We recently bid farewell to our chief executive, Donald Forrester. Donald had been a part of our team for 12 years. After retiring from his previous role as a civil engineer, Donald joined Emmaus Leeds as a van driver. In 2016, when we were in need of a chief executive, Donald stepped up to the challenge and took on the role with dedication and passion.
However, in late June of this year, Donald decided it was time to retire for good. We will greatly miss his valuable contributions to Emmaus Leeds and wish him all the best for the future. Now, we are thrilled to announce that we have a new leader at the helm: Gina Morrison. Gina has been an integral part of Emmaus Leeds for an impressive 13 years, serving as a part-time administrator and then general manager. We have full confidence in Gina’s abilities and know that she will do an incredible job in her new position as Executive Lead of Emmaus Leeds.
Words from Gina Morrison:
“I joined Emmaus Leeds in March 2010 as a part-time administrator and quickly learned that the mantra we say to all companions is true for staff as well – the more you put into Emmaus, the more you get out. I had no idea so long ago though, that one day I would be taking up the Executive Lead role.
Emmaus is a unique place to work – the variety of the challenges that arise daily keeps me on my toes and I never leave work at the end of the day thinking that was just another same old day, as they are all so different
Before coming to Emmaus I worked in banking and finance from leaving school until starting a family, and I confess I had no idea that Emmaus existed – in fact, like so many people back then, I’d never heard of it. I think one of our greatest achievements over the years is growing awareness of where we are and what we do and that is the result of a huge team effort.
In my spare time I love spending time with my husband and four grown-up children, our dog, going out with friends, and eating cheese – I get teased for the last one but I have a passion for cheese!
My ambition for the remainder of my time at Emmaus Leeds is very simple – to continue doing what we do to the best of our ability, whilst continually looking for ways we can improve the service we deliver to our customers. This, in turn, means we can expand the offer we make to our Companions, encouraging them to look outside Emmaus Leeds into the wider community where they can make a difference to other people’s lives. I’m fortunate to have an amazing group of people around me at Emmaus Leeds who share the same vision, along with a very supportive Board of Trustees. I see my role primarily as supporting them to achieve our shared aims.”