WYC Board of Trustees

Andrew Newberry – Chair

Andrew is a retired Chartered Accountant. He was the Director of Finance of a local Regional Housing Association over 20 years of growth with responsibility for all aspects of finance and IT. He was also responsible for governance for half of his term.

In the 13 years prior to moving into the Not For Profit sector, Andrew worked in senior level commerce roles across various industries in a publicly listed company.

He trained as a Chartered Accountant in the UK with a major international practice and continued to work for them, post-qualification, for three years in the UK and Africa.

There is growth in the number of young people who are struggling with their mental health. Andrew believes that with the limit on National Health Service resources the services and support provided by Winchester Youth Counselling are increasingly important to young people in our community.

As a Trustee of WYC, Andrew brings Financial, Strategic Planning and Governance expertise as well as general business skills. He looks forward to helping to strengthen and grow WYC and the range and quantity of services and support they provide.

Thursten Clements – Trustee

Thursten has spent the last 25 plus years implementing business and software led transformations within central Government departments here in the UK and across the world. Involved with many of the most innovative and ground breaking Public Sector transformations that have driven financial efficiencies, improved user experience and consolidated disparate systems and business processes with the ultimate aim always being to free up civil servants to focus on public facing services.

Thursten is currently building and developing a boutique consultancy of software implementation services for the Public Sector based out of Winchester. His vast experience of structured project management methodologies, governance oversight and best practice transformation will be of benefit to WYC.

The services and support provided by Winchester Youth Counselling are so important to ensuring the youth of today have the best possible strategies, resilience and mind sets to navigate the future. As guardians of this world, we need to manage our legacy and leave it in the best possible condition for the generations that follow. Thursten is therefore a passionate advocate of today’s youth building the skills, knowledge and taking on responsibility for developing a better tomorrow for all communities, local, national or international.

Thursten believes he can help drive the next phase of WYC by bringing passion, energy, governance and structured challenge to the organisation. Debate that arrives at outcome-based decisions is a passion and a belief that “shared goals result in mutually beneficial outcomes” combined with an approach that is Can-If not Can’t-Because.

Kirsteen Hook

Kirsteen has worked in the charity sector for over 12 years and is a lawyer specialising in advising charities and not-for-profit organisations, and a Partner at local regional law firm, Trethowans LLP. Kirsteen has a wealth of experience advising on charity governance and related matters, has been recognised for her expertise in independent legal directories, and regularly delivers training and presentation on charity law topics. Kirsteen also spent some time in 2010/2011 at a large global charity which enabled her to experience working within a charity.

During her professional career Kirsteen has been involved in a number of mentoring programmes supporting young people from all walks of life. As a mother to two young children and seeing the pressure placed on young people and the changing social and economic environments, she has a keen interest in supporting young people and assisting with developing tools and resources to provide help and is looking forward to supporting WYC with the vital work they do with their beneficiaries.

As a trustee of WYC, Kirsteen brings experience and knowledge of the sector and charity governance and related matters, and wants to support the Team at WYC in ensuring the charity continues to thrive and enable support to be provided to as many beneficiaries as possible.

Michael Mander – Trustee

Michael is a communications professional working at an education tech ‘unicorn’. In his position, he drives the awareness of apprenticeships through media relations and external communications. Michael started in PR following a stint as a journalist, writing for national newspaper and trade press – focused on the travel and tourism industry. Outside of work, Michael has volunteered for mental health charities including SHOUT and the Samaritans, and is currently the Publicity Lead at the Winchester and District Branch of Samaritans.

Michael was drawn to WYC because of his belief in the importance of developing mental health interventions targeted at young people – to both address mental ill-health and prevent the onset of mental illness. Within the mental health space, the capacity of counselling and therapy isn’t increasing to match the growing demand. WYC stood out for its approach to offering targeted, local support and its drive to do this in a scalable and sustainable way.

As a trustee, Michael will bring his drive and experiences within the mental health space as well as commercial experience in fast-growing start-ups, to help the charity communicate its impact and achieve its objectives as it continues to grow.

Susannah Webber – Trustee

Susannah has worked as a retail buyer for a number of retailers, with expertise in buying, strategic planning, data analysis, team and stakeholder management. The latter part of her corporate career was focused on change and project management, developing, delivering, and embedding operational and IT change.

More recently, Susannah has completed a level 5 counselling qualification and started as Assistant Head of Counselling for another charity. She is looking to set her own private practice in the coming months, alongside continuing to work with counselling organisations that provide low cost counselling for those in need.

Susannah says “counselling training has encouraged me to reflect upon my younger years and my own mental health journey. This, alongside working for a homeless charity, witnessing the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences has emphasised the need for young people to have someone listen to their problems without judgement; to help them find the tools to cope with the challenges of life. Winchester Youth Counselling provides that safe space for young people. It is a place where they can be honest and open, to gain a better understanding of themselves and the essential tools to manage and look after their mental health.

As a trustee, I will be able to utilise my strategic and business acumen to support in developing WYC plans for the future. Bringing my experience of developing and delivering new operational processes, driving continuous improvement in both efficiency and productivity whilst maintaining service standards, ethical practice, and adhering to GDPR policies.

My clinical experience in counselling individuals over 18 with a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties and working within charitable organisations will be valuable in ensuring the impact to clients and staff will always be considered in the decision-making process.

Michelle Flynn – Trustee

Michelle has spent the last 15 years in commercial leadership, focusing on strategy and partnerships within the private and public sectors of the UK and Europe. She brings a wealth of multi-sector experience across diverse operational settings and stakeholder environments. Her MSc in Sustainable Development enhances her expertise in strategic planning, change management, process and service improvement, and stakeholder engagement.

Michelle recognises the growing importance of youth mental health and deeply values WYC’s crucial role within the community. She is passionate about improving the long-term wellbeing of children and young people, understanding the importance of helping them overcome trauma, build resilience, and develop effective coping strategies to lead happier lives. In addition, the importance of supporting their families and caregivers.

Michelle’s belief in open communication, fostering self-belief, and the restorative power of nature aligns closely with WYC’s mission. Serving as a trustee is a meaningful opportunity for her to advocate for the organisation’s strategic direction, priorities, and governance – a role she considers both an honour and a privilege.

Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, Michelle is dedicated to helping the WYC team achieve its core mission, develop impactful partnerships, and ensure lasting impact and expanded reach, all while navigating future challenges in an ever-evolving landscape.

Dason Bodilly – Trustee

Dason has worked in charity roles before both for Oxfam (Band Aid) and the Scout Association, but worked in mainstream IT for the last 40 years, starting in the role of technical support and development and then latterly sales, commercial partnerships and for the last 20 years, senior management roles across Europe and the Far East. He has a mix of management and operational skills from growing and developing fast moving commercial businesses across the world, as well as developing and training these skills in others. Originally educated in Mechanical Engineering & Applied Science, he also has an MBA and multiple specialised computer and business methodologies qualifications.

As a parent of 5 children ranging from 18-32, he is only too aware of the many anxieties that children often face and that strong community support can have such a major effect on helping young adults to understand the causes and be able to build successful coping strategies for many of the challenges of modern life. He believes that WYC is ideally placed as an independent service that can operate to truly client centric issues without judgement or agenda, and that in doing so they help to unlock the potential of so many children that would otherwise be held back by a lack of support at crucial times of their lives.

As a trustee, Dason hopes to bring support in area’s he knows well like operational efficiencies and partnerships, but also help to develop some of the counselling skills, particularly in the outdoor and practical side of the charity, where confidence building activities can transform lives.

Julie Todd – Trustee

Julie is a retired Solicitor. Her 35-year legal career began in private practice where her work included the conduct of Mental Health Review Tribunals at a local secure unit. She developed a lifelong interest in mental health and a particular passion for mental health advocacy. Julie then joined the Crown Prosecution Service where she served as a Youth Court Specialist, Child Abuse / Rape Specialist , Hate Crime Specialist and Wessex Area lead on the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Julie has extensive experience of how those with mental ill health navigate the Criminal Justice System from arrest, interview protocols, assessing fitness to plead, Special Measures in giving evidence and sentencing outcomes. Julie has extensive experience in safeguarding, working closely with multi agency teams in her legal work. Her previous role as Trustee with Solent Mind gives her experience of working at Board level with local adult mental health services. Julie was Chair of the People & Quality Committee responsible for scrutinising all safeguarding issues within the organisation as well as Equality and Diversity Trustee and having responsibility for deciding all final stage service user complaints.

Julie brings compassion, understanding based on both lived and professional experience, a passion for supporting young people with their mental wellbeing and a strong belief that early intervention enables better life outcomes and that good mental health is as vital as physical health. As a woman of mixed heritage Julie brings diversity to the board and with it a commitment to promote equality, inclusivity and transparency.

Julie communicates engagingly, whilst applying forensic scrutiny, and constructive challenge. She is insightful on potential areas of risk; particularly around safeguarding and believes these skills can contribute effectively to the ongoing success of WYC.