Team Bolton Together

Working together collaboratively to improve the quality of life for communities

Who are we?

Bolton Together is the children and young people’s voluntary and community sector consortium for Bolton.

As a collective, our staff and volunteer base enable us to reach the 73,000 children and young people, and their families in Bolton.

Bolton Together is a Registered Charity in England and Wales (1163466) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (08730010).

Read about our Board of Trustees and our staff here at Bolton Together below…

 

Board of Trustees

Lindsey Darley – Chair of the Trustees

Lindsey is Director of Transformation and Delivery at Bury Local Care Organisation, a partnership of seven organisations including NHS Trusts, primary care, voluntary sector and social care. Since starting out as an Occupational Therapist she has worked in a variety of fields including mental health and social care before specialising in community health services. She is particularly passionate about the benefits integrated care across different sectors can bring to people and their families.

In her current role, Lindsey works to develop and deliver big programmes of change across partner organisations in areas such as integrated neighbourhood teams, palliative and end of life care, and hospital and community based urgent care. In addition, she is responsible for developing the workforce strategy for integrated care. Using improvement methods and co-producing work with staff groups and people and their families is a key part of her approach to her work, and this has resulted in Lindsey being an AQUA Improvement Fellow and presenting her work at national conferences.

Lindsey is a mum to twins born prematurely which gives her insight into the ongoing challenges faced by families experiencing the need to access services. Her spare time is spent walking her dog in the local countryside.

 

Neil Hutchinson – Vice Chair

Neil is the Managing Director of Bolton Middlebrook Leisure Trust who operate Bolton Arena and run various community and school programmes in Bolton. They are also a regional tennis development centre for the Lawn Tennis Association. A large part of what they do is working with young people and families in grassroot sports alongside wellbeing projects and supporting activities to improve mental health.

The Leisure trust is working hard alongside Bolton Council to provide more opportunities for young people to access sport and leisure across Bolton

Neil has worked in the leisure industry for over 30 years in both local authority and charity organisations and has extensive experience in working with children, younger people, families and hard to reach populations.

Having two teenage girls he is passionate about fitness and wellbeing and knows what a challenge it is to keep young people engaged and interested in health and wellbeing.

He also spends his time fell running, playing squash and generally keeping fit.

Gill Smallwood – Trustee

Gill worked in education for 28 years and moved into the voluntary sector 9 years ago and now works as Chief Executive for Fortalice, Gill is passionate about her work in this sector.

Gill is a founding Director of 1Point, an organisation providing a gateway to talking therapies, a Director of Bolton Together and a Director for Fresh as a Daisy.

Gill is still heavily involved in education and is a Governor for a primary and secondary school in Bolton. Being involved in a diverse range of partnership working and sitting on Boards gives Gill an opportunity to help shape local and national policies on domestic abuse, education and safeguarding. Gill has been instrumental in leading and developing a range of accredited domestic abuse training which will be delivered locally and nationally.

Gill likes to give something back, so still does some voluntary counselling sessions and clinical supervisions to ensure she is up to date with current practice and is able to help others when needed. In the spare time Gill has, she loves spending time with her family and friends and is always up for a challenge.

Beverley Matta – Trustee

Bev has worked as a doctor in Bolton for over 10 years. Having completed her training at Royal Bolton Hospital she has been a GP partner in Westhoughton for the past 7 years. Over the past 3 years, she has been involved in neighbourhood working and more recently has been appointed as Westhoughton’s clinical director. This role involves oversight of contractual requirements for 30,000 patients and coordination of the large extended multidisciplinary workforce.

Being a clinical director has helped foster improved relationships across primary care in Bolton. Bev has a passion for integration and improved communication across all parts of the health and care systems. 12 months ago she was elected as a member of the board on Bolton’s integrated care partnership.

These portfolio roles give her good insight into the challenges faced by adults and children across Bolton as well as an appreciation for the work done by so many of the professionals involved in their care. As a mum of twin girls, she is kept very busy and likes to relax by baking, running and spending time with friends and family.

Adam Warbrick – Trustee

Adam has been working in the youth and community sectors for over 10 years in both project delivery and management positions. Starting his career as a Youth Worker, he realised his passion for supporting the most vulnerable people in society. Adam has dedicated his career to providing support and enhancing opportunities for children, young people and vulnerable adults.

In his current role, as Community Development Officer at Bolton at Home, Adam is working to empower communities in Bolton to offer valuable projects and services for the benefit of deprived communities. He looks to adopt a wide range of different practices, approaches and initiatives which centre around the belief that communities have knowledge, skills and assets which mean they themselves are well placed to identify and respond to any challenges that they face, and to thrive.

Adam’s spare time is mostly spent with his family. He enjoys spending time out in nature with his daughter and walking his Border Terrier, Poppy.

Staff Members

Louise McDade – Chief Executive Officer

Louise has 20 years’ experience in the community and voluntary sector and joined Bolton Together as The Strategic Lead in August 2020. Louise is passionate about collaboration and co-design and delivering person-centred services for Bolton residents.

Prior to this role Louise worked for Bolton CVS for 11 years leading on several health, engagement and inclusion programmes and held a secondment with Bolton NHS Foundation Trust striving towards increasing understanding and awareness of the fantastic voluntary sector offer in Bolton.

Louise has vast experience in project management, partnership work, strategic representation and co-designing services with a range of statutory and voluntary sector partners and those accessing support.

Louise is a Trustee for Senior Solutions and a proud Mum of two teenage boys and Poppy the Cavapoo.

Marc Webber – IThrive Hub Co-Ordinator

Hi, I’m Marc and I am a recent graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University having completed an MSc in Psychology, achieving an Equality and Diversity Award recognition for my research into same-sex adopters. Prior to this, I worked as a Coach for the last 6 years and as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead for the last 2, supporting young people and adults through their qualification journey as well as supporting their mental health and well-being.

Within the community, I support the work of a local and a regional adoption agency, sitting on their adoption panels, and have become an adoption mentor to prospective adopters.

I am also the dad to a previously looked after child which has given me great insight into the challenges faced by children and their families who experience adverse childhood experiences.

Hannah DeBacker – Emotional Health and Well-Being Practitioner – Bolton Together IThrive Hub

Hi, I’m Hannah DeBacker, I recently graduated from Manchester Metropolitan university with a degree in Psychology. I have had a passion for Psychology and mental health for a number of years now, and my degree allowed me to investigate many new areas of interest. One of these areas was well-being, which I focused heavily on in my final year and researched as part of my dissertation project.

I have joined the Bolton Together team excited to utilise my passion for well-being in this role. Outside of work I have two gorgeous dogs, I love to see my friends and watch formula 1.

Katrina Fletcher – Project Co-ordinator – Children and Families

Hi, I’m Katrina. I’m a graduate of the University of Bolton, having completed an MA in Applied and Community Arts with Distinction. I have collaborated with communities and Voluntary and Social Enterprises for twelve years to improve outcomes for children and families. I’ve coordinated and directed many projects, including working with young people to raise awareness of Child Criminal Exploitation in schools, designing and delivering consultation projects, and coordinating wellbeing initiatives for children.

I am excited to support the Bolton Together Consortium to deliver the magnificent work they do. In my free time, I love a soft blanket, a strong cup of tea, and a good book.