Our Trustees and Patrons

Lee Bennett

Chair of Trustees

Lee has been working in the charity sector for 15 years and gained much experience whilst working with people with long-term neurological conditions at Headway Surrey. He was the CEO of The Brigitte Trust and is now Director of Services for The Garwood Foundation, a charity supporting children and adults with physical disabilities.

He is passionate about empowering disadvantaged groups, alleviating social isolation and providing people with a voice. And on a personal note, Lee has friends and family who have experienced mental and emotional health distress.

“I am committed to providing my strong charity management skills to this wonderful organisation and highly skilled team of staff and volunteers.”

Jeremy Ross

Vice-Chair

“I am committed to developing services which enhance the lives of people in mental distress.

I have become a Trustee with Mary Frances Trust having retired as a Senior Lecturer in social work, specialising in mental health, social policy and practice education. Prior to this, I held a variety of strategic management and service development roles in voluntary organisations and housing associations developing supported housing, court diversion and day services for people with mental health needs.

Apart from a commitment to improving wellbeing, I enjoy pottery, photography and glass-making”.

Sam Greenhouse

Vice-Chair

“I’m very pleased to be part of Mary Frances Trust as I share its values and believe in the importance of involving the people we support in designing, developing and delivering our services.

Mental health issues can affect many of us and it is not always easy when you’re experiencing emotional distress to get the help and support you need. I’m continually impressed and inspired by the people I meet both working for and using the services of Mary Frances Trust, which increases my commitment to ensuring that our important work continues and grows.

I work as an independent facilitator and trainer, mostly in the public sector, and I am also a part-time Lecturer in Healthcare Leadership and Service Improvement at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. My background is in the health service, as a senior manager of learning and development services in an NHS Trust. I really enjoy working with people to find more effective and enriching ways of living and working together.

Outside of work, I enjoy off-road cycling, running, knitting and catching up with friends and family”.

Heather Ward

Trustee

“While I was a local Councillor representing Leatherhead North on Mole Valley District Council, I met one of my constituents, who told me he was suffering depression. I visited him in hospital and as a result became determined to improve services in our area. I joined a small group, which of course included Mary and Frances, and we set up the Leatherhead Clubhouse, with the guidance and expertise of our first CEO, Ben Collins.

It was very exciting to see how the Clubhouse members grew and flourished with the support they received from staff and from each other.  Some of them were able to move back into employment and all of them found new opportunities to exercise their talents.

Since then, the services people receive and the way they are treated by the statutory services have changed, mostly for the better, and, in turn, we have had to change the services we offer but we have stayed true to the core values behind what we do. For me, the priority is always that we treat the people we work with, with respect, and we enable them to make their own choices and decisions.

I am enormously proud of the Mary Frances Trust. Our staff have adapted to new circumstances with resourcefulness and skill. Our Board members have had to reinvent the Trust in a challenging financial climate, while never failing to be good humoured and positive at our regular meetings and in-between times. Long may the MFT flourish!”

Paul Matthews

Treasurer

“Throughout a long career working in the Financial Services industry, I have faced sometimes stressful challenges, and had to overcome anxieties, which have on occasions had a detrimental impact on my mental wellbeing.

I have also witnessed the often inconsistent and financially-constrained mental healthcare provision in this country, which can prolong the misery and suffering for people with mental health symptoms.

I was very impressed by the tremendously valuable services and support provided by Mary Frances Trust. I realised that by volunteering to the Trust my knowledge of finances, my enjoyment of working with people and my personal mental health experiences, I could play a small part in their great work and have the satisfaction of knowing that I would be helping to make a positive difference to the lives of others.

I am a season ticket holder at Harlequins, have an interest in classic cars and motorsport, enjoy meeting up with friends, going to the theatre and concerts, expanding my musical tastes and being with my wife and family.” 

Susan Grant

Trustee

“I am very pleased to have been elected as a Trustee of the Mary Frances Trust and hope that I can contribute to the valuable work done by the charity in supporting the mental wellbeing of local people.

I have lived in Surrey for over 30 years bringing up my family and working as a solicitor specialising in wills, probate, trusts, tax planning, powers of attorney and elderly client care.
Outside work, I sing with Ashtead Choral Society, belong to a book club and enjoy concerts and the theatre with friends and family”.

Fergus Addison

Trustee

“I am pleased to be a Trustee of the Mary Frances Trust and hope that my experience can be of value to the Trust as it carries out its invaluable work supporting mental wellbeing in Surrey.

I retired from BP after 31 years at the end of 2013. While with BP I held several senior leadership positions in exploration and major projects as well as technical, commercial and corporate planning roles. During my time with BP, I worked and lived in the UK, USA, Colombia, Angola and the Middle East. Throughout my working life, I endured numerous periods of intense workload which, with the benefit of hindsight, I now understand impacted my mental wellbeing.

Now I am retired I can spend time with my family and friends and having spent what seemed like a lifetime indoors in an office or on an airplane, I aim to spend as much time outdoors as plausible. I enjoy cycling and walking, I volunteer with the National Trust undertaking woodland management and having brought my garden under control, I strive to keep it that way”.