Graham Fice

Appointed in Autumn 2017.

Until early 2017 I worked in higher education in various management roles but I’ve always been involved with charities. I chaired Exeter and then Teignbridge CVS and I’m a Life Member of the St Loyes Foundation (now Step One) in Exeter. Before relocating back to Exeter I was a Trustee (and Company Secretary) of my local Citizens Advice in Hampshire.

My last job was in a university which unusually was a charity and a company so, coupled with Citizens Advice, I know a bit about governance and legal issues.

I’m also a Trustee of another Exeter charity, and a member of a Scrutiny Panel for the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner. I’m also a Governor of South Devon Further Education College in Paignton.

Using my work experience, together with my past and current involvement with other charities, I get great personal satisfaction from working with AED which hopefully in turn gives something back to the local community.

My wife also volunteers, with a cancer charity in Exeter. Fitted in somewhere between our grandchildren and voluntary work, we are keen gardeners (either digging or visiting, especially the great European houses!) and watching or listening to opera.

Jackie Collins

My career was in Human Resources with experience in the UK and overseas working in blue chip companies, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry. More recently, I worked independently as a consultant. When I decided to retire, I was keen to do some voluntary work and looked for an opportunity that could utilise some of the skills that I had gained. I didn’t specifically look for a trustee position but was easily convinced by an enthusiastic volunteer coordinator. For me, it ticks all the boxes. Not only do I get satisfaction from knowing that I can add some value to the organisation but I am learning new things all the time and dealing with new challenges which must be good for me. Action East Devon supports some interesting and much needed projects. It is a privilege to be involved with the organisation and to be able to interact with such enthusiastic, committed and hard-working individuals.

Jeff Russell

Jeff worked in Social Services across the UK for over 30 years managing and developing the full range of Adult Social Care services. This was complimented by active involvement in churches and charities working with young people, rough sleepers and establishing food banks. Jeff left local authority work in Social Services to become CEO of a large Christian based charity in Dorset and retired from that in 2015 to enable a move to Devon. In addition to his trustee role in AED, Jeff is a trustee of a retreat centre in Dorset, trustee of a national Christian youth organisation, Churchwarden and secretary of Lympstone Anglican church and a driver for the local surgery.

Jeff joined AED to make a wider contribution to the voluntary sector and oddly enjoys the bureaucracy that goes with being a Trustee. Jeff is married, lives in Lympstone and has two of his three married children also living in Devon. He is often to be found walking on Woodbury Common which he loves.