How We Are Governed

As a charity, Carers MK is managed by a Board of Trustees. All of the Trustee are volunteers and many of whom are carers. They come from a range of backgrounds and bring a wide range of skills and experience to the organisation. The Board hold overall responsibility for the work of Carers MK and meets regularly to ensure that the charity works to meet its aims and objectives.

Read: Carers MK Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2021

Dr Les Davies
Chair
Les is married with with two children and has served on Beaconsfield Town Council for 18 years and was mayor of the town 1998/99, he has been a school governor and also a member of the Woodlands District Scout executive committee. He has indirect experience of the problems faced by family carers and care workers.
Skills and Experiences: Project management and business skills gained in working in blue chip multinational healthcare company and an emerging biotech plc together with experience in dealing with national regulatory agencies and local government. Former school governor, (Chairman 6 years) and Board member of Primary Care Group. Currently chairman of Chiltern & South Bucks Patient and Public Involvement Forum and also a Beaconsfield Town Councillor.
Olga McBarnett

Olga is now retired having gained extensive professional knowledge and experience in the public sector; primary care, mental health, social care, local authority and clinical commissioning settings. She gained a post graduate qualification in addiction psychology and counselling with an all-embracing experience in mental health. Olga has successfully worked with others to deliver innovative projects that improved health and wellbeing, benefiting people in diverse communities.


Olga is privileged to join the Board of Trustees for Carers Bucks and Carers Milton Keynes. She is passionate about mental health and wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion. These are areas where Olga can provide sound guidance to the charities, at strategic level. Olga says this role will enable her to continue working towards making a difference where policies and decision making can improve health and wellbeing and achieve real benefits and outcomes for those within the caring community.

Mike Rowlands
Mike Rowlands lives in Milton Keynes and has years of experience working in the NHS as a Non Executive Director with the Milton Keynes Community NHS Trust serving on the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee. As a NED he had a special interest in Learning Disability and Mental Health. In 2002 he was appointed Chair of the Hospital Board and remained with them until he retired at the end of April 2008. During that time the Board successfully achieved Foundation Status. As Chair of the Trust he also chaired the Remuneration Committee, the Audit Committee and once it became a Foundation Trust the Members Council. Mike is currently a Lay Board Member for Milton Keynes Clinical CCG.
Mike has experiences of caring for his daughter and is involved in a number of community activities including being governor of local schools in Milton Keynes.
Paul Foley
Paul Foley is originally from Yorkshire but has spent the past five years working in Buckinghamshire. For over a decade Paul’s professional career has seen him working in the charitable sector and at present he is the head of the charitable arm of a local professional football club that delivers activities that seek to increase sports participation levels, improve educational attainment levels, reduce social issues, and improve people’s physical and mental health.
During his twenties Paul spent three years as a full time carer for a loved one and therefore has an appreciation of some of the challenges faced by carers, and is passionate about improving the lives of those people who have caring responsibilities.
Jitka Vseteckova

Jitka lives in Northamptonshire and works as Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at The Open University (Milton Keynes). Jitka has a PhD and a Professional Doctorate in combined subjects (psychology, pedagogy, philosophy and methodology of science). Jitka has several years of experience in managing research and academic programmes as well as human and financial resources . Jitka is also a Deputy Chair to Carers Research Group at The Open University. In this role she works with a number of external national and international organisations and charities which enabled her to develop a deep understanding of the needs of carers and the challenges that social care and healthcare economies face in addressing them nationally as well as internationally.
</br>
Jitka has experience as a young carer, young adult and adult carer for family members. She is married with a young son, loves sports and exercise and is passionate about engaging and supporting communities with Ageing Well.

Stewart George
Originally from Northampton, Stewart now lives in Lane End near High Wycombe with his wife, Isobel. Both have retired from careers in healthcare, one as a theatre sister and the other as a part time non-executive director within the Buckinghamshire NHS system until 2016 – within hospital services, primary care and commissioning. Stewart combined his NHS roles with a parallel career in human resource management consultancy, during which he specialised in employment law, psychometrics and training. He has worked on HR issues within private and public businesses, including charities, improving the way in which people perform to the best of their ability, at work. He is an advocate for close working between healthcare and local authorities and believes that nowhere is that connection more important than when caring is involved – hence his interest in Carers Bucks and Carers Milton Keynes. He is also involved in protecting local green spaces in and around Lane End.
Mark Willis
Mark Willis is a husband and father of a son, who is now proudly serving in the Royal Navy. Mark has been a member of Aylesbury Town Council for many years. He first came across Carers Bucks / Carers Milton Keynes when Young Carers Bucks applied for a Grant from the committee he was chairing. Mark has carried out many fundraising activities for the charity, including Race to the Stones (50KM) and in 2018 the London Marathon. Mark was Mayor of Aylesbury for 2018/19, and his nominated charity was Carers Bucks.
Mark currently works for London Underground as a Train Operator, before that he worked for the Meteorological Office in varied locations alongside the armed forces, including in the Falkland Islands.