Keith Austin Keith Austin is the Leader of the Labour Group and Main Opposition Party, on the Borough of Telford & Wrekin and Ward Member for Hadley & Leegomery. He has served as a councillor on Parish, District, County, and Unitary Councils and also served on the Combined Fire Authority for Shropshire and Wrekin over the past 27 years. He has also held Regional and National Posts within the Council Local Government Association (LGA) and was Chair of the Fire Authority Regional Management Board until taking up the position of Leader at the Borough in November 2004.

He holds the Environment Portfolio in the West Midlands Regional Assembly and sits on the WMRA Executive Committee.

As well as being the Opposition Leader, he shadows the council budget and performance. His career has been varied, serving in the RAF and working as a fire fighter for the US Army. He was an LGV driver whilst studying in the Open University for his BA Degree. He has also managed a large transport fleet of vehicles that carried owners manufactured goods all over the UK. He has a BA in social sciences politics and economics from the Open University (OU) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations, which he studied part-time for at Warwick University.

He also works as a lecturer for three different universities and is a Magistrate. He successfully completed the I&DEA Leadership Academy course. He has been a Justice of the Peace since 1994 serving on the Shrewsbury and North Shropshire Bench. He is a keen swimmer and was also a keen runner until a knee injury forced him to slow down to walking!

Libhin (Liveene) Bromley Born in Ireland but lived and educated in the UK. Libhin joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service on a short service commission, during which time she married an army officer and settled in Herefordshire in 1989. She was a Manager in the NHS until 2003 and now holds a portfolio of activities including being a magistrate since 2000, a lay member of the Family Health Services Appeal Authority and a member of the Qualifications Committee of the Bar Standards Board. Libhin joined the Board in 2004, and has served on several committees. She has just taken over chairmanship of the Probation Forum Steering Group.

David Chantler - Chief Executive David lives in South Shropshire. A full Board member in his own right, David formerly worked in the Home Office as Committees Advisor, overseeing aspects of the formation of the National Probation Service. Before that, he was Chief Probation Officer in South West London and Assistant Chief Probation Officer in Bedfordshire. David has worked in the probation field since 1979.

Peter Davidson retired in 2006 having worked in the IT industry in the private sector for over 30 years. He is now involved with a few part-time ventures aside from his appointment to the Board. He is a widower with four grown-up children. His eldest is an IT Applications Developer living in Warwick; his youngest (budding rock-star) still lives with him in Redditch. He also has a daughter who is a nurse living in London and his other child has special needs and lives in residential care in Kidderminster.

Martin Foley joined the Trust in 2004 and is Chair of the Health and Safety Committee. He has spent his entire career in retailing. Currently he runs, with his partner, an internet retailer selling traditional door furniture, and a business selling reclaimed house improvement materials. Martin has two grown up daughters, one works in banking, and the younger is a fashion model. He has been a participant in the voluntary sector for many years, including a Variety Club associate barker, eleven years manning a Samaritan phone line, and currently a Telford magistrate.

Elaine Hickman Elaine took early retirement from the Civil Service after 27 years in a variety of departments. Latterly she was responsible for running an Employment Service Area so has experience of performance and financial management in the public sector. Previously she had specialised in HR issues and media liaison. Elaine has been a Magistrate since 1997 and transferred to the North Shropshire Bench when she moved to the area four years ago. She lives in Baschurch with her husband who is also a retired Civil Servant. She enjoys gardening, reading, travelling and entertaining.

James Kelly - Trust Chair Following early retirement in September 2006, James was appointed Board Chair in November 2006. His background is in local government and the voluntary sector. He has previously specialised in community safety issues and is currently the Treasurer of a national youth charity. James lives in West Malvern, his partner is a researcher in Early Years Education and he has three grown-up children, one a solicitor, one working in local government consultancy and his youngest is currently completing a year studying at a United States university.

Judge Alistair McCreath Judge McCreath was called to the Bar in 1972 and practiced in chambers in Birmingham, latterly specialising in criminal work. He became a part-time Judge in 1986 and was appointed a Circuit Judge in 1996. He sat for ten years at Birmingham Crown Court before becoming Resident Judge at Worcester Crown Court in April 2006. As well as acting as the judge having responsibility for probation liaison, he fulfils the same function in relation to magistrates and is chairman of the Area Judicial Forum. He has had judicial training responsibilities through the Judicial Studies Board, for several years as a tutor on the Crown Court Induction Seminar and now as Course Director for Criminal Continuation training.

Derek Muhl After a forty year career in health services management, latterly as Director of Operations with the Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust, Derek took early retirement in August 2006. He continues to work, on a part-time consultancy basis, within the NHS. Derek is married and lives in Newport where he is a member of the Rotary Club. He has two grown-up children and one grandchild. In 1998, an opportunity arose for him to apply his skills and broaden his professional horizons as Director of Health Services in the Falkland Islands, where he worked for two and a half years.

Leon Murray Leon was born in Jamaica but has lived in Shropshire for over forty years. His background is in industry and commerce where he originally worked for GKN but then was seconded to the Chamber of Commerce where he worked as a business advisor. Since 1995 he has run his own business. He is actively involved in his local Methodist Church and in various local community activities and groups. He is currently a governor of Queen’s College Birmingham as well as being involved with some charitable companies. Leon is married with two daughters. His wife teaches english as a foreign language.

Bridget Nisbet Following a 6-year spell in the British Army, Bridget’s career has largely been spent in Hong Kong, where she lived until July 2002. There she established her own consultancy business in organisational development. She was also involved in a variety of professional and voluntary organisations, For the last four years she served as a non-executive director for the Strategic Health Authority in Birmingham and the Black Country. She was appointed as a magistrate in 2004 and was recently appointed to Worcestershire Mental Health Trust Partnership NHS Trust as Non-Executive Director Bridget lives in Belbroughton with her husband and four children. Her eldest son is mildly autistic and as such she has an interest in how those on the autistic spectrum are treated in the justice system.

Valerie Reynolds Valerie is originally from Sussex, but has lived in South Shropshire for 27 years. She retired from teaching in 2003 after twenty years as the Deputy Head of a comprehensive school. Valerie joined the Board in June 2004 and is a member of the Resource and Performance Committee. She also sits on the Commissioning Body for Supporting People in Shropshire and does voluntary work for the Youth Offending Service. Valerie is married to a freelance writer and has two sons, one daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. She is interested in all forms of motor sport and enjoys theatre, cinema, music, reading and cooking.

Norman Stott - Trust Secretary Norman has been Secretary to the Board since April 2001, having previously been Secretary to Shropshire Probation Committee. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1976, and worked for the majority of his career in local government before taking early retirement from Shropshire County Council in August 2004. He is currently Chairman of the National Probation Secretaries Group and has been Secretary to Staffordshire Probation Board since January 2007, so his time is split between the two Boards. Outside work Norman is due to take over as President of the Midlands Region Hockey Association in 2009. He lives in Shrewsbury and has one son who is about to go to university.

Andrew Strong With a Masters in Third Sector Management Andrew has been Chief Executive of two social care charities over the past six years. His current organisation is Herefordshire Mind, a mental health charity providing a range of community and residential services across Herefordshire. His interest in Probation started when he managed a project for mentally disordered offenders 10 years ago. Andrew lives in Herefordshire and is married with three children all of school age.