Our trustees

Julie is an Accountant with over 30 years’ experience in Business Finance. In 2008, she set up her own Company supporting small Businesses in managing their finance and growth.

Julie believes that everyone has the ability to achieve their goals with the right support and, when she learned about the Emmaus ethos and how she could be part of helping people change their lives for good, she joined as a Trustee in August 2017. She was elected as Chair of the Board in April 2019.

Originally from Yorkshire, Julie settled near Bridgend more than 40 years ago. She is married to Neil and has one son and four amazing and fun grandchildren. Julie loves the outdoors so if it’s not the Allotment or Greenhouse, she is likely to be walking.

Lorainne has over 40 years’ experience as an Occupational Health Nurse Specialist Practitioner and had her own Consultancy for 25 years. She was also a trainer, lecturer and secretary of a Specialist Occupational Health Group. During that time, she also spent 35 years as an Army Reservist first within the medical sector and then as an assessor for Army Officer Selection Board retiring as a Lt Colonel in 2014.

She was delighted to be invited to join the Board of Trustees in 2024, and is hoping to be an active participant, getting involved in local projects and promoting the ethos of Emmaus in South Wales. Lorainne is a strong supporter of the Emmaus Mission to end homelessness and offer those in need of help bed to sleep in, work opportunities and a true sense of belonging. Now that she is retired Lorainne also plans to be active in her local community, enjoy her garden, and visit friends abroad when she can.

Carol is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing with over 30 years’ experience gained whilst working for Housing Associations in South Wales. She is currently working for the Vale of Glamorgan Council as their Housing Strategy lead.

Carol joined Emmaus in 2022, keen to use her experiences and knowledge to help those who find themselves in the unfortunate situation of being without a home to call their own, as she knows this can happen to anyone at any time.

When Carol is not working or doing “family” things with her children and grandchildren she is passionate about recycling and making it possible for people who are down on their luck to find employment, this means promoting social enterprises is important to her. Carol constantly drives her family mad as “nothing can be thrown out if somebody can use it”!

Kate worked for forty years in museums as a paintings conservator. When she was coming up to retirement some 13 years ago, she decided she would like to get involved in helping people who had been homeless and needed help to get back on their feet again. She heard that Emmaus UK was looking to increase the number of its Communities around the UK and volunteered to set up a group to establish an Emmaus Community in South Wales.

Looking back, she is happy to see how the early faltering footsteps of our local supporter group have led to the establishment of a vibrant Emmaus Community in Bridgend, where Companions are part of a supportive working ‘family’. For Kate, the best thing about being a trustee is the knowledge that together with all the other members of the board, staff and volunteers we are able to make a real and positive difference to the lives of those whom society has previously failed.

Theresa is a Housing Professional, having worked in the housing movement for over 40 years before retiring in 2020. She worked for her degree in housing after studying for her HNC and diploma in Estate Agency Practice. After passing her exams, she worked in all areas of housing apart from Finance, which she found wasn’t for her, and worked in two Housing Associations throughout her career.

Theresa joined the Board of Emmaus about 3 years ago to keep her brain active and give something back to the movement, after being lucky enough to have had a wonderful career. She loves the ethos and principle of the Emmaus charity and the opportunity it gives people to not only have somewhere comfortable to live, but to regain their self-esteem, develop and move forward successfully.

Emyr-Wyn is a Chartered Accountant with 25 years’ experience. He completed his training at Grant Thornton, where he had exposure to a number of different businesses within a number of different industries, however his passion was always to work within manufacturing. Over the years he has worked within steel, printing, FMCG, oil and gas as well as most recently within the IT sector and mainly in a Finance Director capacity.

Emyr-Wyn joined the Emmaus South Wales board in 2020.  He felt that his skills in finance could assist the organisation especially through difficult times, Covid being the obvious one.  He believes in the Emmaus philosophy and finds joy in seeing individuals turn their lives around.  He is also looking forward to rolling the Emmaus model to more towns in South Wales.

Gareth is an experienced recruitment and HR advisor and worked in the private corporate sector, public sector, and third sector, and as a voluntary Special Police Constable for 17 years. He became a trustee in March 2024 to support the community by sharing his knowledge and understanding of homelessness and the wider third sector. In November 2024 Gareth was elected Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Home is Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan where he has lived for four years, enjoying community life and the outdoors with his dog Ted.

Gareth spent five years working in the third sector directly supporting young people and adults in care and temporary supported accommodation settings. Together with his work as a front-line police officer, Gareth understands the impact being homeless can have on not just the individual, but wider family friends and community.

Gareth believes passionately that having safe secure accommodation is fundamental to health and wellbeing and life chances and is proud to be supporting Emmaus South Wales and the positive impact it has for its companions and community.

Louise first joined Emmaus in 2021, but due to personal circumstances had to stand down in 2023. However, she rejoined in 2024 keen to continue to use her experience and knowledge to drive the services provided by Emmaus in making a real and positive difference to the lives of those who find themselves without a home and in need of support.

Louise has 25 years of HR experience, 23 years of which was spent in the social housing sector.
In her spare time, she looks after her 5 amazing grandchildren. She enjoys crafting and can often be found crocheting, sewing or creating personalised picture frames amongst other crafts. She likes nothing better than passing on her crafting skills to her grandchildren and is regularly covered in glue and paint!!