Who Is Involved

Regional Forum on Ageing Executive Board Members:

Daniel Brown
As a  Project Coordinator for Age Concern, Dannys' role provides him with a wide and varied brief on older peoples issues. Danny works closely with the local authority through their LSP [ Older Peoples Delivery Board ] on Services that promote well-being and independence. As a Non Executive Director for the Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust he holds the lead portfolio on older people, and he is currently involved in setting up a  Membership Model for engagement and consultation that will replace PPI.

Emma Carter
Emma is Director of the Fair Play Partnership.

The Fair Play Partnership is an independent not for profit organisation working to mainstream equality and diversity in the workplace, and public and community life. Fair Play develops programmes to support innovative projects and research regarding under-represented groups. As a regional partner for TAEN (The Age & Employment Network) Fair Play is working in Yorkshire and Humber to promote good age management practices to employers and to influence policy making a region level to ensure the impact of demographic change is understood and addressed.

Nikki Dyson
Nicki Dyson is the Yorkshire Area Manager for the Alzheimer's Society responsible for the management of services, staff and funding.  Within her role Nicki leads on the development of strategies and implementation of plans across Yorkshire to ensure the improvement of services for people with dementia and their carers.  One of the key areas of work is building relationships with other organisation's and exploring partnership opportunities. Nicki is an executive member of Future Years, Yorkshire's Regional Forum on Ageing and a member of CSIP's managed learning network for the North. Nicki is committed to improving the lives of people living with dementia.

Luisa Fletcher
Luisa represents the NHS on the Board

Ann Hewitt
Ann represents Better Government for Older People (BGOP) on the Executive Board.

Pam James
Pam James works voluntarily for older people and their services throughout Bradford and its' District. This is part of her service to the community as a Soroptimist, an International Women's organisation. Pam Chairs a number of Older People's organisations and groups including: BOPA, Bradford & Dist Older People's Alliance/ Open House for Seniors, a drop in centre for older people in the City Centre, operating 3 day a week/ People's Health Forum, supported by the tPCT/ Vice Chair of Age Concern Bradford & Dist/ Bingley Welfare Association for Older People amongst many others. The Local Authority, especially Adult Services and elected members use BOPA in particular as their main consultative body on all issues around older people and their services. She has a seat on the Older People's Partnership Board, its' Steering Group and chairs the sub committee, Involving Older People. These organisations and agencies together with those not named give her a wide network across the City and District. This is an important time for older people to be involved with all current and future changes and Pam hopes her voice through the networks will have a real influence on the decisions and the future.

Mary Catherine Laurenson
Team Leader, Care of the Older Person, University of Hull. eLearning Masters in Ageing and Diversity Programme Leader. President o fthe Hensall cum Heck Women’s Institute. External Examiner for the University of Strathclyde and the University of Central Lancashire. Member of the Higher Education Dementia Network. Member of the Humber Complementary Health Research Group.

Sue Mann
Sue represents Help the Aged on the Board.

Shelagh Marshall
Shelagh is the first Chair of Future Years, having been an active member of the original Steering Group.  She is a County Councillor for Mid-Craven in North Yorkshire.  As she represents a large area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park she is a member of that Authority.  She is the formally nominated Older People's Champion for NYCC and sits on the Care and Independence Overview and Scrutiny committee.  She is also Vice-Chair of the Yorks. & Humber Rural Affairs Forum and a member of the YHA Scrutiny Board.  In addition, Shelagh is a member of the Age Concern National Council on Ageing - Rural Affairs sub-group. Shelagh lives in Embsay, a village near Skipton, which has a large number of older inhabitants, many of whom live alone.  In the winter of 2007/08 she launched a Fifties Forum which meets monthly in the village hall.  When she has any spare time, Shelagh likes swimming, photography and writing articles for journals - about older people, of course!

James Paton
Inclusion and Governance Manager, Yorkshire and Humber Assembly.  James was a chemist in the oil industry from 1983-88. He was a councillor in a ward with predominantly older people and a voluntary youth and community worker from 1986-98. After resigning from the oil industry and council he retrained as a community development and youth worker in 1990 then worked as a freelance consultant. From 1991, he worked for the Council of Europe, Economic and Social Affairs Directorate in Strasbourg and then from 1993 for one of the political groups in the European Parliament there. During this time he took a second degree with the Open University. In 1996 he returned to Shetland as a European Union policy and funding adviser to the Shetland Islands Council.  He was asked to stand for the UK parliament in 1997 and the European parliament in 1999  - silver medallist on both occasions. In 1999 he moved to Leeds as Director of Policy and Strategy for the Yorkshire Museum, Libraries and Archives Council. He joined the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly in 2002 as a Development Manager. During 2004/05 he was the Dept. for Culture Media and Sport representative at Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber. In 2006 he was appointed to the Assembly's Housing and Communities Team as Inclusion and Governance Manager. James continues a range of voluntary and charity work, specifically he is a trustee and chair of the board of Jantela, a regional organisation set up to serve and support local community organisations serving refugees and asylum seekers. He is also a Unison trade union representative and Secretary of Houghside Gardeners. He enjoys theatre, film, many kinds of music but especially celtic folk, debate, comedy. He is passionate about tackling injustice and poverty.

Alison Robertshaw
Alison sits on the Executive Board of Future Years as the Yorkshire Forward representative.

Sally Rodgers
Sally represents Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) on the Board

Paul Russell
Paul is active in the Regional TUC Retired Members Forum (currently Vice-Chair), and in the retired members' organisation of his own union (UCU) both regionally and nationally; the Council of the National Pensioners Convention; a committee member of Bradford and District Senior Power.  However, he does not formally represent any of these bodies.

Paul has particular concerns about pensioner poverty, health and social care, age discrimination, and particularly elder abuse.

Paul welcomes the current work being done by Future Years in seeking to gain a better understanding of the particular needs of older members of ethnic minority communities in our region.

She was appointed to her present role as Chief Executive of Leeds Jewish Welfare Board (LJWB) and Leeds Jewish Care Services in April 2005. LJWB is a charity founded in 1898 and has been providing social care support to members of the Jewish and wider communities ever since.

Delighted to represent the Regional Forum on the Future Years Board, Rebecca is resolute about improving the life chances for older people on a local and regional level, and to maximising the influence on policy making at national level.

Rebecca is a Manchester lass, born and bred, but the significant diversity and vibrancy of Leeds, and the glorious countryside, have completely won her over.  She has dragged her long-suffering partner, Robert, across the Pennines.  Having settled in Leeds, they have never regretted a single moment.  Rebecca and Robert have two adult children.

Terry Williams
Terry is an individual member of the Executive Board.

Terry has a wide range of interests.  When not serving as Secretary to the Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) UCU Retired Members Branch; Y& H Pensioners Convention; Y&H TUC Retired Members Forum; the Minutes Secretary of the West Kirby Association of Rural Affairs Forum or Vice-Chair of Heyday Wakefield; Terry enjoys spending time with his wife and family.  

He can also be found involved in English Heritage activities , gardening, DIY maintenance, strolling, volunteering, SAGA holidays, craftsmanship, communicating, 1920s to 1960s jazz, politics and current affairs, trade unionism and maintaining a positive and optimistic outlook!  He attempts to live by his old school motto "omnia perficere potest", which translates as "It is possible to do all things well".

John Welham
John works in Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber (GOYH) where one of his roles is to champion the older people's agenda, seeking to ensure that regional strategies and policies recognise demographic change and take account of their impact on older citizens.  He also currently chairs meetings of a network of ageing issues contacts from across all the Government Offices.

When he is not working, John enjoys reading, walking and the opera. He is  a regular supporter of Opera North.

Denise Wilson
Denise represents the Federation of Small Businesses on the Board.

Denise is the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses. Her role is to champion the cause of the small business sector and those who are self-employed. Representing over 16,000 members she has lobbied on issues covering Post Office closures, transport congestion and  business support.

Farhat Yaqoob
Farhat represents the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity (PRIAE) on the Board.