Ruth Girvan Chair of Trustees Expand Ruth was unanimously voted Chair of Trustees at the May 2022 trustees meeting. Ruth has lived experience of the challenges of having a child with a long term health condition, JIA, and has experienced first-hand the life-changing impact Teapot Trust can have on children who go through multiple hospital visits, procedures and tests, and their ability to face into their (often invisible) condition. Adding an element of control, in a life where for them, so much is out of their control. Ruth has a passion for Teapot Trust, its ethos, ambition and impact, and is proud to be taking over from the charity founder as Chair, to lead Teapot Trust through the next stage of development and the opportunities ahead as the charity grows from strength to strength. Ruth has spent most of her career in the financial services sector leading people through strategic change with a passion for keeping people at the heart of any new strategic move. Never happier than when outdoors and indulging in her many passions such as open water swimming, cycling, canoeing camping and running and adding more miles to her Mileage Challenge for Teapot Trust to achieve 4k miles in 2022.
John Kennedy Finance Convenor Expand John is a Chartered Accountant with considerable experience working in public practice. He is a partner in Cowan & Partners CA practice in Leith, where he has provided advice and support to a broad range of clients for over 30 years. John is a highly respected general practitioner, and has a particular interest in charity accounts. As an auditor, he took responsibility for a broad range of audits including a number of local and high profile charities. John also has considerable experience as a charity Independent Examiner. John has served as Treasurer and Trustee of a major UK charity and a large Scottish charity as well as a number of local charities. John will retire from business in April 2022. In joining Teapot Trust, he is keen to bring his professional knowledge and experience to the Trustee role, where he will have a particular focus on finance.
Jennifer Martin Board Member Expand Jen is a highly experienced communications lead for change programmes at NatWest Group. Often specialising in strategic, regulatory and legal change programmes, Jen is passionate about quality, consistency and using data and insight to guide to the right solutions. Out with the day job, Jen has worked with The Prince’s Trust as a mentor to young people. This is Jen’s first trustee position having decided that now her youngest child has started school, it was time to devote more of herself to charities that will make a difference to people’s lives. Her enthusiasm for Teapot Trust is born from the recognition of how creative therapies can positively affect children and their families through the most trying of times.
Katie Wood Board Member Expand Katie has a background in management and leadership in regulatory organisations, in particular with professional bodies. She has an excellent knowledge of governance matters and the work of committees and boards. For Katie the driver for joining the Board was the opportunity to help support not only those children and families benefiting from the amazing work of the charity, but also the hardworking staff and therapists team who work so tirelessly to make it all happen. She's also excited to be working with such talented Board members. Katie is absolutely delighted to be able to bring her skills and enthusiasm to Team Teapot.
Kirsty Livingstone Board Member Expand Kirsty has been with Hampden & Co plc since August 2021 where she is responsible for ensuring the front line banking team are compliant with regulatory requirements through effective leadership of the Bank’s client journey, regulated products and procedures, and client enhancing projects. Prior to joining Hampden & Co, Kirsty was the Head of Membership Services and Strategic Partnerships for 4 years with the Institute of Directors Scotland and enjoyed multiple roles over 16 years, including the Regional Business Development Director for Commercial Banking, with Lloyds Banking Group. She is a highly motivated and effective leader, bringing 21 years’ experience of driving improvement within dynamic and competitive environments of the financial services and not for profit sectors. She combines her strategic thinking, solution focused approach and sound interpersonal skills to lead, manage and drive business initiatives for growth. Thriving on creating and developing mutually beneficial collaborations, she understands the need to nurture such relationships to the benefit of all stakeholders. On a personal note, she enjoys running and online HIT classes as well as spending time with her family & friends.