Margaret Davies Chair of Trustees Expand Margaret Davies joined the DAA board of trustees in September 2017. She is a Chartered and Registered Occupational Psychologist, and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society with expertise in the area of leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion. She previously worked as a senior marketing manager for a number of large companies. As well as being a main board member, Margaret also sits on the Charity's People, Talent and Culture Committee.
Julie Hawker Vice Chair & Trustee Expand Julie is Chief Executive of Cosmic, a digital skills agency based in Honiton and has a very personal connection to the Charity – she was airlifted by DAA following a serious riding accident and has spent 6 years supporting the charity through fundraising, volunteering and offering staff training. She is an enthusiast for the ways in which digital technologies will improve businesses, organisations and lives in the coming years, and regularly speaks on these subjects at local, regional and national events. Julie contributes to the development and delivery of major consultancy projects at Cosmic, and is learning director and trainer on Cosmic's digital leadership programme. Julie works in a variety of roles at national, regional and local levels to improve the collaboration in advancing digital skills, digital transformation for businesses, and also the economic environment for social enterprise, keeping a sharp focus on digital inclusion and its benefits to the wider economy. Julie is also Board member with the SW Business Council and a member of the Bank of England Panel in the region. We are fortunate that Julie has brought her expertise and experience to the Devon Air Ambulance Board of Trustees.
Dominic Hazell Trustee Expand Dominic Hazell is a Physiotherapist at the RD&E, working within the Trust for 10+ years. Growing up in Exeter he watched the initial flights of the Devon Air Ambulance from his bedroom window, and is very proud to now be involved with DAAT. Dominic lives in East Devon with his wife and two sons, where he’ll often be found near a cricket pitch or local farm shop.
Ann Holman Trustee Expand Ann is Executive Director of Our Plymouth CIC, a digital platform that enables community and collective action. Before that she worked for several years as a management consultant with PwC and Accenture. Her expertise lies in strategy, digital and innovation. In her spare time Ann can be found cycling, up a mountain or walking the coastal path. Ann has watched closely the progression of DAAT since moving to the South West in 2003. She is both honoured and proud to be part of DAAT and is looking forward to working with the team in the future.
Ross Hemingway Trustee Expand Dr Ross Hemingway worked in as a naval medical officer in the Royal Marines for 17 years, with extensive experience of front-line PHEM and helicopters. In the later stages of his naval career, he was a senior medical officer/clinical director for counter-terrorism, and now works as a medical practitioner at the Commando training centre. Ross has an interest in sports medicine, and has a particular love of rugby, having worked with the England, Premiership and Exeter Chief squads.
Willliam Matthewman Treasurer and Trustee Expand William is 28 and has been working in the Wealth Management profession for nearly 5 years following a degree in Economics from Exeter University. Given his fondness for outdoor pursuits on Dartmoor, he has always been in awe of the work undertaken by Devon Air Ambulance, and the other emergency services, particularly to fellow hikers, fell runners and climbers.
David Prowse Trading Company Director Expand David was born and educated in North London. After35 years in the RAF, mostly as a Chinook operator and qualified helicopter instructor, he joined the RAF Association as Membership Director. In 2017, he gave up work to care for his mother and has recently moved to Launceston. Since taking up his care duties, he has also volunteered with Veterans Aid, been an advisor to the RAF Club and supported a local Air Training Corps Squadron.
Dick Richardson Trading Company Director Expand W A (Dick) Richardson was unusually trained by the RAF both as a helicopter pilot and engineer officer. Amongst many other military missions he was a maintenance test pilot and the engineering officer procuring the Chinook from Boeing. After reaching senior rank he commenced a second career in the civil helicopter industry and was Engineering Director for McAlpine Helicopters and then Commercial Director for Airbus Helicopters UK. He pioneered the use of helicopters by the UK Police and Ambulance Services, becoming very familiar with both helicopter MRO and the design and installation of complex upgrades. He introduced “power-by-the-Hour” to the UK helicopter industry. Since February 2012 he has run his own consultancy, Luxopus Ltd. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Nicola Steevenson Trading Company Director Expand Nic served for 10 years in the RAF as a Tornado Navigator. She specialised in Air Defence and became a highly qualified instructor. Latterly she flew with test pilots on a developmental missile firings team. In addition to her military experience, Nic worked as Chief Ground Instructor for Flybe. Here she had oversight of and instructed pilot ground school training. Fascinated by human performance she went on to set up her own company, Human Performance Solutions. Through this she provides consultancy for Baines Simmons, specialists in Aviation Safety, as well as Atrainability who work closely with the NHS providing Human Factors training. She is also a Crew Resource Management Trainer and provides CRM training to Devon Air Ambulance Crews. Nic has two young daughters and enjoys escaping with the family to explore Dartmoor and the local beaches.
Vicky Smiley Trustee Expand Vicky is a meteorologist with the Met Office and has served all over the world with the RAF as a sponsored reservist, more recently leading those teams providing meteorological services to Defence. Her last role was on a transformation program, delivering both technology and people changes. With her husband, she has recently welcomed a beautiful daughter to the world and when not changing nappies enjoys outdoor swimming, walking and cooking. Vicky’s sister was airlifted by DAA as a child after coming off her horse, giving Vicky personal insight into the valuable service DAA provides, especially in remote parts of the community.