John Merrill (chair)
John is a psychiatrist whose work included clinical, academic and research roles. Latterly he changed tack, gaining an MA from Manchester School of Art. He is committed to ensuring the trust follows accepted best practice and that its funds bring about the most good.
Luke Merrill (trustee)
Luke is a data scientis working in football. He studied in Manchester and Amsterdam for a first class honours degree in Economics with International Studies and holds an MSc (with Distinction) in Data Science. He is especially interested on how data can be better used to influence funding decisions.
Sarah Wakefield (Trustee)
Sarah is Executive Director of Eating Better. Prior to this she lead WWF UK's work on industry engagement on food and WWF's Retailers' Commitment to Nature. She spent a decade working in food and sustainablity at the Co-op. She has a passion for food transfromation which began as a Fairtrade campagner and a job with Traid craft.
Charlotte Kay (Accounts)
Charlotte handles the Trust's finances in her role as accounts manager at Menzies (formerly Beever Struthers) Accountants in Blackburn.
We are delighted to announce a new partnership with the University of Manchester's Global Development Institute and One World Together. This brings to the trust valuable academic knowledge and real-world experience working in global majority countries.
Nicola Banks
Nicola is a Professor at the University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute and co-Founder of One World Together, a new movement to reimagine giving for development rooted in her research on aid and the charity sector. She is delighted to draw on both experiences to support BMT, appreciating the trust-based and relational approach to their philanthropic work and their care for realising their missions.
Laura Dempsey
Laura is head of Individual Giving at OWT. She holds an MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy and an MA in International Development, her dissertation focusing on empowerment of the elderly in Bangladesh. She has previously administered research in Uganda into women's health-seeking behaviours and, as Research Associate and Project Coordinator at Sheffield University, mapping the UK development NGO sector and Small International Development Charities Network. She has also worked at CanadaHelps, a charitable tech company and Help Age Canada.