Mark Law MBE
Chief Executive, BARCA-Leeds
Mark set up BARCA-Leeds in 1994. Starting out as a small youth group based in a temporary building, the organisation has, under Mark’s stewardship, grown into one of the larger third sector organisations in Leeds.
During that time, BARCA-Leeds has, under Mark’s guidance, established a broad range of services that directly improve life outcomes for children, adults and their families. He has developed a personal reputation for successfully developing innovative and responsive community services in West / North West Leeds.
Mark is chair of Children Leeds West, and he has been central to many of the West Leeds Implementation team’s developments. He was the Children’s Lead for the local district partnership and played a key role in the emerging partnership with Area Management Boards and broadening the perspective of extended services.
Mark was also non-executive director for the Leeds West Primary Care Trust, where he sat on the audit committee and took the lead on patient involvement and HR (including the achievement of gaining Practice Plus within the Improving Working Lives standard). He directly contributed towards an ethos that prioritised partnership, supported the modernisation of services for older people, the establishment of a strong anti-poverty policy and the appointment of Children Leeds West partnership coordinator.
Within the City of Leeds, Mark was the founding chair of Leeds Youth Work Partnership, and is its current vice chair. The group develops Youth Work partnerships, improves and increases youth work across the city and challenges traditional relationships between the funded and funders. He has directly supported the development of the Joint Preventative Partnership and contributed towards the development of the Youth Offer.
The focus of Mark’s MEd (Management of Community Education) was the management of change with an organisation that creates genuine opportunity for clients to participate.
Mark, who also has a Community Studies, Youth and Community Certificate, is the chair at Whitecote Primary School. Additional roles have included part-time lecturer for Leeds Metropolitan University’s Community and Management modules. He is also founding chair of the West Leeds Healthy Living Network, which promotes healthy lifestyle choices.
Adam Smith – Operations Director
Adam left university with a BSc (Hons) Criminology and began volunteering for various organisations working with young offenders, substance users, community members and young people to gain experience and a valuable insight into societal issues.
He went onto work in various roles within the substance use field, being nominated and successful in completing a fast track to management qualification managing various teams including alcohol, criminal justice projects, Community Drugs Treatment Service and young peoples drugs and alcohol projects.
He is committed and enthusiastic about the work that BARCA-Leeds continues to deliver across Leeds and in his new role as Operations Director hopes to build on the successes that BARCA have already achieved and drive excellence and good practice across the organisation. Adam enjoys travelling to South East Asia and Europe, fine dining and live music.
Susan Dean – Finance Director
Susan Dean is the current Finance Director of BARCA-Leeds, she has been working as part of the senior management team for BARCA since 2004. She has over 25 years experience as a Finance Director, her career has been quite wide ranged and varied. She was Finance Director in the 80′s and 90′s for the London subsidiary of ENKA, one of the top 50 construction companies in the world and then she moved to Leeds and the voluntary and public sector in 1995, where she has managed a number of national and local voluntary sector organisations through strategic change management and financial planning. Sue currently volunteers for a number of local and international small charities as a Treasurer. She is a member of the Charity Finance Directors Group and was a Common Purpose Graduate from the 2009 Meridian Programme.
Cathryn Thom – Funding and Development Manager
After spending many happy years in Hull doing a sculpture degree Cathryn moved to Leeds and started her working career in the private sector, first working in marketing for a college and then working for Wetherspoons head office. She took time out of England and took herself off to Greece for a while working as a Food and Beverage General Manager for a club in Lefkada and then came back to manage a series of successful gastro-pubs in Leeds.
After she hadn’t slept for 6 years she was lucky enough to get the job as Sales Manager at the National Media Museum in Bradford. This entailed travelling to other countries to watch IMAX films and creating budgets for the museums film and IMAX department and finding new and innovative ways to market the museum to new audiences to increase income for the museum through film and IMAX.
Cathryn went onto work for a lovely arts based charity in Bradford called Artworks Creative Communities as the Marketing and Systems Manager and then acting CEO when the CEO left. Cathryn joined the Board of Trustees for Artworks after she left in May 2011.
Cathryn started work as the Funding and Development Manager for BARCA-Leeds in April 2011. This is a new role to take BARCA into a new direction of funding, explore new avenues of income and improve and develop marketing and communication. Its an exciting time for BARCA and Cathryn is very happy to be part of it.
Margaret Lee – Strategic Lead Adult Services
Margaret Lee was educated in Ireland. her professional life had always entailed working with communities that experience a sense of isolation and alienation.
Moving to london in 1979 Margaret trained and worked in the voluntary sector working for Harlesden Adventure Playgrounds where she worked with disenfranchised families. In 1981 she was successful in becoming the youngest Front of House Manager for The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, North London. From here she moved to the Carib Theatre where she worked as Artistic Director.
In 1987 she moved to Leeds, and took time off to raise her family. She returned to work in 1997and gained a professional qualification BA(Hons) in Youth and Community at Leeds Metropolitan University. In 2001 Margaret was successful in gaining the position of Senior Community Drugs Worker with BARCA-Leeds and in 2006 became the manager of the Harm Reduction Service. In 2007 she achieved NVQ L4 in Management.
In 2009 Margaret secured the funding for Leeds City Wide Harm Reduction Service and took over the management of St Anne’s Harm Reduction, bringing the two Harm Reduction Services together as one team.
In December 2010 Margaret was successful in becoming the Executive Lead for Adult Services. As manager she remains true to her beliefs in the need for a holistic approach to the individual, by providing an inclusive, supportive, reliable service, where individuals are treated with respect and care.
Bev Gibbons – Reaching Out Manager
Bev worked for eights years as a youth and community worker for North Yorkshire Youth Service, after gaining a Certificate in Counselling in 1997 she began work with vulnerable young people in the communities of Selby District and also offered counselling to NYCC staff.
Bev went onto undertake a BH in Counselling Studies and in that time worked for York Rape Crisis for two years working with female survivors of rape and sexual abuse and specialising in young survivors.
Bev went onto further enhance her skills via a three year training post at a psycho-dynamic centre gaining an in-depth understanding of the psycho-dynamic approach to counselling and psychotherapy.
In 2005 Bev started the Introduction to Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapy which she is still completing.
Bev has worked at BARCA Leeds since 2007 offering counselling and targeted drugs work with vulnerable people, counselling with drug using clients within the Harm Reduction Service and generic medium and longer-term counselling and psychotherapy with men and young people aged 12-18.
Bev is is now the manager of the Reaching Out programme which has secured 5 years worth of funding from the National Lottery – Big Lottery Fund which delivers free 1:1 and group counselling sessions to the people of West Leeds.
Amanda Ogg – Team Leader – Children and Young Person’s Service
In 2002 Amanda was a young volunteer at BARCA-Leeds, volunteering at the Rodley Youth Club once a week. Amanda volunteered at this club until 2007.
Between 2004-2007 Amanda was a student at Leeds Metropolitan University studying a BA(Hons) in Playwork, whilst studying Amanda was employed by BARCA as sessional worker on the Play Team working 3 nights a week at the after schools clubs.
In May 2007 Amanda finished her degree and became a qualified Play Worker and was employed by BARCA as an Outreach Play Co-ordinator delivering Open Access and Targeted Play in the local community, this was a three year contract that unfortunately came to an end in March 2011.
In April 2011 Amanda was successful in the post as Team Leader for BARCA’s Children and Young Person’s Services which is where she is today and very happy about it.
Nick Hart – Connexions Area Manager (West North West)
Nick started working for BARCA whilst competing a Psychology degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. Nicks first role was working for the Play Team at the after schools club and supporting local events. Nick then completed various different sessional work opportunities with the Youth Work Team – mainly with c-cards sessions and sexual health fairs.
On completion of Nicks degree he undertook a graduate management training scheme with Morrisons Supermarkets – after two years of training Nick passed the scheme and started working as a senior manager.
From Morrisons Nick went to work part time for Sure Start as a specialist fathers worker in Batley, and part time as an unqualified social worker for the NCH conducting specialist parenting and risk assessments on families as instructed by Leeds courts and CAFCASS.
Nick was then offered the position of Connexions advisor at BARCA-Leeds from which he was promoted into a senior, then manager position. When Connexions was re commissioned in 2009 Nick was seconded from BARCA-Leeds into West Area Manager role working for IGEN (for three years), in 2010 Nick was promoted to West/ North West Leeds Area Manager role (and is still in that secondment position).
Nick Rank – Lead Practitioner – Community Drugs Treatment Service
Nick has worked in the drug treatment field for 11 years, since graduating in Criminology from Teeside University in July 2000. As part of his on-going personal commitment to personal development he acquired the Graduate Diploma in Addiction Studies from Leeds Addiction Unit, where he worked for a number of years before joining BARCA-Leeds.
As a face-to-face practitioner he is qualified to deliver a wide range of structured psychosocial interventions, including motivational and cognitive behavioural approaches. More recently he gained accreditation from the Institute of Leadership and Management, as part of his escalating supervisory and line management roles within the organisation.
Roger Brearley – Lead Practitioner – Community Drugs Treatment Service
Roger has 16 years experience working in the substance misuse field. In 1995 Roger was involved in a 12 months research project in Manchester focusing on pharmacological interventions for amphetamine users. Between 1996 and 2003 he was a researcher and Addiction Studies Tutor at Leeds Addiction Unit. This included organising and conducting a three year randomised clinical trial comparing buprenorphine and symptomatic detoxification.
Roger has produced the following papers:
Measuring Outcomes in a health service addiction clinic. Tober G, Brearley R, Kenyon R, Raistrick D, Addiction, Research & Theory, 2000.
A comparison of buprenorphine and lofexidine for community opiate detoxification: results from a randomised controlled trial. Rainstrick D, West D, Brearley R, Finnegan O, Banbery J. Addiction, 2005.
Since 2003 Roger has been a drug therapist working with alcohol and substance misuse clients. This has included three years experience as a senior therapist at South Leeds Community Drugs Treatment Service (2005-2008) delivering a wide range of interventions and providing supervision to other team members. Since October 2008 Roger has been the Lead Practitioner at BARCA-Leeds, which has included an interim period acting as manager.
Between 2006-2008 Roger has also worked as an individual support worker with social services in Leeds and has completed LSCB Level 2 in Safeguarding. He has also youth work experience having worked as a volunteer in 1994 with Leeds Young Persons Housing Trust.
Pippa Hutchinson – Senior Family Support Worker
Pippa moved to Leeds from Ireland in 1995 and qualified as a social worker in 1998 from Leeds Metropolitan University.
Since qualifying Pippa worked as a Project Worker at BASE 10, Leeds Women’s Aid and then for the Refugee Council from 2000 – 2009. Pippa started work for BARCA-Leeds. Pippa has done lots Residential Social Work and Community Outreach work for Reed Social Care whilst studying and working part-time. During her time at The Refugee Council Pippa was seconded to The Childrens’s Society as a Participation and Engagement Officer for one year, this got her interested in Family Support and Parent Involvement work which is why Pippa applied for her post at BARCA-Leeds. Pippa enjoys working with her lovely colleagues in the Play and Family Team.
Board Members
Caroline Johnstone (chair)
With a background in Finance and HR, Caroline has some 30 years’ business experience across the UK, Europe and US. She works at both strategic and operational level in times of significant change for organisations: implementing mergers & acquisitions, people change, corporate recovery and insolvency. Caroline was a senior partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) until 2009, a member of the PwC Assurance Executive Board and Assurance People (HR) Partner (6,500 people). She established two new businesses, developing the business strategy and team, and leading the marketing and delivery.
Caroline became chair of BARCA-Leeds in March 2010. She now has various other non executive and advisory roles: Non-executive member of the audit committee of the Crown Prosecution Service; Governor of Leeds University; Board review, consulting and mentoring to CEO of London-based charity; coach and mentor.
Stewart Firth
Stewart, operations director in a logistics company, has worked in supply chain logistics for nearly 25 years and has experience at all levels of the business.
In 1991, Stewart and two others set up Elite Group, and independent group of logistics companies which now employs 600+ people and has a turnover in more than £50 million. Elite has won many awards for its strong links with the local community. In 2003 he was invited to meet HRH the Prince of Wales in recognition of achievements from Business in the Community. Stewart was honoured as one of six Leeds residents to receive the 2008 Leeds Award for hard work and dedication in the local community.
Recently, Stewart has been involved in acquisitions, from selection and negotiating to merging operationally. He also has experience of industrial property, from purchasing and kitting out existing buildings to new builds, amounting to more than one million square feet of warehouse in the past 10 years.
Stewart’s first experience of the charity sector was his involvement with Bramley Elderly Action in 2005. That gave him the desire to expand his own knowledge while sharing any experiences that could benefit the development of others, a goal he pursues through his role as director for BARCA-Leeds.
Darren Hill
Darren is a senior lecturer in Social Work and Substance Use at Leeds Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, where he is responsible for various managerial and academic roles.
Darren’s Social Work Group academic activities include leading the module for the introduction to social work and social work methods and approaches. He is a lecturer on research and evidence-based practice modules, and a tutor for the practice learning module. Darren is the lead for substance use across the Faculty of Health, lecturing on topics such as mental health, nursing and psychological therapies.
As Director of the Centre for Substance Use and Social Inclusion at the Faculty of Health, Darren trains Leeds Social Care Services and other voluntary sector organisations regionally and nationally on a range of related issues.
Before becoming an academic, Darren worked in community health and social care services. He has worked for a housing association as a resettlement worker, a nursing assistant within mental health services, as a family support worker for Leeds City Council’s Social Care Services and as a social worker for BARCA-Leeds’s Community Drug Treatment Services.
Doug Martin
Doug is a researcher and consultant within integrated services. His varied career path has included, nursing, children and adult social care, private sector manager, local authority (a wide range of work with communities, national government, advisor on Every Child Matters, ethnographic researcher, HE teacher, Trustee of Genesis, school governor). Doug is a volunteer with the Youth Offending Team.
Graeme Tiffany
Graeme is an independent education consultant. He has worked as a researcher, trainer, lecturer, writer and education consultant since 2000. Graeme’s special interests include detached and street-based youth work, youth social policy, informal education, democratic education, participation and the use of philosophical tools to support learning.
As Vice-Chair of the Federation for Detached Youth Work, Graeme represents the UK in Dynamo International, an international network of street educators.
Graeme’s published writing includes Reconnecting Detached Youth Work: Guidelines and Standards for Excellence (2007). He also advised the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education, writing Learning from Detached Youth Work: Democratic Education (2008) on behalf of its core group, ‘NEET’-focused Engaging Youth Enquiry). Graeme also contributes regularly to print publications including Youth Work Now.
Graeme directed the Joseph Rowntree Foundation New Earswick Community Philosophy Project. He also leads a philosophy inspired Community Cohesion programme for Sunderland City Council. His background is in youth work, community education and community development.
Sophie Michelena
Sophie is a French national, and originally a language teacher in the public sector, then a marketing manager in the private sector, and a social enterprise manager. Sophie always got involved in community organisations within her personal life – theatre, anti-racist football tournaments…
After 18 months working for the Development Trusts Association (recently became known as Locality), Sophie hot desks from development trusts in Leeds, and have worked with member organisations all around Yorkshire as a charity development officer. Most of her work involves social enterprise support, advice around community asset transfer, and generally providing networking opportunities in the community sector.
Sophie has lived in Bramley since 2007, and felt it was time that she took part in community life and joined the board of Barca.
John Battle
John Battle was born in Bradford and educated at St. Paulinus’ School, a primary school in Dewsbury; St Michael’s College Underley Hall 1962-1967 (a junior seminary – secondary education for the training of priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool), and at St Joseph’s Upholland College (1967-1972) following a year of work he went to the University of Leeds where he gained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) First Class Honours in English in 1976. From 1976 – 79 he undertook post graduate research
In 1979 he began to work as a research assistant to Derek Enright, a fellow Catholic and a Member of the European Parliament. Battle gained a seat on the City of Leeds Council in 1980 and chaired the Industry and Employment Development Committee, the Housing Committee and the Urban Development Committee.
Between 1983 and 1987 John was the first coordinator of the national charity Church Action on Poverty. In 1987 he was elected to Parliament for Leeds West replacing the sitting Liberal M.P.
Focusing on tackling poverty and housing John was Labours housing spokesman under John Smith.
After 1997 John served as a Gort Minister in the D.T.I. and Foreign Office. He became a member of the privy council in 2002 and was the P.M’s envoy to the fault committees until May 2010.
Stepping down from Parliament in 2010 John now works in his community focusing in community organisations and tackling poverty whilst serving on national bodies.
He is the Vice President of the British Association on Counselling and Psycotherapists and a fellow of Leeds Trinity University.
