About The Ark Trust

​Andrea is The Ark’s Chief Executive. The trustees delegate responsibility for the day-to-day operations and management of the charity to her. Andrea is involved in every aspect of the charity including delivery of services and teaching.

Although now working full-time elsewhere, Mark continues to develop the relationships and links with many of our partner organisations, such as health,  as well as taking an active role in activities such as Festival Green Machine and Radio Marmalade.

Hannah has been coming to different activities and groups for many years and really enjoys Night Owls and Out and About. For the last couple of years, she has also been a regular volunteer at Forget-me-Knot. 

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John joined the Ark team as a volunteer in February 2021 within the HIVE community response team and continues to enjoy the role immensely. He gets a lot out of meeting and assisting people who need help in our community. ​

Isabel has been attending activities run by The Ark for about 10 years. As she loved the groups and the opportunities that they give to people with disabilities, she decided she wanted to become more involved.

Susanna attends lots of activities at The Ark and particularly enjoys those that involve craft and art. She likes talking with people and has developed her confidence to give talks to health professionals about her lived experience.

Sharon started as a volunteer before being employed by The Ark. She works on our SIGNAL service supporting unpaid/family carers; providing them with valuable information and advice as well as raising the profile of carers in the wider community.

Chris began as a volunteer for The Ark and now works as a retail assistant in our charity shop. He is involved in many aspects of the shop, making people feel welcome and supporting them, pricing, design, cleaning and till work.

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​After receiving support from The Ark during lockdown, through our online groups and activities, Steph wanted to give something back. She has previously been a rep for Dimensions where she helped to share people’s experiences so that the bosses knew what people thought.

​Simon has returned to the area to care for parents. He is a barrister and Public Health Professional who has spent 35 years at senior level within Councils and the NHS.  He is determined to make a better life for all.

Zoe is a Learning Disability Nurse and helped to start our Night Owls group. Zoe is passionate about making sure The Ark continues to provide great support and activities for people in the area and advocating (speaking up) for others.

Kate is The Ark’s activities coordinator. She runs many of our activities and sessions and leads on Project 73 and Friday Night Project. Kate works in our charity shop and assists with our community services.

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Tony's involvement in the Ark started when he became a volunteer mentor for the CEO as part of a Lloyds Bank Foundation initiative. When the project ended he became a trustee and is now the Chair.

After retiring after working in social care, Muriel helped to start the Friday Night Project. She is a familiar face to many of the people we work with and support. She continues to attend Friday Night Project every week as well as volunteering at Forget-me-Knot.

Neil initially became involved with The Ark through Festival Green Machine. As a dance music lover he can also be found DJing on Radio Marmalade as well as volunteering at Forget-me-Knot.

Peter is particularly interested in making sure autistic people’s view are included in our meetings and represented at meetings with other organisations such as the local council.