and organisations. Frank was a freelance Education Consultant for five years, project-managing pupil integration and school cluster liaison initiatives. He was also a consultant for the National College for School Leadership and facilitated their professional development programmes for new and aspiring headteachers and middle managers. Frank holds Masters Degrees in Public and Social Administration (Brunel) and Education Management (Open). He is married to Brigitte, with three daughters and four grandchildren.

Vicki Urch
Vicki was elected to the Board in December 2012. Vicki joined Emmaus Coventry and Warwickshire as Director in June 2008, bringing with her over 15 years of management experience in the third sector. With experience gained in a range of organisations providing community development, young people’s services, IT services, environmental business services, and more, she has a good understanding of the diverse needs of Emmaus.

Diane Docherty

Diane was elected to the Board of Emmaus Cambridge in 2010, and became Chair of the board in early 2012. Having been involved in the housing and homelessness sector for some twenty years, doing work from front line support to strategic housing consultation, she is passionate about removing the barriers to inclusion that homeless people face. This background effectively supports her in her role as director of Emmaus Cambridge, a position she took up in September 2012.

David Cooper

David was elected to the UK Board of Trustees in December 2012. After a career in the nuclear power industry, he first became involved with Emmaus in 2007, when he attended a meeting of the group working to establish Emmaus Hastings & Rother. He became a trustee of Hastings & Rother in 2008 and has been Chair since the death of Charlie Jordan in 2009.

"Living here gives me the opportunity to give something back. People look to me to take the lead when I’m working in the warehouse and I’ve learnt to get people to work with me rather than…"