Knowsley Disability Concern is governed by a Board of Trustees comprising people with a variety of knowledge, skills and experience, many of whom have first-hand experience of life with a disability.
Dr Stephen Harding (Chair)
Steve has been involved in the voluntary sector for over 20 years and has been employed in a variety of roles including, advising on funding, workforce development, and delivering training around procurement and tendering requirements for third sector management teams and trustees. Appointed to the Board in 2008, Steve is also a member of the Charity’s Personnel Committee
Richard Murphy
Richard became a Trustee in 2003. Richard has a learning disability and represents the views and opinions of his community in his work as a Trustee, as well as in his membership of his local housing forum. He works as a volunteer in his local supermarket and any spare time is taken up with a variety of sporting activities including swimming and golf.
Andy Dunbar
Andy Dunbar currently works for SoftwareONE, a global platform & solutions business, running the IT Solutions & Services business across UK, Ireland, South Africa and Iceland. In his role, he helps customers govern and manage their software estate – be it licensing optimisation, procuring effectively, or deploying cloud-based solutions but also has experience working with and for not for profit organisations – Andy is based in Liverpool, has a young family and is keen to lend his knowledge to support smaller, local organisations like KDC to make best use of the available technology to facilitate positive change within the community
Alma Lunt
Alma has been involved in many user-led organisations and sat on a number of Liverpool City Council groups such as the Independent Living Centre which supplies equipment and wheelchairs for disabled people, and the ‘Making it Happen’ group for physical and sensory impairments and older people, also the Corporate Access Forum. She has been a part of the disabled access group for Merseyside Museums, St Georges Hall and the Echo Arena to name but a few. Alma says “I look forward to putting my work and lived experience to good use in support of KDC as a member of the Board of Trustees”
Amanda Felstead
Amanda has over fifteen years’ experience in Marketing across the private and public sectors. Involved in marketing strategy development as well as operational delivery, Amanda has championed the added value for marketing representation at senior levels within organisations. She is ambitious and committed and has managed marketing teams to deliver insight led and customer focussed campaigns that have led to the successful achievement of growth targets. Outside of work, Amanda plays an active interest in the Bridal department of her local Oxfam and applies her marketing skills to maximise sales of their wedding dresses. Amanda brings a high degree of commercial expertise to enable KDC to develop reach and scope of services and increase its positive impact for disabled people
Stacia Pettersen
Stacia has extensive experience in learning, development and senior leadership across the Education Sector. Stacia has experience at Headteacher, Deputy/Assistant Headteacher level and has previously been a Head of Service within a Local Authority. With wide experience and knowledge across the education, public and third sectors, particularly within the area of Special Educational Needs. She possesses a range of qualifications, including: Qualified Teacher Status; National SENCO Award; and two post-graduate Management certificates. Stacia is dedicated to working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs; ensuring they have a voice and they are at the centre of their own education, care and support
Hilary Laidler
Having spent her working life as a teacher, Hilary has a broad experience in working with pupils of all abilities, including learning disabilities. Through roles as Head of Department, Head of Year and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, she has been involved in the mentoring, counselling and coaching of sixth form students, as well as providing careers advice.
Since leaving teaching Hilary has worked as a volunteer with the Moneypenny Foundation’s ‘We Mind the Gap’ scheme, helping young women between 18 and 25 to acquire the skills and qualifications to gain employment. She is passionate in her belief that learning is a lifelong process and that everybody deserves a second chance.
Irina Rodkina (PhD, FCCA)
Irina is a dedicated financial professional with many years of experience in senior finance roles within large multinational corporations. The main area of Irina’s expertise lies within financial control, internal audit and tax. Throughout her career Irina has led numerous local and multinational projects and teams, dealt with process improvements, business integration and restructuring. Irina is passionate about the wellbeing of local communities and people in need and strives to use her finance experience and skills to enhance charity’s accountability and to provide support in building a fair and inclusive environment.
Jo Parkes-Newton
MCIPS LLM LLB Barrister
Jo qualified as a barrister in 1995, then moved into procurement in 2000 and has been working in the public sector since October 2004. Jo gained her MCIPS in 2006 and a Masters in public sector procurement law and policy in 2012.
She set up her own limited company Flying Squirrel Consulting Limited in 2008. Jo has outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills, combined with project management capabilities, plus legal and financial audit experience, which she has used to implement diverse major change programmes, manage the procurement function and lead major commercial negotiations.
Nicola Pheasant (ACCA and BA Hons Accounting and Finance)
With over ten years’ experience in senior leadership roles, Nicola is currently employed as Senior Financial Accountant at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool-based charity dedicated to research and teaching in tropical medicine. She has led and developed the finance team of Alternative Futures Group, a large provider of mental health and learning disabilities services across the North West. Nicola is fully skilled in numerous financial and accounting fields, including preparing annual budgets, management accounts, preparing year-end statutory accounts, credit control and cash management. Nicola also lends her expertise as a Non-executive Director on the Board of KDC (Commercial) Limited.
Tricia Clewett
Tricia is a professional trainer and coach. She is co-owner and Business Development Director of Clearer Thoughts, a Liverpool-based training provider delivering organisational excellence, management and personal development and business process analysis and improvement services. Tricia’s expertise has already helped KDC to examine and streamline our working practices and we accessed funding from the Knowsley Growth Hub to enable Clearer Thoughts to deliver MS Office systems training for staff to improve skills and efficiency in using Word, Excel and Publisher. Tricia is an active supporter of many charities and is interested in lending her expertise to help KDC achieve organisational excellence by getting the best out of our staff teams
Pamela Spall
Pam has an extensive career in education, including 
Further Education Manager and Head of Faculty for English and Modern Languages. She has also served as a local Councillor and was Knowsley Council’s lead member for Adult Social Care.
Now retired, Pam continues to support local people to achieve the best possible outcomes through her work on a variety of Boards and Committees. In addition to her Trusteeship with KDC, having been appointed to the Board in July 2018, Pam also serves as a Trustee on the local charity, Incredible Edible. She is an active member of the steering group for the Knowsley Older People’s Voice and the local HealthWatch and supports Knowsley’s Learning Disability Partnership Board. In addition, Pam lends her professional expertise as a Governor at Page Moss Primary School.