Our Trustees
Our trustees play a vital role in our organisation. They set the strategic direction of the charity and ensure it delivers on its responsibilities. This requires a group of committed people from many walks of life with a mix of skills and experience; they all share an interest in domestic abuse, a desire to help the charity and an enquiring mind.
Our board of trustees are extremely committed and take an active role in the organisation, and we are extremely grateful for their time and dedication to the cause.
Elaine McDonald
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Elaine is now retired but has a background of over 25 years working in Careers, Connexions and most recently Children’s Services. She has a wealth of experience in dealing with young people’s issues and multiple agency work. She also has extensive experience of delivering Training & Development and managing a satellite Assessment Centre.
Elaine combines being a Trustee with her other interest of Soroptimism.
Karen Mitchell
Vice Chair
Karen has always worked in social housing in both operational and strategic roles for local councils and housing associations. Currently she works for a housing association in Manchester which provides affordable homes for rent and a range of community and support services across the south of the city. She has a strong belief in the right of everyone to a safe and secure home.
Karen has lived in the Glossop area for over 25 years and became a of Trustee of High Peak Women’s Aid, now known as Crossroads, in 2012. She is proud to be involved with this local charity which provides essential services across the High Peak.
Rebecca Gibbons
Treasurer
Rebecca started her career as a Finance assistant at Granada TV where she completed her AAT qualification and progressed to Finance Manager in the nine years that she worked there.
She then moved to the not-for-profit sector in 2007 and has stayed in the sector ever since. She joined the Big Life group in 2015 as a Finance Manager, progressing to Deputy Finance Director and was recently appointed as the Finance Director of the Big Life group and Chief Finance Officer of Big Life Schools.
She is a Fellow of CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and has an MBA from Salford Business School.
Rebecca is Treasurer and a member of the Finance subcommittee.
Abbie Kirkham
Abbie has over 20 years’ experience in recruitment, L+D and HR. She also is lucky enough to be able to teach HR and business at graduate level which she enjoys immensely.
She is originally from Liverpool but now lives in Wilmslow with her husband, 2 daughters, 2 schnauzers and her cat.
She became a trustee of Crossroads Derbyshire as she is passionate about ending domestic violence and believes everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe environment.
Michelle Simpson
Michelle is a Family Law specialist with over 25 years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of Family Law issues. She is an Associate with Chafes Hague Lambert Solicitors and is based in New Mills. Michelle is a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Panel and a Resolution accredited specialist in Children Law and Domestic Abuse.
She has lived in the High Peak for over 25 years.
John Pasiecznik
John worked in public services for over 30 years for four local authorities, and latterly across all ten Greater Manchester councils as an Emergency Planning Manager.
In his other local authority roles, which included corporate communications, John had regular contacts with all statutory services including Social Services - Adults and Children’s - Safeguarding and Housing.
Moving to Hadfield in 1994, John became interested in the work of the-then Glossop Women’s Aid, but it wasn’t until he retired from full-time work a few years ago that he felt he could devote the time and energy to Crossroads Derbyshire and is very proud to be a trustee.
Abeer Omer
Abeer is a certified accountant with experience working in multicultural environments spanning more than nine years.
Gaining her ACCA membership along with a Master’s degree in Finance and Accounting whilst taking care of her children are her most memorable and poignant successes.
She loves playing chess and walking through nature.
"I believe serving the community to maintain a safe and peaceful place to live is a most vital role to play. I am so proud of being part of Crossroads Derbyshire which gives the hope of a new start for those in most need."
Lisa Morris
Lisa has worked in the field of domestic abuse, criminal justice and safeguarding for 20 years in both statutory and voluntary sectors. She is currently working as a strategic domestic abuse manager for a local authority leading on the multi-agency response to domestic abuse and commissioning of specialist support services. Lisa is also an associate consultant and trainer for Safe Lives.
Lisa lives in Mottram with her family and enjoys long walks with her dog.
She is our lead trustee for Safeguarding.
Lucy Healey
An ex-organiser for the Labour Party during the 2024 general election turned parliamentary assistant. Lucy is a keen campaigner for women’s involvement in politics and policy which she hopes to address through her additional work as a member of the Young Fabians Executive Committee as Women’s Officer, and as a new trustee.
Why did I become a trustee?
"Being proactive as opposed to reactive has, and always will be the stance I will take. Politics and policy runs throughout our lives and I hope as a board member I can bring my experience in these fields to illuminate the challenges faced by survivors and the third sector."
Hannah Burbidge
I have worked in Corporate Finance for over 10 years; I bring commercial, financial and transaction experience gained from working with central and local governments in the UK and Australia.
I was born and raised in the High Peak area and live here now with my family and I became a Trustee of Crossroads Derbyshire as I was seeking an opportunity to utilise my skills and experiences gained in the corporate world to the charity sector. I was drawn to Crossroads Derbyshire specifically as I wanted to do support in my local community, and I am committed to their ethos and values.
Hannah is our lead trustee for Risk Management.