Our People
As a proud Age Friendly employer, we are a local, independent charity whose mission is to support the older people of Gloucestershire. Governed by our Board of Trustees, day-to-day operations are delegated to our CEO Alan Inman-Ward. Our operational teams include:
Our Help Team who provide impartial but vital information, advice and guidance to help older people navigate later life
Out of Hospital Team who offer practical advice to older people who have recently returned home following a stay in hospital
Age Friendly Communities Team helping older people make social connections and get active
Digital Champions who will help older people embrace all things digital, safely and securely
These functions are supporter by our incredible team of volunteers, fundraising, communications, finance & human resource people.
Meet our CEO and Board Members
Alan Inman-Ward - CEO
Alan joined Age UK Gloucestershire in June 2024 as our CEO from Active Gloucestershire where he was Director of Insights and Operations. He has recently been appointed as a board member for Gloucester City Homes and for the last three years has been part of the team at Create Gloucestershire. Alan's experience of the charity sector alongside his leadership skills enables us to strive to do our best for the older people of Gloucestershire. Alan can be easily contact by email.
Baroness Fritchie DBE - Ambassador
Rennie has not had a typical career trajectory. She attended Ribston Hall Grammar School in Gloucester but left before she was 16 due to a bad road accident. She worked in the family hotel in Birdlip till her marriage and then lived in Turkey and America returning to Gloucestershire when she was 28 as a mother of two sons.
Since that time she has run her own business, been a Non-Executive Director of Boards in both the commercial and statutory sectors. She has Chaired a number of NHS Boards, a Digital Company Board and more recently for seven years the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.
Rennie has been an Ombudsman and Regulator, a Civil Service Commissioner and for 10 years was Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire. Although lacking a formal Education Rennie is a recipient of eight honorary University Degrees and currently is a Trustee of the Longfield Hospice and Patron of Pied Piper and Winston’s Wish.
Jan Lawry - Chair of Trustees
Jan Lawry has spent her entire career in the health and social care sector working across the NHS, private practice, and hospice support. She has assisted Gloucestershire CCG (now ICB) with some of their musculoskeletal programmes including the introduction of ESCAPE Pain (for those diagnosed with arthritis and joint pain), the national Low Back & Radicular Pain Pathway and the expansion of the First Contact Practitioner service in Primary Care.
As the owner of a healthcare consultancy, her work now largely focuses on Patient Safety Incident Investigations – a role she has conducted in several locations in England and Northern Ireland. Her company has also partnered with the NHS Confederation on their Valuing Patient Time initiative and she is the current partner with Public Policy Projects on their Patient Safety Programme. She has worked extensively on the national Ageing Well initiative and she is the author of numerous major reports including a review of Day Services for Older Adults, which was commissioned by the Isle of Man Government. Her work on the impact of COVID19 on frontline NHS staff was shortlisted for a Health Service Journal award in 2021.
Jan is HSSIB Level 2 Patient Safety Incident qualified and holds Level 3 Child Safeguarding and Level 4 Adult Safeguarding certificates. She is also non-Executive Director and Trustee of the Milestones Trust in Bristol, and Safeguarding Governor at Hopelands School, Stonehouse. Living in Eastington with partner, Max, and their 3 beloved dogs, she is a keen baker, amateur photographer and walker.
Laurie Cheape - Trustee Treasurer
With over 25 years of experience in banking and finance, Laurie brings a wealth of expertise in financial management and strategic planning to the role of Trustee Treasurer. Throughout her career in Lloyds Banking Group, Laurie demonstrates strong leadership skills and in her current role as a Senior Manager, she looks after colleagues and customers across the Southwest of England.
Laurie is passionate about supporting older adults to feel financially educated and included in an ever changing society, she feels it is essential for enhancing their quality of life, independence, and well-being. With increasing digitalization, it is crucial to provide access to technology training, helping older adults navigate online services, stay connected, and manage their health and wellbeing.
Laurie is excited to share her skills and financial knowledge in support of the Age UK Gloucestershire community and lives in Gloucester with her partner and dog and enjoys going for walks, woodworking and everything crafty.
Helen Bown - Trustee
Helen has held a number of roles within health and social care in Gloucestershire since 1981. Initially as a qualified Occupational Therapist, and latterly with a wider remit for joint commissioning services for older people. During this time Helen led the strategic planning for services for people living with dementia and their carers. Prior to formal retirement, Helen spent time working with Barnwood Trust supporting work to expand the opportunities for people living with disabilities and those with mental health challenges to pursue their interests. This work has given Helen a good overview of health and social care policy and strategy, and plenty of experience of change management.
As a retiree, Helen is keen to promote healthy active ageing, challenge stereotypes, and promote good quality care for people who may be more vulnerable or marginalised. Helen lives in Gloucester city centre, enjoys walking and all the wonderful countryside the county has to offer, as well as swimming in Cheltenham lido for as many months as possible.
Ian Crocombe - Trustee
After a successful career in financial services, Ian applies his deep practical knowledge and academic qualifications covering change leadership, productivity improvement, customer service strategy & operations and people development as an independent consultant, coach and teacher helping organisations to be better.
Over time, he has been a Business Excellence & Investors In People Assessor and Social Enterprise mentor. He is currently a member of UKBA, a nationwide network of independent SME business advisors and a director of In The Round Advisors Ltd, a bespoke consultancy for the Third Sector. He passionately believes in the recycling of corporate skills and knowledge and is excited to be part of the Age UK Gloucestershire Trustee team.
Married with two children, two granddaughters and two cats, he is a Cheltenham Town season ticket holder, a keen cyclist and music lover.
Dr Ian Donald - Trustee
Ian came to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital as a consultant geriatrician in 1988, and led the elderly care department through many transformations for 20 years. He was son of a GP in Edinburgh, and was trained at Cambridge and Edinburgh. Before retiring in 2020, he had spent the last 10 years developing a specialist frailty service at the front door of the hospital, providing early assessment and liaison with community services to facilitate hospital discharge. He enjoyed working across all sectors of health and social care, and had experience on the boards of West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust and Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group. He has a special concern for those experiencing frailty in later life, to ease suffering and improve quality of life. He believes passionately that medical care should be used wisely, sometimes sparingly, and as just one part of more holistic care.
He has previous charity experience with Care and Repair England, and more recently with Gloucester Charities Trust and Harnhill Healing Centre. Christian faith is a bedrock of his life, and he is married to Philippa, a Priest in the CofE. They have three sons and three grand-daughters.
Helen Ginman - Trustee
Helen started her career in Business, working latterly as a Senior Director of Operations in telecommunications, HR, and payroll software organisations. Throughout this ‘first’ career, Helen led multi-functional global workforces, spanning quality management, customer relations, training and development, project management and sales.
Over time, however, Helen’s passion for psychology began to take priority and she made a shift towards psychological practice, gaining qualifications at a Masters Level in Health Psychology and is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Health Psychology. As such, Helen brings a critical lens and perspective, often considering and reflecting a fresh perspective that draws on existing knowledge, understanding and approaches to encourage positive change.
Having worked in a clinical capacity, as well as led programmes of research with older adults within Gloucester, Helen has developed an innate desire to help improve the quality of life for older adults and is so excited to be part of an organisation seeking to do this.
Helen lives in Gloucester, with her partner and dog, enjoys walks in this beautiful county and immersing herself in the countryside!
Karen Phillips
Karen has over 30years as an HR professional and has worked the majority of her career within global FMCG organisations as a Senior HR leader. Having moved to Gloucestershire 4 years ago, Karen has been keen to take on a role closer to her local area, recently securing a Senior HR leadership role within a global business based in Warwick.
Karen’s experience within the corporate sector and leadership of the people agenda, coupled with her pragmatic approach enables her to bring new thinking and ideas to the charity’s agenda and plans. Her passion for supporting Age UK Gloucestershire is something she sees as her way of ensuring she can actively change the narrative about ageing, getting involved in her local community and working collaboratively with like-minded individuals to make a real difference. With an elderly mother, she is passionate about the need to do more to help the elderly community feel connected to an ever changing world, something that is often not considered, when living our lives to the full, until it is a problem.
Karen lives with her husband and dog not far from Tewksbury, and loves nothing more than exploring the beautiful countryside she now calls home.
Ahmed-Said Hansdot - Trustee
Ahmed Said Hansdot, known as Said, came to the UK in 1965 from India with his parents at the age of 5 and has lived in Gloucester ever since. Said attended Widden School and started working in Birds Eye Walls in 1978 before retiring in 2012 and starting an interest in local politics from 2009 onwards.
He was elected as councillor for Barton and Tredworth in 2010 and has had the honour of being Deputy Mayor and Sheriff of Gloucester. In 2022, he was selected as Mock Mayor of Barton St Mary, an historic role which dates back to 1660s when the city boundaries were made smaller leaving Barton without a mayor – so in response the people elected their own Mock Major.
In 2024, Said was a finalist in the BBC Make a difference volunteer award in recognition of all the work he does within his local community.