Thomas Pocklington Trust appoints two new trustees

Date posted: 17th March 2021

Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) has appointed two new trustees to its board.  Helen Mitchell and Robert Holl were officially sworn on to the board at a meeting this week.

Mervyn Williamson, Chairman, said: “I am delighted to welcome Helen and Robert to the board.  Helen will provide us with insight and direction on how we can better educate HR professionals and businesses around employing blind and partially sighted people, while Robert brings years’ of experience in managing property portfolios and will help us to optimise our investments to the maximum benefit of blind and partially sighted people.”

 

Helen Mitchell has over 12 years’ experience in specialist and generalist HR roles and currently works within the insurance division of a global data analytics and risk assessment firm.

Helen said: “As a HR professional, I am well aware of the opportunities to improve understanding of disability and the surrounding legislation within workplaces. Particularly at this time, as the HR industry continues to evolve and the war for talent remains a key priority for organisations, the importance of the employee experience is becoming very apparent. Accessibility for all is a crucial component of the employee experience and an organisations’ ability to build a truly inclusive culture.

“We need to provide more guidance for employers to better equip them to make workplaces accessible and inclusive for all. We also need to better educate employers so that the law ceases to be viewed as a barrier. Employers are often wary of doing the wrong thing when employing people with disabilities. Access to Work is a very helpful resource for employers.

“My grandparent becoming blind is also a key motivator for me to join TPT and I look forward to supporting the charity to make a difference through education, employment and engagement.”

In her spare time Helen serves as a HR Co-Opted Board Member for Walterton & Elgin Community Homes and Charity Trustee for the Third Age Project.

 

Robert Holl works for Wellcome Trust’s Investment team on its property portfolio. Similar to TPT, a proportion of the health research foundation’s, income is derived from its property portfolio.  Previous to this he trained as a chartered accountant at Deloitte and has been a trustee of a charity that funded IT training for people with disabilities.

He said: “I am excited to be involved in a charity that supports blind and partially sighted people to live the life they want to lead and want to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

“I look forward to contributing in a number of ways to TPT’s property investments and bringing a wider perspective on its investment strategy going forward. TPT’s endowment, and the income it generates, enables TPT to deliver its valuable mission supporting current and future generations of blind and partially sighted people to participate fully.”