Councillor Peter Box
Councillor Peter Box has been Leader of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council since August 1998. He lives in Castleford, is married to Judith, and they have a son and two grandchildren. He has many interests outside his political life, including travelling, gardening and a passion for Irish music and literature.
Councillor Box takes a keen interest in promoting the District and improving the quality of life for everyone who lives, works and visits here. He believes strongly in partnership working between the council and other organisations as the way forward for the prosperity of the District. Councillor Box has actively advocated the Government's modernisation agenda relating to local government.
As well as being Leader of the Council, Councillor Box is also chair of the Yorkshire & Humber Assembly and Chair of Wakefield Together and at the forefront of the Debate on directly elected Regional Government.
Councillor Box is also a member of the Labour Party National Policy Forum and is also chair of the Regional Labour Party.
Wakefield Council: www.wakefield.gov.uk
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Kieran Preston
Kieran Preston has been Director General of Metro (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) since 1993. Metro is responsible for the co-ordination of Public Transport provision across West Yorkshire.
In addition to its strategic role, responsibilities include specification and funding of local rail services, subsidising necessary bus services which are not commercially provided, provision of passenger facilities and information and promotion of public transport.
His previous post was Director of Administration, Leeds City Council responsible for the Department of Administration and co-ordination of Direct Service Organisations within the Council.
Kieran has a degree in Business Administration, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport.
Kieran is Chairman of the Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG) which represents the 7 PTEs in England and Scotland and Transport for London. PTEG plays a leading role in shaping and implementing public transport policy.
Metro: www.wymetro.com
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Sue Griffiths
Learning Partnership: www.wdlp.co.uk
Wakefield College: www.wakcoll.ac.uk
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Nick Best
Nick Best is the Deputy Regional Director, Regional Resilience within the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber. Nick provides the strategic lead and high level representational capacity for Regional Resilience to ensure that the region is prepared to deal with large scale emergencies.
In addition he acts as the Government Office lead negotiator for Wakefield and Rotherham in the Local Area Agreement (LAA) process.
The last 14 years at Director level in the region. Prior to current post was the GOYH Corporate Services Director and prior to this was the Operations Director responsible for Training and Enterprise Councils and Careers Service contracting and played a lead role in setting up the region’s Learning and Skills Councils whilst in parallel taking forward the TEC closure programme.
Part of the original senior team responsible setting up the Government Office in 1994. Extensive experience with DfES prior to this at local and Head Office level including Head of Industrial Relations.
Government Office for Yorkshire & The Humber: www.goyh.gov.uk
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Assistant Chief Officer C McIntosh, DMS MIFireE
Director of Fire Safety and Community Relations
ACO McIntosh is responsible for delivery of all Fire Safety Services, including Legislative and Enforcement matters and the Community Fire Safety Programme.
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Alan Wittrick
Alan Wittrick was appointed as Chief Executive of Wakefield District Primary Care Trust at its creation in October 2006. Alan is a qualified accountant having spent the first half of his career in the private sector working for multi-national and blue-chip companies and moved into the NHS in 1991. He has been Director of Finance in the NHS in Doncaster and Sheffield and more recently was Director of Finance at the South Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority and was Acting Chief Executive in 2005/6.
Alan has also been National Chairman of Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Alan lives in Leeds with his wife Sue and has three grown up daughters. His interests include music, gardening, and more recently para-gliding!
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Ken Taylor
Ken Taylor has held the position of the Executive Director of Groundwork Wakefield and its group of companies since 1995.
Groundwork is an environmental regeneration charity and company operating across the Wakefield District.
Central to his approach is partnership working with all sectors of the community and as such he is on the Boards of several organisations, including being the Chair of Wakefield and District Housing, Chair of the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership, a Governor of Clarke Hall, a Board Director of First and a Member of VOX
Groundwork: www.groundwork.org.uk
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Joanne Roney
Joanne Roney took up her new post as Chief Executive of Wakefield MDC in July 2008.
Prior to this she was Executive Director for Neighbourhoods and Community Care at Sheffield City Council. Joanne joined Sheffield Council in October 1999.
At Sheffield she had responsibility for housing market strategy and investment, neighbourhood regeneration, community engagement and area working, Community Safety and Adult Community Care Services.During her time at Sheffield she also managed a range of Direct Services including Construction, Streetforce, Highways and Lighting.
During her time in Sheffield, as part of the Executive Leadership Team, Joanne led the Council’s transformation to a 4 start Excellent Authority and significant transformation of the City.
Wakefield Council: www.wakefield.gov.uk
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Kevin Dodd
Kevin Dodd is Chief Executive of one of the Country’s newest and largest Registered Social Landlords - Wakefield and District Housing (WDH).
A Town Planner by qualification and a housing professional by desire Kevin has led substantial and complex housing organisations.
Kevin is passionate about the impact that excellent housing services can make to communities. He is totally committed to ensuring that the Wakefield community benefits from the significant improvements promised as part of the tenant driven transfer process. He is also determined to ensure that future generations will benefit from a landlord that is capable of meeting ever rising expectations.
Kevin's interests extend beyond Wakefield, as a national speaker on housing related issues, he is also a Board Member of National Housing Consortium and Committee Member of Chartered Institute of Housing and National Housing Federation.
Wakefield District Housing: www.wdh.co.uk
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Councillor Bryan Denson
Councillor Bryan Denson is Chair of the Lifelong Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee and a member of the Standards Committee. He is a School Governor at Mackie Hill Junior Infant school, President of the Wakefield Conservative Association and Chairman of a Wakefield Property Trust.
Councillor Denson works for an Italian Energy and Petrochemical Company as a Business Manager responsible for the sales and marketing of Synthetic Rubber in the UK and Ireland (Budget around £15 Million). He is a trustee to the Company Pension Fund and has also been a Director of his own business consultancy company.
www.wakefield.gov.uk
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Chief Superintendant Marc Callaghan
Chief Superintendent Marc Callaghan has been a police officer for 28 years. He lives in the Wakefield District and has previously worked at Halifax, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Leeds City Centre, Chapeltown and Killingbeck Divisions. He is immensely proud of being the Divisional Commander at Wakefield Division and has a real belief that only by working together can Wakefield District really move forward in ensuring that the district is a place where everyone is proud to live and that it is recognised as being a safe place to visit. He is an experienced Public Order Commander and regularly takes charge of the policing operations at Elland Road.
www.westyorkshire.police.uk
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Liz Singleton
Liz Singleton joined the LSC in May 2007 and is the Partnership Director for both Wakefield and Calderdale Councils. She leads a team that works with a wide range of organisations providing learning - including schools, colleges, work-based learning providers and the voluntary and community sector. Liz takes a lead role for West Yorkshire on school sixth forms and learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.
Liz initially worked within the Heath Service before moving into education in mid 1980s. She has taught in schools across West Yorkshire - beginning her career in Wakefield. She has also served as an Advisory Teacher, School Improvement Officer, OfSTED inspector and Strategic Adviser.
Learning and Skills Council: www.lsc.gov.uk
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Councillor Maureen Cummings
Councillor Maureen Cummings was an elected member for four years from 1996-2000 and was re elected in 2004, representing Crofton, Ryhill Walton. During her first term Councillor Cummings was Deputy Chair of Municipal Services.Since being re elected she has been Chair of Overview & Scrutiny for Liveability and Deputy Portfolio Holder for Community Safety Cohesion. She is currently Cabinet Member for Adults Health.
Councillor Cummings works with all community groups and Parish Councils within her Ward. She is currently working with Havercroft Ryhill Regeneration Group to deliver a new Youth Centre for those villages. She is Chair of the Adult Education Governing Body, a Governor on Crofton Infants School and Crofton High School, a delegate on the Town Parish Council Liaison Group and works closely with Havercroft Skills Centre to deliver skills for life training to many of the deprived communities in the South East of the District.
Her interests beyond Wakefield Council and her Ward include following her passion for Rugby League, she is a Trinity Wildcats supporter and regularly attends the games, she also enjoys holidays in the sun.
Wakefield Council: www.wakefield.gov.uk
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Councillor Olivia Rowley
Councillor Olivia Rowley was born in Co. Laois in Southern Ireland. She was educated at St. Austin's Catholic Primary School, St.Thomas a Becket Catholic Secondary School, Margaret Clitherow Catholic Girls Grammar School in Bradford and Bradford University.
Councillor Rowley worked as a Regional Officer for a charity called International Voluntary Service, an organisation devoted to peace by encouraging different nationalities to work together on practical projects both in this country and abroad. Later she worked for many years in community development for a children's charity.
Married to Ken Councillor Rowley has three children, Kate who is married, lives locally and teaches at a local secondary school, Brendan who is a musician who is currently in London and Anna who is married, lives in Ireland and runs a community development project.
Councillor Rowley was first elected as a Labour Councillor in 1980 and represents Wakefield East Ward. She has been involved in practically every aspect of the Council, particularly Education, Social Services and more recently as Cabinet Member for Communities, Partnerships and Cohesion. She is a member of the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership Board, the Local Government Association, Wakefield Community Foundation. She chairs the Regional Migration Group and Wakefield's multi faith group, the Welbeck Liaison Group and is a volunteer with and chair of the Eastmoor Community Project Ltd, which owns and runs the St. Swithun's Centre. She is a member of Wakefield and District Housing Local Area Committee.
Councillor Rowley is Chair of Governors of St. Thomas a Becket Catholic College and St. Austin's Catholic Primary School. She is Chair of SACRE, Chair of Clarke Hall Governing Body, Deputy Chair of the Adult Community Education Service Governing Body, Deputy Chair of the Wakefield Metropolitan Brass Band Management Committee, She also serves on the Governing Bodies of Wakefield Community School and the Castle Children's Centre and Nursery School. She was Chair of Wakefield Sure Start Partnership for many years.
Councillor Rowley is a member of DIVA, Wakefield Historical Society, Friends of Wakefield Art Gallery, Friends of Chantry Chapel, Wakefield Gilbert and Sullivan Society, CND and Wakefield Labour Club (Red Shed). She is also a member of the Finance Committee of St. Austin's Church and a member of the community of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Sandal.
She loves all types of music, particularly Irish traditional music, theatre and reading.
Wakefield Council: www.wakefield.gov.uk
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Julie Wilkes
Julie Wilkes took over as Chief Executive at VAWD in June 2007.Her previous roles include UK Strategic Performance at Barnardo's and Chief Inspector at the General Social Care Council.A qualified social worker and systemic consultant, she worked for several inner London boroughs and national public bodies. Julie lives in Leeds and looks after two smallgrandchildren.
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Robin Barron
Now working for North Yorkshire County Council Robin has had a 40 year career in teaching, local government administration and ending with 25 years with The Sports Council at Headquarters in London, Sheffield, Manchester and with the regional office in Leeds where the majority of his work was with disadvantaged groups.
Educated in Wakefield he returned to live in the city in 1977. Robin is now one of two VOX representatives on the Board committed to ensuring that the voluntary and community sector is able to play an active and positive part in the challenges ahead.
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Margaret Wood
Managing Director ICW (UK) Ltd. ICW is a small engineering company based at Horbury Junction, Wakefield specialising is the design and manufacture of glazed units for industrial applications.
Margaret is Chair of Wakefield First (the Development Agency for Wakefield District). Chair of Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Local Area Council at Wakefield. Member of the Wakefield District Partnership Board. She is also a member of the West Yorkshire Economic Board and the Board of Wakefield District Housing.
Working to develop the potential of the people of Wakefield District through Business Community and Education to enlighten, engage and inform.
First: www.firstwakefield.com
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Dawn Stephenson
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
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Mohammed Ayub
Wakefield District B.M.E. Forum
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Mike Bridge
Yorkshire Forward
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John Hadjioannou
Faith Representative
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Tim Godson
Tim is the Government Office Locality Manager for Wakefield and has a team of staff in the Office who feed in to discussions on Wakefield issues. A key focus of the work is negotiating the Wakefield Local Area Agreement and discussing performance against targets.
In the other part of his work, Tim leads of team of staff working on environment, and sustainability issues in the region.; The team works with key regional and local partners to address issues such as climate change, energy, waste, local environmental quality and sustainable development.
Tim's career since 1982 has always been linked to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and its former guise MAFF. He has worked in various delivery agencies on agricultural and environmental issues.
Originally from Nottingham, Tim did a degree in forestry at Bangor University and is a keen sportsman and wildlife enthusiast.
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Elaine McHale
Elaine's current post is with Wakefield Council as Corporate Director Family Services. The Family Services Directorate was created in April 2006. It comprises both the former Education and Social Services directorates and it offers Wakefield a unique opportunity to shape and provide services for and around families and family life. Elaine has worked for Wakefield Council since 2001, when she was appointed as Chief Officer Housing & Social Care. Before moving to Wakefield all her previous employment had been in the North West where she had worked for Manchester, Wigan and Bolton local authorities as well as with a voluntary adoption and fostering agency.
Elaine was born and brought up in Sunderland. She attended St Anthony’s Girls’ School before going to Lancaster University to undertake a BA Honours degree. This was followed by an MA with Manchester University and MBA and DMS with Durham University.
As well as undertaking national lead for the ADASS on Domestic Abuse, Elaine is a Governor of Wakefield College. Other current commitments include chairing York University’s Making Research Count Steering Group and being a member of the Government’s Task Force on Commissioning from the 3rd Sector and recently their System and Regulation Working Group.