Our trustees
Woking Mind is governed by a committed and passionate Board of Trustees who are responsible for setting our strategic direction, ensuring we deliver our objectives and make a meaningful difference to the lives of our members.
Will Forster (LLB) - President
Will Forster is a Borough and County Councillor in Woking. At County Hall, Will is Vice Chairman of the Performance and Resources Select Committee, which scrutinises the Council’s financial, legal and property matters. Between 2014 and 2017, Will was the Leader of the Opposition on the Borough Council and in 2018/19, Will served as Mayor of Woking. Will is a law graduate, who until recently worked for a British Member of Parliament. He how works for a political party with responsibility for elections in the South East of England.
“I am passionate about supporting those suffering from poor mental health and I hope I can use my experience as a former Mayor and current Councillor to benefit Woking Mind. Mental health services suffer from underfunding and lag behind in comparison to treatment for physical health problems, yet one in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year. Mental health is sadly the Cinderella service of our NHS, which is why the work that Woking Mind does is vital to support residents and top-up NHS services.”
Pauline Rogers (MSc BSc (Hons) HVDip) - Chair Person
A nursing career within the NHS took Pauline through an interesting journey, moving from working as a general nurse to health visiting and gaining a life-long interest in health promotion. Pauline furthered her qualifications to take up a role as a training manager before returning to operational management to take control of a large community hospital. Towards the end of her professional career she was Chief Nurse for a NHS PCT, a role which enabled her to consider nursing on a local, national and international level. ”Woking Mind is a great charity that attracts people with a ‘can-do’ attitude. I find that this dynamic environment enables me to both use and extend my skills and gives me a great sense of accomplishment”. Pauline has a BSc (Hons) in Human Biology and a MSc in Health Care Management.
“I decided to become a trustee as I believe I have the skills, interest and time to make a positive contribution to this vital local charity.”
John Ennet (B.Com (Hons) FCA-Hon) - Treasurer
John graduated from University College Dublin, in his native Ireland, with a business degree and moved to the UK to undertake his accountancy training with Deloittes in London, becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He held senior financial positions with companies in Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Germany and Pakistan before moving to the Woking area in 1997 where he worked as an independent management consultant. He is a Life Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, is now retired and living in Kingston upon Thames but happy to maintain his association with Woking and particularly Woking Mind.
“I became treasurer after reading an appeal in a local newspaper that Woking Mind was in danger of closing if a treasurer could not be found. I am happy to use my skills and expertise to benefit the local community”.
Carl Rogers (BSc (Hons)) - Trustee
Carl has supported Woking Mind for the last ten years. As a volunteer, he coordinated website, marketing and business plan refreshes for the charity. From 2015 Carl joined the Trustee Board to support the charity through strategic and business planning. Carl graduated from Aston Business School with a degree in Marketing, and is a certified Scrum Master. For the past five years Carl has been coaching teams working in the market research, data analytics and financial services sectors in developing their agile practise and mindset.
“Woking Mind has been an important part of my life for over ten years, and I was thrilled to have an opportunity to join the Trustee board at a time I could help the charity reflect on where it was at the time, and identity where it wanted to get to. “
Andrew Cox (BSc (Hons)) - Trustee
Having had a successful career in Sales and Marketing, principally with Xerox in the UK and Europe, Andrew then became a qualified fundraiser setting up and running a Corporate Fundraising and Major Giving programme at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham. Since then he has been working in the Education sector, setting up and managing a new International Student intake programme at Alton College, one of Hampshire’s most successful Sixth Form Colleges. He has also worked as a consultant Sales and Leadership Skills trainer in the UK and overseas. In his spare time he hosts Charity functions and has raised £’000s in major Charity Auctions for a number of well-known national organisations.
“Mental Health provision is a subject I feel passionately about and I was delighted to be asked to join Woking Mind, and to be able to share some of my knowledge and experience particularly in Fundraising, to support this extremely worthwhile local organisation.”
Elle Wilks - Trustee
Elle joined the Trustee Board in June 2019 having served as Chief Executive of Woking Mind for the previous 18 months. She has over fifteen years’ experience leading fundraising and development teams within the UK social sector, locally and nationally. She has postgraduate qualifications in fundraising, counselling and coaching. Elle now supports a range of organisations across strategy, marketing, fundraising and project management, whilst running her own social enterprise supporting parents and teachers to identify and challenge gender stereotypes at home and at
“I chose to volunteer with local causes that really make a difference to the communities they serve, often with very little resources, and Woking Mind is an exceptional example of this. They support some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in the local area living with enduring mental health problems, who often have nowhere else to turn. I want to make sure this outstanding charity continues to survive and thrive.”
Jake Morrison - Trustee
Jake is Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Wokingham and Citizens Advice Maidenhead and Windsor. In 2011 he became the youngest elected politician in the UK sitting as a City Councillor in Liverpool. In 2015 Jake worked for a local Mind association on community development and resilience. He has a passion for suicide prevention and positive mental health and well-being. Jake speaks openly about his long battle with depression and anxiety and how to improve processes in the workplace.
“As the nearest Mind to my new home area in Berkshire, I wanted to join as a trustee to help the great team develop, grow and continue delivering effective services for people in need. Woking Mind is an important service for our communities and has a great platform for mental health awareness raising.”
David Cook - Trustee
David is a Woking Mind service user and a retired town planner and retired mental health nurse. He has a mental health related Masters degree from City University. He is also an active member of several self-help groups, local to Woking, for people with mental health problems.
