Current Board Members

Claudette Webster - Chair. Claudette started her career in the National Health Services as an Auxiliary Nurse at South Manchester Hospital in 1981. In 1984/5 she took a change in direction and started working in Local Government, Manchester Social Services as a Domiciliary Carer. The main focus of her role was to provide personal and practical support to older people to enable them to return to independent living in the community. Claudette qualified as a social worker in 1993/4 and subsequently went on to managing services for older people at different levels, latterly as the Assistant Director for Older People Service up to August 2003. Claudette is currently employed by Manchester Primary Care Trust with a strategic lead to drive forward the equality and diversity agenda. This is an exciting time for the trust, as a new organisation to ensure that all aspects of the trust business, has equality and diversity core to the delivery of accessible and responsive services. Manchester Primary Care Trust is co sponsors with the Department of Health, of a National Programme called Transformational Change- Race for Health. Claudette also has the strategic lead to ensure that the trusts, continues to have a significant role within the programme, to share good practice, and work alongside other PCTs to improve race equality across the health care. In June 2007 became the Chair of the Black Health Agency. 

Simon Blake – Vice Chair. Simon Blake was until September 2006 Assistant Director, Children’s Development at the National Children’s Bureau. He is a trainer, writer, advocate and ‘campaigner’ for children’s rights to high quality Personal, Social and Health Education, ‘help’ services and one to one advice and support. He led the National Children’s Bureau’s (NCB) Personal Social and Health Education programme and worked with and for both the Sex Education Forum and the Anti Bullying Alliance. Simon was seconded to the Department of Health to advise on children’s policy including Choosing Health, the public health white paper and Healthy Schools. He was co-editor of Spotlight: promoting emotional and social development, a regular magazine disseminated to schools and other settings across the England. In 2005 Simon led the national consultation exercise on the feasibility of a National PSHE Subject Association funded by the Department for Education and Skills. In September 2006 Simon took up post as Chief Executive of Brook.

Richard Turvey - Treasurer. Richard is currently employed by Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance Limited in the role of Senior Client Manager, factoring over £250,000. In 1995, he became an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators and is now accountable for the maintenance of £100m of loans and trains others including Peers in risk management.

Anthony Durrant JP – Trustee. Tony Durrant is currently Project Director at Positive Action North West. Funded by the North West Development Agency, Positive Action North West was set-up to promote equality and diversity in the public sector.

Prior to this, Tony was the North West Regional Director for the Ethnic Minority Foundation (EMF) and the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations (CEMVO). He was the principal driving force in establishing the two organizations in the North West, culminating in the acquisition of a major building in Manchester City Centre to be used as a social enterprise and resource centre for the capacity building of the black and minority ethnic communities in the voluntary sector.

Among his numerous other roles, Tony is currently chairman of the African Caribbean Mental Health Service and The Black Health Agency; and Hon Treasurer to Manchester Council for Community Relations. He sits as a Trustee to a number of national bodies including the Black Training and Enterprise Group and Connections for Development. He was appointed a JP in March 2006.

Mansoor Shah - Trustee. I have over thirty years experience in health & social care as a practitioner, manager and an academic from a wide range of organisations including Statutory, Commercial and Voluntary Sectors. My current roles & responsibilities include: Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, Free Lance Health & Social Care Consultant, External Examiner/Assessor: ASW Programmes – The Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes Consortium, South Yorkshire & North East Midlands Partnership, MA Mental Health Programme – Hertfordshire University .Non Executive Director Pennine Care NHS Trust, Chairman Aims International. Chair Manchester Race & Health Forum and Vice Chair Black Health Agency.

Ekaete Assiak - Trustee. Ekaete Assiak was born in Horsforth (Yorkshire) many years ago. Her black African father and white mother moved to Nigeria when Ekaete was two years old. In 1974, after a harrowing time living through the Biafran war Ekaete's family moved back to the UK so that her mother could be nearer her ageing parents. Being the only black family in a small village near Lancaster was at times quite difficult, but never dull. Ekaete left school after her A levels and had a variety of jobs: electrical and white goods sales and delivery person; butcher's assistant; building-site labourer and bar manager. Later, as a lone-parent, when her two children were at secondary school Ekaete realised that to get a 'decent' job she needed better qualifications. In 1989 she left Lancaster University with a BSc Hons. However Lancaster wasn't quite ready to accept a black woman with a 'strange' name so for three years Ekaete commuted daily to the much more metropolitan Manchester to work as a policy officer with the Council. In 1993 Ekaete started work with the Public Transport Information Unit Ltd as Unit Co-ordinator. After five years of being one of a handful of women working in the transport field Ekaete moved on to become campaign manager for Race for Opportunity (RfO) North West. Currently Ekaete is RfO area manager for the North of England supporting and encouraging many public and private sector organisations in the field of racial diversity. This involves encouraging them to commit to benchmarking on 5 key race indicators (leadership; recruitment, retention & development; supplier diversity; marketing and community involvement); working with them on race action plans; research; managing network meetings and consultancy.

Nonkosinami Maureen Ndlovu - Trustee. A highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Maureen has a good knowledge and understanding of issues that affect BME communities, especially of newly settled communities such as Zimbabwean and Angolan communities. She considers herself a good team player and networker. Maureen is open to ideas that lead to positive change in any given situation and welcome constructive criticism. Having gained work experience in developing countries, mainly in Southern Africa and developed world, she enjoys working with people from diverse backgrounds. Maureen is passionate about working with and developing BME communities so that they can be able to influence policies affecting their lives. Her interest in HIV/AIDS issues is around advocating for more resources for the community and more crucially raising awareness on the subject and encouraging the community to be open in their discussions about it. Furthermore, she is interested in redressing gender inequalities, particularly in health and education.