Meet our Trustees

Jane Robinson – Chair of the Board
Jane is a qualified Occupational Therapist who has worked across the North East for over 30 years in a range of health, social care and commissioning roles.

Jane has recently retired from her role as Corporate Director for Adults and Health Services and being the chair of the North East Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.

Jane has always had a professional interest in end of life care and wanted to join Willow Burn after seeing first hand the excellent care and support the Willow Burn team gave to her Mum.

Mark McArdle - Vice Chair
Mark was born and raised in Stanley and attended St. Bede’s Comprehensive School in Lanchester. Upon leaving school, Mark completed a Mechanical Engineering Degree at Newcastle University and then joined Nissan at its newly formed European Technology Centre. Mark left Nissan in 2000 to join the family business which was then building and operating care homes for the elderly under the name of his mother, Helen McArdle Care. As well as running the care homes Mark also helped establish a successful children’s nursery business, Kids 1st. Both businesses were sold in 2016 and 2017, and since then Mark has helped Helen fulfil her charitable ambitions, one of which was to rebuild the IPU at Willow Burn Hospice which was completed in 2018.

Lesley Telford - Treasurer
Lesley was born in Hexham and raised in Ryton where she attended Ryton Comprehensive School. She left the school with A Levels and joined NatWest, based at Gateshead branch. She was accepted on to the management development programme and quickly progressed through the roles. She later joined the corporate team in NatWest, followed by a move to the corporate banking team Barclays and Handelsbanken, providing lending and investment advice to North East businesses and those further afield for over 25 years. Lesley is currently and Investment Executive at FW Capital.

She also sits on the Board at Changing Lives and holds the position of Treasurer at the Charity.

Lesley’s involvement at Willow Burn is a very personal one as her father passed away with cancer. As such she fully understands and appreciates the end of life support provided at the hospice. She has full admiration for the team at Willow Burn who she sees as being at the top of their profession for providing a caring and compassionate approach to those who have illnesses which are no longer curable.

Ian Burke
Ian is the Head of People & Culture at EMG and uses his extensive experience in HR to give steer Willow Burn's focus on people and what good people practices are about. His role at EMG role is about setting a clear people strategy and direction, helping people unite to share and achieve the organisation’s mission and objectives whilst championing EMG Solicitors’ culture and values.

Ian began his career in Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management and after managing several catering contracts, took up the position of Training Manager with the Hotel and Catering Training Board delivering industry based management training programmes. He later moved to Booker Wholesale as Regional Training Manager and was soon promoted to Regional Personnel and Training Manager. Having achieved a post graduate diploma in Human Resources he moved to The Co-operative Group as Regional HR Business Partner and was promoted into a national role as HR Manager for Development and Change taking on specific projects including a major programme focussing on staff engagement. After leaving The Co-operative Group he established his own learning and development business, Turning Tides, delivering amongst other things a 16-module leadership development programme. He moved to The Percy Hedley Foundation as Head of HR and OD during which time he successfully achieved an MSc in Leadership and Change Management. After two and a half years as Head of HR for Sage Gateshead he took up his current position at EMG.

As well as being a Trustee for Willow Burn Hospice he is also the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.

Philip Pollard
Philip was born and raised in Consett and attended school just a stone’s throw away from Willow Burn at St. Bede’s in Lanchester. He has a degree in Recreation Management from De Montfort University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing Policy and Management from Northumbria University and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Philip has worked in social housing for almost 20 years and currently works for Karbon Homes where he is responsible for Customers and Community Engagement. He has previously held senior positions within the field of social housing with other northeast based providers and local authorities.

 Philip has previous board experience with the Chartered Institute of Housing NE, North Tyneside Youth Offending Management Board and both the North Tyneside Children’s and Adult’s Safeguarding Boards. He is also currently a board member of the Derwent Valley Area Action Partnership.

Philip first became involved with Willow Burn through his involvement with the Consett Sunderland Supporters’ Association who have raised tens of thousands of pounds on our behalf since they were formed in 1995.