Senior appointments signal Carers Trust’s ambition to create ‘step-change’ in support for unpaid carers

Carers Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of three leading public figures and carer champions to senior leadership roles within the charity.

The appointments are designed to build on our new strategic vision for unpaid carers and to provide impetus for our work to make a positive and lasting difference to the lives of millions of unpaid carers across the UK.

Jackie Ashley, the veteran Westminster and BBC journalist, and previous President of Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge and Carers Trust trustee, has been appointed as a Carers Trust Ambassador. In this role, Jackie will promote Carers Trust as a charity and the cause of unpaid carers more generally to a wide range of audiences. She will also support our advocacy work, introducing us to both individuals and organisations in a position to help us deliver our strategic goals and objectives. Jackie has direct, first-hand experience of the complex challenges facing unpaid carers, having cared for her partner, the broadcaster Andrew Marr, following a stroke.

Professor Saul Becker is a renowned academic and social worker, widely regarded to be the world’s leading researcher on young carers. The former Professor of Social Care Research and Education Practice at Cambridge University and Provost of Sussex University  has been appointed Chair of the Appeal Board for Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal’s Respite Fund for Carers. The fund is a new initiative, operated by Carers Trust, that aims to raise £3 million over three years to transform the lives of up to 30,000 carers. In this pivotal new role, Saul will work closely with Carers Trust to drive the Appeal.

Veronica Stonor is a former Vice-Chair of the Carers Trust Board of Trustees and has held a wide variety of senior leadership roles across the health and care sector, including Chair of the Board of Trustees at Carers Newcastle. In her new role as Vice-President of Carers Trust, Veronica will act as a formal public representative of the charity to a range of audiences, as well as contribute to advisory boards and Carers Trust in support of the charity’s mission.

Welcoming the new appointments. Carers Trust’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, John McLean OBE, said:

“These appointments have been made as Carers Trust finalises its ambitious new three-year strategy. We are determined to deliver on this new strategy and one of the ways we will do this is by bringing together a group of carer champions able to amplify our voice in the public arena and extend our reach through new partnerships.

“I am delighted with these high-calibre appointments and am looking forward to continuing  to work with Jackie, Saul and Veronica to transform the lives of the UK’s unpaid carers over the next few years.”

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For further information please contact: 

Matt Whitticase on mwhitticase@carers.org and 07824 539481. 

About Carers Trust

Carers Trust works to transform the lives of unpaid carers across the UK. We partner with our network of local carer organisations across the UK to provide funding and support, deliver innovative and evidence-based programmes and raise awareness & influence policy.​

Our vision is that unpaid carers are heard and valued, with access to support, advice and resources to enable them to live fulfilled lives.