The Fed is delighted to welcome two new Trustees to its Board effective immediately. Professor Saul Becker PhD, FRSA, FAcSS and Rebecca Weinberg JP, Cert Ed, FCMI have both dedicated their professional lives to the health and social care sectors, enabling us to leverage their huge wealth of experience and expertise at a critical time for The Fed.
Professor Saul Becker is an academic and social scientist renowned for his work on young carers and considered the pioneer and world leader in this field. He is the author and editor of 350 publications and 18 books including Young Carers and Responding to Poverty. His research impact has been recognised also by the Carers Trust which appointed him as their first ever Ambassador.
Since 2023, he has held the post of Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Faculty of Health and Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and has previously held senior roles at the Universities of Cambridge, Sussex, Birmingham and Nottingham. He is also the Founding Director of the new Institute for Children’s Futures based at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Commenting on his new role, Professor Becker said “I am delighted to be appointed as a Trustee of The Fed. As someone who has spent my adult life working in higher education, health and social care – in policymaking, practice, research, education, and leadership – I bring this knowledge and experience to support the amazing work of the organisation. It’s an honour to be able to serve the community and contribute towards making a difference.”
Rebecca Weinberg is a retired health and social care professional. During her distinguished career she latterly chaired the trustee board of St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds, a 32-bed palliative care facility with community and day care services and a University Teaching Hospice aligned with Leeds University. Prior to this, Rebecca was CEO of Leeds Jewish Welfare Board, responsible for a diverse range of social care and social enterprise programmes. These included a wide spectrum of services promoting independence for older people, community and residential services for people with learning disabilities or mental health needs, and programmes to support children and families. Earlier in her career Rebecca was Director of Student Services at Langdon College, a residential further education establishment for young adults with learning disabilities and was also Director of Services (including The Nicky) at Manchester Jewish Community Care.
Speaking about her appointment Rebecca said “I am passionate about the delivery of high-quality health and social care, and in my professional career I have been able to witness first hand, and be impressed by, the excellent work of The Fed. I feel privileged to join The Fed’s Board as a Trustee and look forward to contributing to the vital work of the organisation.
The Fed’s Chair, Bernie Yaffe added “It’s not often one has the opportunity of attracting people with Saul’s and Rebecca’s experience and expertise at the same time. As communal demographics change, resulting in people living and staying at home longer, Saul’s policymaking, research and general carer insights together with Rebecca’s broad community and social care experience will be invaluable as we strategically assess the future needs of the community and reshape our services to ensure those needs are fully met.
The Fed is also delighted to announce some further changes at Board level with the appointment of Julie Besbrode as Vice-Chair replacing David Eventhall. Julie joined the board in 2017 and serves on our Dinner, Fundraising and My Voice sub-committees
Howard Joseph is also appointed to the role of Treasurer replacing Michael Sciama. Howard was also appointed to the Board in 2017 and serves on our Finance and My Voice sub-committees.
We therefore wish Saul, Rebecca, Julie and Howard much success as they embark on their new roles and at the same time take this opportunity of thanking David and Michael for their immense insights, guidance, support and contribution to the organisation over their many years of dedicated service. David and Michael will remain on the Board for now and step-down mid-year once our strategic review has been completed.
Bernie Yaffe concluded “As we continue to future-proof the organisation, these changes demonstrate The Fed’s ongoing commitment to strengthening its succession processes and attracting a new and broader range of individuals whose professional skills and expertise complement those of our senior management and in-house teams.”