Meet our Trustees

George has been chair of Suffolk Community Foundation since November 2019. During his year as High Sheriff of Suffolk in 2018 he gained a thorough insight into the voluntary sector and the role of the Community Foundation in supporting voluntary and community organisations. He was inspired by what he saw and is delighted to be able to support that effort as a trustee. George is CEO of his family food business, Vestey Holdings Ltd, and lives in West Suffolk.

Jonathan has been Chief Executive of Birketts, a law firm based in Ipswich and also with offices in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Norwich and London, since 2013.

Prior to this he was in the army for six years and then spent 15 years working in London for a number of city companies before he returned to Suffolk, where he was brought up.

Jonathan has been a trustee of the Foundation since 2014 and a governor of The Royal Hospital School since 2015 where he chairs the Finance Committee.

As a Deputy Lieutenant Jonathan plays an active role in the Lieutenancy Business and Enterprise Group that promotes the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognising business excellence across the county. He is also engaged in seeking to reduce social isolation and rural deprivation in Suffolk. Jonathan represents the Lord-Lieutenant on the Shotley Peninsular where he lives with his wife Fenella and three teenage daughters.

As the Operational Careers Hub Lead at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Jordan is responsible for delivering the Careers Hub strategy for all Schools & Colleges in Suffolk. He is passionate about ensuring all young people are prepared and inspired for the world of work and is committed to tackling social mobility across the county. Alongside his role at the LEP and Trustee position at the Foundation, he is also a Governor at Copleston High School and the Chairman of Men’s Mental Health Charity, MANUP.

William read law at Cambridge University and completed an MBA at INSEAD in Fontainebleau. Over nine years he built up The New Covent Garden Soup Company before selling it to a public company. He and several colleagues then bought the embryonic Green & Black’s from its founder and grew it to an international brand which they sold to Cadburys in 2005.

He is advisor to or director of many organisations, including Cawston Press, Samworth Brothers, and Keystone. He is a Trustee of The Grosvenor Estate and director of Wheatsheaf, which concentrates on agri-tech opportunities. He is also a Trustee of Gascoigne Cecil Estates and Snape Maltings.

William farms organically and conventionally in East Anglia. He is an active environmentalist and a campaigner for better food and rural issues.  He is President of The Suffolk Wildlife Trust. He was High Sheriff of Suffolk in 2016-17 and maintains links with many NGOs and volunteering organisations within the county.

As an NHS manager, Jane specialised in working in and with mental health services and services for families and children. A spell working as an NHS commissioner broadened her experience. A desire to work more directly with individuals and families led Jane to re-train and work in the VCSE sector. Until recently Jane was a Director (Co-opted) of Healthwatch Suffolk.

Jane’s career and life experiences have led her to a deep appreciation of the invaluable contribution of the VCSE to the wellbeing of local communities.

Helen joins us as a trustee and will chair the Sizewell C Community Fund Awards Panel.

Helen has had a long career in health and social care that has taken her from ward to board.   Originally qualifying as a nurse, she has been the Chair of East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) since 2019.  ESNEFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in the East of England and runs Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals, plus six community hospitals and community health services.  Helen’s term of office ends in March 2025.  

Helen has lived in Suffolk for 20 years and brings senior level experience in social care, charities and health inequalities, as well as a detailed understanding of good governance in a publicly accountable setting.  She is excited to join the Foundation to help bring together people and organisations who want to make a positive difference to life in our local communities.  

Gareth served 33 years as a police officer, retiring as the Chief Constable of Suffolk in 2019.

During the earlier part of his career in Essex, Gareth specialised in homicide, major crime and serious and organised crime investigation, leading many high-profile cases.  He then moved to Norfolk as a chief officer taking charge of local policing and Royalty protection. 

He moved to Suffolk in 2014 as the Deputy before becoming Chief Constable. During his tenure in the chief officer ranks, Gareth was the national policing lead for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and also for Crime Investigations and Homicide.

Following retirement from Home Office policing, Gareth was appointed as a senior civil servant and joined the Ministry of Defence Police as their Chief Operating Officer. He is also a lay member of the University of Suffolk Research Ethics Committee. Gareth has a first and master’s degree from the University of Essex and Post Graduate qualifications from the Cambridge University and the University of Leeds.

Gareth was awarded the Queens Police Medal in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List and was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk in February 2020.

Sarah has a law degree and worked in loan finance with law firms Norton Rose and Slaughter and May before moving to Abbey National, where she worked in the Treasury section, ran call centres and latterly headed up their Corporate Development department.

She is now Deputy Chairman of Britten Pears Arts and a Citizen’s Advice Bureau volunteer.