About our Board of Trustees

Katherine Crawford grew up near Dunkeld and has lived in the Dundee area for about 30 years. Katherine graduated from Edinburgh University in 1989 with a law degree and a diploma in legal practice.

Katherine has had a wide ranging career. She ran an outdoor events and tourism company for some years, taught law at Dundee College but found her true passion  in her 19 year career with Parkinson’s UK. Katherine was latterly the charity’s Director of Services and Safeguarding Lead  for the UK , leading the charity’s wide ranging support services but is now back home in the area, keen to use her skills to support other charities in their work.

Katherine is married with a student son and enjoys lots of  sociable outdoor activities, preferably in the company of friends and / or their dogs.

 

Sarah Huque moved to Scotland in 2015 from New York City. She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of St Andrews, as well as an MSc in Global Health Implementation (St Andrews) and a BA in Sociology (New York University). Her career has involved research at the intersection of public health and social justice, focusing on disability rights, global health, and suicide and bereavement. Sarah has undertaken volunteer work in a wide range of fields over the years, and her PhD research revolved around the relationships between grassroots volunteers and disability activist organisations in Malawi. She is currently a researcher at the University of Edinburgh. Sarah lives in Dundee with her husband and three bossy guinea pigs.

 

Jeff Hope is a retired solicitor. As managing partner of Miller Hendry solicitors for over 10 years he dealt with a wide variety of matters including staff, finance, IT and buildings. A former managing director of a financial services company he was also previously a course leader in financial services at Dundee Uni. Between 1993 and 2020 he was clerk to the City of Dundee Educational Trust dealing with all aspects of the day to day running of the charity.

Jeff is married and his wife Christine works in Dundee Carers Centre. He has two grown up children one of whom has just moved to Sweden which helps with holiday plans.

 

Pat Malone is a retired bank manager who spent the majority of her career with Royal Bank of Scotland.  She was born and brought up in Dundee and holds a BA (Hons) in Financial Services from Napier University and Diploma of Higher Education in Humanities from The Open University.

Pat enjoys reading, walking and gardening. She is also an active member of the Old Craigie Road Allotment Association.   She still lives in Dundee and is married with two children.

 

Martin Manzi was educated at Lawside Academy and graduated from Heriot Watt University in 1980 with a BSc Hons in Civil Engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer and has spent most of his career in the natural gas transportation industry and has held various senior management positions in engineering, safety, risk management and legal compliance. Now retired, his most recent position was Group Head of Safety with responsibility for overseeing the SHE company level strategy for SGN in the UK and for reporting on SHE performance and compliance at Board level.

Martin is a keen football fan and is a Director of the Dundee United Supporters’ Foundation. He lives in Dundee and is married with a son and a daughter.

 

Vanessa Martin is a semi -retired self employed, learning and development consultant and leadership coach.  She has lived and worked in the Dundee area for more than 30 years working in roles in Dundee & Angus College, Radio Tay and Dundee City Council in addition to being self employed for the last 7 years.

She has an honours degree from the University of Bradford and an MBA from the University of Abertay together with post graduate qualifications in teaching, coaching and human resources.

She is a keen tennis player, ballet dancer, gardener and dog walker. She has two daughters.

 

Murdo Mathers

Murdo Mathers grew up in Dundee but moved away with his family when he was 16. When away from the city, he qualified in Youth and Community work and has worked in this area of work since 1985. In 1991 he moved back to live in Dundee and has been here ever since.

From 1985 – 1995, Murdo worked with various organisations primarily in Youth Work but from 1995 – 2023, he worked in various posts with Barnardo’s in Dundee, Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross. From 2005, Murdo was a Children’s Services Manager overseeing a range of children and families services in Angus and Fife. He brings a wealth of knowledge of the 3rd Sector and brings this to the DVVA Board.

In September 2023, Murdo left Barnardo’s employment to look as semi retirement and is currently exploring various part time work options in pursuit of this. He is married to Ann and he is hoping that this semi retirement option will give them more time to see more of the world. In his spare time Murdo plays walking football and enjoys good food and music.