Meet the Trustees
Alec Campbell
Chair
Alec joined Citizens Advice in 2020. He is an electronic engineer and project manager who has deployed many telecoms networks for UK network operators. Alec was previously a school governor and district Councillor. He is passionate about improving our local communities and supporting Citizens Advice in that.
Cathy Phillips
Treasurer
Cathy joined Citizens Advice as Treasurer in 2016. As a Qualified Certified Accountant she spent over 25 years in a variety of management roles within Finance teams in the Retail Sector, ultimately rising to Vice President at TK Maxx. She has a proven track record of leading both large and small teams delivering efficient transactional services and business critical financial information to Board level. Additionally she has extensive experience in business and financial planning, change and project management, internal audit and external reporting. Since leaving full time employment, in addition to her role at CASTAD, she joined STANTA (a St Albans charity supporting local business start ups). Cathy has been resident in St Albans for all of her adult life.
Vivien Priestley
Company Secretary
Vivien is a solicitor who practised in London for 24 years. She was a Partner in the law firm Finers specialising in commercial real estate and secured lending. Latterly she was Manager of knowhow and training in the Real Estate departments of Simmons & Simmons LLP and Mishcon de Reya LLP.
Vivien has previously volunteered at other Citizen Advice offices and was a Trustee at Haringey Citizen Advice Bureau. More recently she has worked for Citizens Advice St Albans from 2015 to 2023 as Outreach Adviser, Supervisor, Trainer, and Manager of the pro bono legal clinic.
She also volunteers at Glastonbury festival and is on the Committee of the Friends of Waterlow Park in Highgate Village where she organises their public events.
Greg Comninos
Trustee
Greg has been a trustee of CASTAD since 2011. He was Treasurer until 2016 when he became Chair of the Trustee Board. Greg is an accountant by profession and was a partner in the St Albans office of Deloitte before his retirement. Greg is a trustee of the Alban Academies Trust which serves a growing number of primary and secondary schools in the St Albans area. He is a Past President of the Beds, Bucks and Herts Society of Chartered Accountants.
Jessica Van Schie
Trustee
Jessica joined as a trustee in 2020 and has lived in St Albans for over 5 years. She is an operations professional and has worked with small businesses through to large multinationals. Jessica has over 10 years of commercial and managerial experience in post, logistics and e-commerce fulfilment. Key skills include change and project management, supply chain management and business planning. Throughout her professional career Jessica has been an active member of works councils and employee forums. In her spare time Jessica enjoys reading, skiing, and running.
Alison Berneye
Trustee
Alison started her working life in Hotel Management moving swiftly in to Shopping Centre Management and latterly ran her own Event Management business for 22 years, before hanging up her hat in January 2020. She has two adult daughters who also live in St.Albans. As well as being a Volunteer Trustee for CASTAD she works with the Princes Trust as a mentor for young people looking to start their own business or who need assistance applying for jobs. Alison is keen to use her knowledge and expertise to support CASTAD.
Akhtar Zaman
Trustee
Akhtar has lived in St Albans for over 50 years. As a Computer Science graduate, he has spent his working career with several multinational software companies both as a technician and in a management capacity. He has travelled for work to over 20 countries worldwide, experiencing many varied cultures, managing multiple projects and teams concurrently.
Akhtar grew up in St. Albans and has been active from a young age with many voluntary organisations and charities. He has served and represented the Asian communities over the past 30 years on various committees; currently, this includes being a trustee and chairman of two organisations. Areas of interest include Youth Enablement Initiatives, Helping the Disadvantaged, Community Integrations/Relations, promotion of Digital initiatives in the community.
In 2016 Akhtar was honoured to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, and has since supported many organisations and charities across the county. In 2020, Akhtar became a governor of a Special Needs school in St. Albans, and a Trustee for a Computer Training charity. He is also president of the South Asian Heritage Association (SAHA) which is part of One Vision in Watford.
Dan Gardiner
Trustee
Dan has spent his career working in local government in both councils and national organisations. He is currently Assistant Director of Strategy and Design at Waltham Forest Council. Dan lives in Fleetville and is keen to support the impact and growing reach of CASTAD in the local community.
Pauline Gillingham
Trustee
Pauline joined the board of trustees in 2024. Having lived in St Albans since 2011, she was keen to support the local community and all those that live in it, encouraging an inclusive and diverse population. Pauline works in reputation management and brings a wealth of experience advising brands and organisations on communications strategy and stakeholder engagement. Her work across industry sectors on diverse business and sectoral reputation and licence to operate issues has included social investment programmes and collaboration with the third sector.