Trustees

Hello! My name is Barbara Simpson.

I am one of the Trustees of Journey Enterprises. 

I Chair our Board meetings.  

I have two adult sons with learning disability.

One of them attended Journey in the past.

It’s a great charity.

I used to live in County Durham.

I was a Head Teacher of a Primary School for many years.

I am retired and I live in the Scottish Borders right by the sea.

To get to the shops I have to cross the border back into England.

Fortunately a passport isn’t needed.

I have a beautiful black cat who loves to catch mice to play with them.

Sadly, they don’t seem to want to play with him!

Hello!  My name is Chris Benn.

I am a Trustee at Journey Enterprises.

I grew up in Leicester.

I now live in Newcastle.

I am a Head of Year and a languages teacher in a secondary school in Ponteland. 

I love being a Trustee at Journey.

It lets me make a big contribution to a fantastic charity.

Journey is a charity which supports so many wonderful people.

The amazing food made by the Clients for our Board meetings is also very appealing!

I enjoy cooking and own too many cookery books!

Hello! My name is Jo Kendrick.

I am a new Trustee at Journey Enterprises.

I live in Northumberland and enjoy being part of my local community.

I have worked in education for 20 years.

I taught primary aged children with learning difficulties.

I now work with secondary aged students with mental health disability.

I am a mum to a 7yr old, going on teenager.

I have 2 dogs and a very old cat!

In my spare time I like to run, swim and go to the cinema.

I have worked with Journey Enterprises for just over a year now and am loving it!

Hello!  My name is Mel Matthews.

I am a Trustee at Journey Enterprises.

I am a new Trustee.

This is the first time I have been a Trustee.

I grew up in Hartlepool.

I now live in Blaydon with my husband and 2 cats. I love living in the north east.

I enjoy travelling, yoga, meeting friends and being a vegan.

I have been a Probation Officer for 25 years. 

I am based at Newcastle Crown Court.

My job is to help with sentencing of offenders. 

I work with vulnerable adults and many Safeguarding cases.

I enjoy being a Trustee with Journey because I believe that I am volunteering for a charity which can make a huge difference to the people it supports. making a huge difference to the individuals they work with.

Like Clients at Journey I am learning new skills.  

Hello!  My name is Penny Hawley.

I am a Trustee at Journey Enterprises.

I live in Northumberland.

My family are my husband, David, 2 sons, 2 dogs and 6 hens.

One of my sons is at school.

One of my sons is at University.  He is autistic. I am very proud of him.  He loves being at University.

As a parent of a disabled son it can feel lonely.

That is why I enjoy being part of the Journey family.

I like meeting the Journey Clients and am inspired by what you can do.  

I work at Durham University.  

I used to work for the chocolate industry!

Hello! My name is Sheena Montgomery.

I am a new Trustee at Journey Enterprises.

I am a food teacher.    

At school I love it when my students succeed.  It can be when they learn something new. It can be when they reach their goals.

Before teaching I worked in hotel management for 13 years.  

Being a Trustee lets me share pride through Clients' achievements.  I have now met many of you.  It's great to put names to faces.

Not many people know I am very scared of heights. But, I abseiled down the Novotel Hotel Newcastle for charity.  I then zip wired across the highest wire in Canada with my daughter.