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.
Jenny Burley
Company Secretary
Jenny joined the trustee board in 2015 and has been company secretary since 2016. A retired solicitor, she began her career in nursing, becoming a registered nurse and ward sister before leaving to study for a law degree and qualifying as a solicitor with Hertfordshire County Council in 1981. She moved from there to the charity sector in 2000, becoming Head of Legal and Risk Management at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and retiring from there in 2012. She subsequently worked with several other charities as a governance consultant. In the past she has chaired a housing association and been a trustee of the Hospice of St Francis. She is currently also a trustee of Mind in Mid Herts. Jenny is a qualified counsellor and volunteers as such in a St Albans school. To relax, she gardens, quilts and tries to keep fit so she can play with her grandchildren.
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.
Sarah Yexley
Trustee
Sarah has lived in St Albans for more than 20 years, growing up in Buckinghamshire. She is a Human Resources professional with experience in a number of disciplines to Director level. Sarah's experience has been gained largely in the drinks, retail and leisure industries as well as communications, having worked in a small independent business through to a multinational organisation. She became a trustee in 2009. Sarah enjoys cycling, walking and skiing to try to keep fit.
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.