Steve Read
Chairman
Steve Read
Steve is the Chair of our Board of Trustees. He has been on the Board for two years. His role is to lead meetings of the Board to ensure that board discussions are productive and run smoothly; to ensure that Trustees fulfil their duties and responsibilities for the effective governance of the Charity; and to provide direction and support to the CEO to facilitate good stewardship and the achievement of our goals.
Steve is additionally a Board member of Citizens Advice South East Wales.
Outside of Citizens Advice Steve has had success in many important programme and project management roles and has considerable experience in a wide range of governance activities such as strategy and policy formulation, finance management, planning and controlling delivery as well as risk and stakeholder management.
He also supports other charitable activities in Monmouthshire including the Caldicot Community Fridge, the Monmouthshire Community Car Scheme and is a regular conservation volunteer with Gwent Wildlife Trust. Steve has lived in Monmouthshire for almost 20 years.
Michael Yhnell
Treasurer
Michael Yhnell
Michael joined the Charity as a Trustee in 2022 and is the current Treasurer. In his day job, Michael is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and an associate Investment Manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin.
Michael has worked in Bristol as a Portfolio Manager, managing investment portfolios for private individuals and financial advisers across the South West, and is now based in Cardiff, as part of the Wales Charity team. Michael’s team provide a bespoke discretionary investment management service to charities throughout Wales.
Away from work, Michael enjoys tennis, and you may find him playing in Chepstow or Newport.
Gareth Wilde
Gareth Wilde
Cllr Gareth Wilde is a town councillor in Abergavenny since May 2023 and sits on three committees in Abergavenny Town Council: Environment, People and Communities, and Policy and Resources. He represents the Town Council on Monmouthshire MIND and Abergavenny Community Trust.
He recently became a trustee in Citizens Advice Monmouthshire in December 2022. He has experience in communication and marketing.
Gareth, now retired, volunteers in the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny Foodbank, plays jazz piano, and is an active member of ISCA PROBUS, U3A and his local church. He has been a trustee of an International NGO for the past 15 years and frequently visits Haiti and East Africa. He also enjoys walking and watching Welsh rugby.
Allan McBain
Allan McBain
Allan’s been a Civil Servant since 2007 with a previous career in TSB and then LloydsTSB. The bank’s Head Office moving to Bristol is what brought him to Undy back in 1997.
Allan’s career has included a touch of nearly everything relating to managing an operational function in person, in call centres and online. He’s also worked in a range of central functions including HR, IT and System Design. Allan’s currently in charge of Quality, Counter-Fraud activities and Assurance for the Rural Payments Agency, which is part of Defra.
Vilija Norke
Villija Uzkurnyte
In her day job, Vilija works in a Group Tax of a large FTSE 100 company and has accumulated knowledge of governance, internal controls and financial management and reporting.
She is also a Trustee of Cyfannol Women’s Aid charity, supporting people across Gwent who have experienced any form of violence against women, domestic abuse or sexual violence.
Maurice Barnes
Maurice Barnes
Maurice Is a new member of the Board.
He was previously a Social Worker engaging in Welfare Benefits and has been a CAB volunteer in Manchester.
Maurice has had extensive experience working with communities tackling poverty issues, especially in London and then in Uganda where he lived for 25 years, advising a variety of indigenously led development projects.
He is currently a sitting Councillor for Abergavenny Town Council and represents the Council on a number of Community Organisation Boards.
His prime interests are the welfare of all members of the community along with the protection of the environment
Doug Gibson
Doug Gibson
Doug Gibson has lived in Monmouthshire for 15 years. He is a chartered civil engineer and project manager and has worked in Canada, the Middle East, East Africa, and across Europe.
Now more settled, he is pleased to be contributing to the local community and keen to help where possible
Sally Meyrick
Sally Meyrick
Sally joined the Board of Trustees in December 2024.
She has worked in the social and supported housing sector for many years, her current role is with the Regulator of Social Housing, the public body which regulates social housing providers in England. She has previously worked in housing strategy for Monmouthshire County Council and has managed supported housing services for people with support needs.
Sally has lived in Monmouthshire for most of her life and is committed to using her knowledge and experience to support the work of Monmouthshire Citizens Advice and benefit the local community.
