Heather Lee

Why Citizens Advice Gateshead?

Throughout my career at Gateshead Council, I worked in partnership with Citizens Advice Gateshead to create strategies and services to help residents reach their full potential, and become independent, and economically active. This gave me a real understanding of the organisation and a keen appreciation of its scope of influence and impact. I passionately share the charity’s vision and values, so I was delighted to be able to continue to be involved and support it after I retired in 2017.

What experience do you bring to the board of trustees?

I have over 25 years of experience within the field of economic development, working at a local, regional and national level to develop and implement policies and programmes to increase employment and enterprise and combat social and economic inequality.

I worked for Gateshead Council for over 20 years in a variety of roles, starting off supporting women to return to the labour market and ending as the strategic lead for employment, skills, and inclusion, shaping policy and strategy, including Gateshead’s Financial Inclusion and Rural Economic Strategies.

I have always worked to maximise employment opportunities for local people resulting from economic growth and regeneration. As well as my strategic role, I led on the delivery of employment and start-up support for the council, competitively bidding, securing, and managing national commercial contracts to ensure the provision of services for some of the most disadvantaged communities in the borough.

More broadly, I have considerable experience of effective partnership working, including playing an active part in the development of the North East Combined Authority's devolution proposals, and in more recent years have worked with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and other key stakeholders to inform the commissioning of European Structural Funding for employability and skills.

The range of experience, insight, and skills that I have gained over the years, from both a practical understanding of the multiple complex barriers and challenges faced by vulnerable people to the more strategic skills of stakeholder engagement, business planning, and contract management, can make a positive contribution to the strategic and business development of Citizens Advice Gateshead.

What can you tell us about your role as a trustee?

Initially, in 2018, I became a director of Society Matters Community Interest Company (CIC), the independent social enterprise and trading subsidiary of the charity. Income generated by the CIC goes back into the charity so that it can provide essential services free of charge for those most in need of support and can continue its work to combat poverty. This is absolutely key to future sustainability, particularly in light of diminishing public funding.

In 2019, after becoming Chair of the CIC, I was appointed as a trustee of Citizens Advice Gateshead to enable ongoing complementarity between the two organisations, ensuring the CIC continues to support the delivery of the charity’s vision and mission to help people to have lives well lived and influence the system so it works for everyone.

In early 2022, I had the pleasure and privilege to be appointed Vice Chair of the charity.

Over the years, my main driver has been a genuine desire to make a real difference in people’s lives. Being a trustee of Citizens Advice Gateshead and supporting the CIC provides an amazing opportunity to do this. The charity’s outstanding reputation, its status as an exemplar in its field, and its reach, combine to make an extraordinary platform for achieving positive impact and change. I am looking forward to helping the charity continue to go from strength to strength.