“I wanted to use my education to support others, helping them overcome barriers and find a path forward”

I first joined my local Citizens Advice as a volunteer when I was 18. At the time, I was a law student navigating the world of legal networking events, where I quickly realised that the corporate law firm culture wasn't for me. I didn't really "belong". It was at one of these events that a senior solicitor pulled me aside and, quite bluntly, said I wasn't made for the world of corporate law (like I hadn't already realised!) and quite patronisingly suggested I volunteer for Citizens Advice. Taking that advice was the turning point in my career.

From the moment I gave my very first piece of advice to a client, I knew I had found where I was meant to be. The feeling was profound—I was using the privilege of my education to directly support others, helping them overcome barriers and find a path forward. That initial spark has fueled every role I’ve held since, from volunteer advisor to trainer, and eventually, to deputy CEO, and now my current role with the national organisation.

It has been a journey of nearly five years since I joined the national team, and I have never looked back. The core belief that first drew me to Citizens Advice—that everyone deserves support and a voice—has remained the guiding principle of my professional life.

“I wanted to help others, learn about how systems work (or don't) and be part of a team trying to make a difference”

I trained as volunteer adviser in 1990, when I had a toddler and another baby on the way. I didn't know much about 'Citizens Advice Bureau' as it was then but I had heard good things about the training, and the service seemed to tick various boxes: helping others, learning about how systems work (or don't), being part of a team, trying to make a difference - all of which has continued over the past 35 years. I might originally have seen the training as a route to other career opportunities - but I very quickly got hooked, and even though I 'retired' in March this year, I am continuing as a volunteer adviser, back to the frontline!

I've been lucky enough to do a range of paid roles, 'bureau manager' at a small rural office, funding officer for a city office, manging a consortium of local offices, and most recently business and partnership manager at Citizens Advice Central Dorset. I've always enjoyed ensuring that the service was a key player in the local community, ready to step up when needed, or to work with other agencies. I also used to be a freelance tutor, delivering in person training for new advisers, which was always fun if at times challenging.

I still find it rewarding, I like the challenge and variety of advice work, and being in a team who are very mutually supportive, always ready to share expertise, commiserate on a difficult case, or celebrate a success. And as for that gut feeling I get when faced with unfairness, sheer incompetence, mistreatment - research and campaigns is a very effective way to deal with this!

“I was keen to progress in the charity sector and loved being able to support people through difficult times”

I was already working for Victim Support as a Deputy Co-ordinator in Nottinghamshire Victim Support in 2000, when the job role was advertised to set up the Witness Service in Magistrates court in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. I was really keen to progress in the charity sector and loved being able to support people through difficult times. I applied and was successful. This was new for the magistrates court and it involved setting up and managing the new service, which came with it's own challenges! I was in post from December 2001 and the service had to be up and running from April 2002.

On my first day they gave me a desk in the reception, if I wanted to use the phone I had to use it then lock it away in a drawer, I asked where can I put my computer when it arrives! I soon made friends with the caretaker who found me a secure room to use although I had to share it with witnesses! The service was up and running by April and I had successfully recruited and trained 10 volunteers to deliver the service! Some of those original volunteers were with the service for 16 years.

“I wanted to help people in our community with advice to help resolve their issues”

I started as a volunteer in Christchurch, Dorset, in 2016 and saw an advert in a local magazine. It interested me, as it made me think: could I help people in our community with advice to help resolve their issues? At the time, I wasn’t really sure what those were and how I could help improve things for people locally.

So, I signed up, did the training, which there was a lot of across many subjects, such as debt, housing and benefits. I tried phone calls, online methods of talking to people and found that talking to people face to face was the best format for clients, as this allows a rapport to build up, and I got a better understanding of the client’s background, issue, and which options could be suggested as ways forward for the client’s background.

Now, I feel that I can effectively deal with clients and their issues. It always gives me satisfaction when I hear that a client’s issue has been successfully resolved. The best words I hear are ‘thank you’.

“I wanted to help the man on the street”

I began as a volunteer with Portsmouth Citizens Advice in 1999. They were a pioneering bureau back then and offered to pay my childcare fees so I could volunteer as a new mum, desperate to talk to adults again! After graduating in law as a mature student, I was put off with the normal solicitor/barrister routes and wanted to help the man on the street. I reflected on conversations I had had with my grandmother growing up, she had volunteered with Citizens Advice in Exmouth. I was always interested to learn of the help she had been able to give people and how that improved their lives, so I approached my local Citizens Advice - Portsmouth.

I enjoyed my time as a volunteer and looking back - it was the best job! I inevitably moved into paid work - first debtline then welfare benefits but also became a Trustee and then Chair of Fareham Citizens Advice. I eventually moved to Fareham Citizens Advice in 2006, having given up my Chair role a few years before, where I became a Friday supervisor, then Advice Services Manager and now Chief Officer! I am proud of my journey and continue to be proud of the team I now lead. Although I really miss helping clients, the reason I started this journey of course, I have some comfort in the fact that everything I do as a Chief Officer is for the better outcome for our clients and with the knowledge and experience I have gained in working with clients along my journey. I think my late Grandmother would be really proud too!

“I believe advice can empower others to help them see a way”

Working at Citizens Advice for 24 years, navigating life’s maze in 2001, following a family bereavement, I answered a job advert in the local press. An old-fashioned way to apply for a role, now I guess. I must admit I didn’t know much about Citizens Advice at first, only that it gave advice. When I secured the job and started the work, it made me think twice! The job was in debt administration. The debt team quickly gained my admiration. Compassion was their compass to help clients through the maze of debt and see the light. To me, it was a very humbling sight. On my journey, I’ve carried out different roles over the years: Projects, Macmillan, LTHC, Housing, to name a few. There has always been lots to do. All done with the same passion each and every day. I believe advice can empower others to help them see a way.l My journey hasn’t always been flawless, and some clients have weighed heavily on my mind. Our management team put staff wellbeing high on the agenda, which has helped me to keep my feelings in focus; they’ve always been very kind. So, I’ll continue onward on life’s path, and am happy to work for a service where hope is real and people can believe.

“I wanted to be a part of the Witness Service because it is quite beautiful - giving your time and energy simply to support, accompany, comfort and care for another”

In the second half and end of 2024, I was looking around for a cause or programme to get involved in / volunteer with as a way to give back and use the skills I had come to learn and hone as a result of my uniquely unpleasant circumstances. After months of searching around, looking for something that could allow me to give back, or karmically 'pay forward' the specific skill sets I have now developed, I stumbled across the Witness Service late one night over the Christmas break and applied.

I wanted to be a part of the witness service because it is quite beautiful - giving your time and energy simply to support, accompany, comfort and care for another in a time of potential distress is perhaps one of the most human exchanges. It enables someone such as myself to be able to transmute the unpleasantness that I have been through and alchemise it into the benefit of another person. To name empathy as one example, forged in the fires of dark times and yet there’s a power in repurposing that to selflessly give it away, and seeing the difference it can make is its own universal reward, or favour.

It is also an incredibly humbling and grounding service. To turn up each week and be able to focus solely on the person in front of me and give them the entirety of my care and attention is uplifting in a way, and while we often deal with heavy topics, I always come away feeling lighter and satisfied.

“I have found that not only am I able to give back to the community, but I have also found it an excellent way to get to know the town that I am now living in”

I started doing advice work in Altrincham in 1986, when my 2 children were at school. At this time, I had a part-time professional job, so I had time to devote to doing something useful for the local community. When we moved away in 1992, I was working full-time, so I had no opportunity to undertake voluntary work.

In 2018, we moved to Evesham. I had retired and had found myself living only a 5-minute walk away from the office. By this time, the age limit for volunteers of 70 had been removed, so I signed up. I have found that not only am I able to give back to the community, but I have also found it an excellent way to get to know the town that I am now living in.

“When I retired, I still wanted to help and Citizens Advice seemed a perfect match”

I qualified as a doctor in 1976 and worked as an anaesthetist until I retired in 2018

So all my life I have talked to people, found out about their problems and fears and given them information which hopefully helped them

When I retired, I still wanted to help and Citizens Advice seemed a perfect match

Finding out information / helping a client in a dispute with DWP can be just as life-saving as giving an anaesthetic for an emergency.

“I was particularly keen to help the local community and gain a better understanding of the local support”

My Citizens Advice journey began in the year 2000. As a mother raising four children, the youngest being just one year old, I was keen to relieve isolation from the working world and get back on the career path. Unfortunately, back then, with outdated skills, there was little interest in taking me on. I was offered a cleaning job. I took it. I was struggling financially, but felt frustrated that I had little opportunity to show the world what I was made of! Two weeks into the job, I was looking at the local courses on offer in our community and stumbled across an advert for volunteers for Citizens Advice. The words empathy, listening, communicating, advising, and researching jumped out! I thought, This is me, I can do all this. I felt like I had found my way. Only downsize, no money! How would I cope? Thankfully, at that time, the local Citizens Advice had secured funding for childcare, so my expenses there were covered to enable me to become a volunteer Generalist Adviser four days per week. I loved it!

One year on, I was offered a paid post as a Homelessness Caseworker for my local office at that time in Medway. I later moved into supervisor roles and Management roles within the London areas for teams of paid staff and volunteers. I eventually moved back to my local office, where it all began, to embark on a Service Manager role there. I was particularly keen to help the local community and gain a better understanding of the local support.

I then had a break from Citizens Advice, not through choice; there were no opportunities, so I worked for another Charity, Shelter and continued with my housing specialism for a few years. The job ended due to funding cuts, and I then moved into Local Authority housing for several years. Throughout, I missed Citizens Advice; however, I was still able to use my skills and knowledge within these roles. At this point, my children all became adults! I moved to Faversham and decided to look for local work. By some amazing stroke of luck, a job offer for Client Service Supervisor was advertised for Swale, Citizens Advice. Whilst I had been away from the Citizens Advice service for several years, I was fortunate to be offered the role with some fast-track training. Surprisingly, I still held a huge amount of knowledge and understanding, and it was like I had come home. I went through all the training modules again and qualified! Two years on, and I continue to reap the rewards of Citizens Advice. Whilst it began 25 years ago, the world has evolved, but help is still needed, and I remain loyal and committed to helping people, more than ever, as we go through the Cost of Living Crisis.

“Remembering how welcome I felt as a client and how impactful the advice I was given had been, I thought I'd give it a shot”

I had worked in the Public Sector for 15 years in an advice and information role with the Connexions service (working with 16-18 year olds who are NEET - Not in Education, Employment or Training) when I found myself pregnant and at risk of redundancy. I felt vulnerable and unsure what the future may hold, and a friend of mine suggested I go to my local Citizens Advice Office to talk things through with them. I did and received some really helpful practical advice about being made redundant whilst pregnant, which helped me to negotiate a much more favourable redundancy package than was originally offered. This allowed me to take a year away from work and spend precious time with my toddler and new baby without feeling pressured to return to work for financial reasons. I was also advised that I could claim contribution-based JSA once I was ready to seek work again, which I did. This meant I had to engage with my local Jobcentre, where I saw a job advertised for an Advice Session Supervisor at my local Citizens Advice.

Remembering how welcome I felt as a client and how impactful the advice I was given had been, I thought I'd give it a shot - nothing to lose. I was invited for an interview, my first one in 16 years. I'd just spent the last 12 months immersed in my children, and the world of work felt a bit alien to me. I was delighted to be offered the position and started working for the organisation in March 2017. The role of a supervisor is varied, challenging and often pressured, but I loved it. The volunteers were so inspiring and welcomed me with open arms, though many of them knew a great deal more than I did about the issues affecting our clients. I learnt on the job with great support from management, and in 2018, a new CEO came into post. She made her intentions clear to the Board from the outset that she was here for a maximum of 5 years to lead up to her retirement and that she wanted to make a real difference in that time to the staff team and working practices of our organisation following a service review earlier that year.

As COVID hit, it provided me with an opportunity to step up and take on some more management tasks that I thrived on. I knew by then that I loved the organisation and I was hungry to learn more about the strategic side of things. An internal opportunity arose to apply for a CEO designate training programme that would require the successful applicant to spend 1 day a week for 12 months with the current CEO, learning about the role and taking on a project that showed the Board someone who was ambitious, passionate about the service and able to take that step up to strategic thinking. I was successful in getting this post and loved the opportunities that it brought me. The CEO of the time had an unwavering belief in my ability to make the transition to Senior Management - something that I had never experienced before in any previous employment. After 12 months, I was guaranteed an interview for the position of CEO when it became available, and I worked incredibly hard to prepare myself for what seemed like a giant leap. But I made it - with the support from my colleagues and all of the volunteers, as I was confident enough to go for it and I was offered the position of CEO in Sept 2022. Whilst it has been a massive learning curve, and tough to juggle the demands of the role with 2 young children, I love it, and feel incredibly honoured to have been given this opportunity. The belief shown in me by the Chair and the outgoing CEO is something that I will never forget, and I try to ensure that this attitude towards workforce development is something that we continue to foster and develop across the whole of our service.

“I’m still interested in people and how their lives pan out and am anxious to assist in any way I can”

I began volunteering at Citizens Advice Colchester in 1972, my interest triggered by an advert in my church magazine asking if anyone had time to help the community. The ladies who interviewed me were probably about 60; I was 33, with four young children, and I remember thinking they seemed a bit ‘suspicious’ of me. But I loved it from the start and still do today.

Over the last five decades, I’ve volunteered at Citizens Advice at least one day each week – occasionally being paid to stand in for the manager and deputy manager. Not long after I started, I began going out and giving talks about Citizen Advice’s work: at small organisations, big organisations, rotary clubs, retirement clubs and many others. I kept this up for nearly 50 years, which hopefully helped spread the good news that we are alive and still going strong! In the early 90s, I also became a Guidance Tutor, training new volunteers. I loved putting enthusiasm and knowledge into their minds.

I knew from the start that the work of Citizens Advice often made a huge difference to people’s lives. Some of the problems I’ve dealt with have been extremely sad and difficult, and I’ve always been very proud of the service we offer. We’ve often been made aware that a client’s life has been changed by them contacting us. Many clients come into our office to express their grateful thanks. It’s a very warm feeling to know that something you’ve been part of as an adviser has resulted in a good outcome.

Over the years I’ve been at Citizens Advice Colchester, the work has changed considerably. When I started, there was no paid staff – everyone was a volunteer. My manager was the town’s borough librarian and my work was done in our local library. Today, we employ some paid staff and take more calls than ever before. Our information system has always been second to none, but technology has been going in fast-forward! And the subjects we deal with today are very different to when I first started. The world is changing and it is good to see that Citizens Advice has kept abreast of this.

In 1999 I was privileged to receive from HRH Princess Anne the first ever ‘Lifetime Achiever’ award. I was invited to be given the award on stage, followed by a private meeting with HRH and two other finalists. I was so proud to have this time with Princess Anne. My husband was with me for this day and he too was very proud, mostly of this wonderful organisation that started in the war years and has continued, and kept up with all things modern and of today. The following year, I was awarded an MBE by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the millennium honours list. What an exciting day, never to be forgotten! Certainly another very proud day.

Throughout all this, I’ve always stressed that I could never have done this on my own. I’ve enjoyed supportive team work from the whole of my local Citizens Advice, and was very proud of the publicity these occasions generated for this wonderful organisation.

My journey at Citizens Advice has been exciting, sometimes sad and always rewarding. I’m still interested in people and how their lives pan out and am anxious to assist in any way I can, whatever people’s circumstances, nationality or lifestyle they lead. When I first started, I learned the phrase ‘If a client has a matter which is of concern to them, then it will be of concern to us, and Citizens Advice will be pleased to help as much as we can.’ And I’m pleased to say that is still as true today as when I first started volunteering, 53 years ago.