Off The Record’s Trustee/Directors
Dr Peter F Mills (Chair of the Board of Directors)
Peter joined the Board of Off The Record in the 1990’s, and has been Chair since the beginning of the Millennium. He is also Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Sub Committee of the Board.
Peter’s Professional career, which was spent chiefly in Higher Education, included a number of lecturing and managerial posts at the then Portsmouth Polytechnic. Shortly before his retirement, the Polytechnic became the University of Portsmouth, and he was able to leave from the position of Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University. His academic discipline is mathematics; he is a Chartered Mathematician and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics.
Peter has been a member of the Board of Amnesty International UK, and for a number of years, the Chair of its Finance Committee. In the 1990’s he also chaired the Board of Governors of Portsmouth College. His contribution to Off The Record relates chiefly to its governance and finance – seeking to help the staff and volunteers who are directly involved in the work of supporting young people.
Hazel Frost (Vice Chair of the Board of Directors)
Hazel’s initial involvement with Off The Record was in 1991 when she became a volunteer counsellor after taking part in an excellent training experience which directly influenced a change in her career direction.
Hazel remained a volunteer for many years, serving on the Management Committee as a member and then took over the Chair of the Committee for three years. Hazel has been fortunate enough to be involved with young people in a voluntary and professional capacity, and having obtained an Advanced Diploma in Counselling she now works as a counsellor in a Portsmouth inner city secondary school.
Reverend Jonathan Jeffery has an interest in the local area from a personal and pastoral view. He has been the Vicar of St Francis, Leigh Park since March 2001, serving in the Anglican Parishes of St Francis and St Clare, and was closely involved with the work of St Mary's Church and that parish in Fratton prior to that.
Jonathan has been a Director/Trustee of Off The Record since moving to Leigh Park. He is also a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. Jonathan has experience in management of meetings and the running of voluntary groups and brings business and decision-making skills to Board meetings as well as a wider view of matters that relate to the estates in the area. Jonathan seeks a true sense of community and aims to make connections and build links with other groups and bodies working for the well-being of our communities.
Kath Johnson has been part of Off the Record since 2002 and has held a number of different voluntary positions – in counselling role, as co-facilitator of the Young Mums group and Parents Support Group and since 2005, as a member of the Management Committee.
Outside of Off the Record Kath runs a Training and Education Company, which she set up with her husband 12 years ago. “Running my own business has meant that I have had to learn a range of skills including Sales / Marketing / Finance / Publishing as well as writing and delivering externally accredited qualifications. I employ 67 staff and provide training courses for approximately 2500 students per year.”
Kath has experience in both the therapeutic field and business arena and brings a range of qualities and skills to the Board for the benefit of the young people Off The Record works with. She is energetic, committed and has a passion for working with young people.
Jenny Yeates has served on the Board of Directors since being elected in July 2006 and has been a volunteer counsellor with Off The Record for over 5 years. She holds a Diploma in Counselling and works as a part-time school counsellor in Petersfield. Jenny is also involved in fund-raising for a Thai tsunami charity and, more recently, Winston’s Wish which is a local bereavement charity supporting young people and their families.
John Simmonds currently serves on the Finance and General Purposes Committee and chairs the Ethics and Clinical Oversight Committee. John worked for IBM for 27 years and held various management positions including Director of IT Security and Risk Management a position from which he took early retirement in 2005. John has been involved with Off The record for many years and holds a Diploma in Professional Studies (Counselling).
Mike Tiller currently serves on the Board of Directors and was first elected in 2006. Mike works for Southern Co-operatives Ltd as the Community Relations Manager where he is responsible for managing Southern Co-operatives Foundation, a registered charity. Mike has a degree in Politics from the University of Portsmouth. Mike is a also a School Governor for Park Community School where he serves on the Community Management Committee and the Curriculum Committee as well as the Full Governing Body. Mike has lived in the Portsmouth area all his life.
Robert Morton worked 38 years in local government as an environmental health professional, including areas of Haringey and Westminster; finally 18 years with East Hertfordshire District Council as Chief Environmental Health Officer. Prior to Local Government he served in the Metropolitan Police. On retirement from local government he was made a life member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, he then followed a new career in professional opera and was regularly employed by a number of London Opera Companies.
Robert joined Off the Record in 2002. In 2003 he moved into the counselling role where he still remains, he is also a member of the Management Committee. During that time he was, for five years, chairman of a freehold company (Castle Garden Freehold Ltd).
Robert was a keen athlete having run seven marathons, and taught judo for the inner London Education Authority. He is a member of MENSA.
“I consider Off-the-Record to be one of the best organisations I have ever worked for, and it is high time it received the true recognition it so justifiably deserves.”
Katy Wilson has been a member of Off The Record since the autumn of 2001 and was elected to the Board in July 2008. For nearly 7 years she held a variety of volunteer roles – as a support worker, a counsellor, a support workers supervisor and member of the management committee.
Katy found that as she moved roles within Off The Record, she also progressed her career in counselling. From early diploma years, to more recently completing a BA (Hons) in counselling and psychotherapy at Southampton University.
Katy now works as a school counsellor in two schools and also has a thriving private practice . “I still feel today that with out joining Off The Record all those years ago as a student placement, a lot of the above would not have happened. I am hugely indebted to the support and friendship I have received from this wonderful organisation.”
Although no longer able to give any more weekly or monthly time to Off The Record, Katy brings to the role of Director a firm commitment to supporting the needs of young people. She also offers an understanding and first hand experience of the volunteering ethos within Off The Record, as well as wider knowledge and experience as a professional practitioner working with young people.