Barrie Sefton - Chairman (Director since 1999)

Barrie became involved with MDC while he was living on the estate in the 1990's and was actively involved with South Yorkshire Housing Association. Since then he has been involved with many other local organiastions and is also Chairman for the Manor Community Childcare Centre and Sheffield Care Trust project.

Barrie is also Chairman for the Public Involvement Forum which covers the whole of the Sheffield area and whose purpose is to oversee NHS provision in the areas of mental health, older people, substance misuse and learning difficulties.

With involvement as Vice Chairman of Workbase Employment & Recruitment Services Limited, Barrie is also on the board of Sheffield City Council Health & Social Care Scrutiny & Policy Development, Sheffield Care Trust Council and Flippin Mental; a bi-polar support group.

Mary Wilkinson - Treasurer (Director since 2004)

Mary has worked in Economic Development for the past thirty years and is a former resident of the Manor Estate. Through working at Sheffield City Council and the Government Office for Yorkshire and Humberside, Mary has gained extensive experience of managing major regeneration projects.

Working tirelessly to improve the community, Mary is also a director on the Manor Community Childcare Centre, a member of the Manor Assembly Steering Group and a trustee for the Manor/Castle Health & Safety Project.

Mary is now retired from her full time role as Chief Executive of Workbase; where she was head of the organisation and responsible for all financial and administrative functions in addition to strategic development of the company within the field of employment and training.

Since her retirement, Mary has concentrated on the diverse areas of both voluntary and paid work. She is heavily involved in training and as a qualified adult trainer she works extensively in the Manor area facilitating and coordinating training courses.

Cathy Dean - Company Secretary (Director since 1998)

Cathy has worked in economic development for many years as both a fundraiser and project manager on major capital projects with strong involvement of local communities. She has been involved with Manor Development Company since the early nineties and while employed by SCC (Department of Enterprise & Economic Development) she supported the establishment of MDC to combat rising unemployment in the area.

Since leaving SCC, Cathy has been self-employed as a community consultant and has assisted in many projects both in Manor and in the wider Sheffield area. Cathy has successfully managed a capital project at St Mary's Church in the centre of Sheffield which refurbished the Church into what is now a popular, well-designed and well-used community facility.

Norma Armitage - (Director since 1999)

Norma has a long association with the Manor area as a former resident. She is currently the Centre Manager of Manor Community Childcare Centre which is based adjacent to MDC providing childcare for children baed 6 months to 5 years. She has been employed at Manor Community Nursery since 1984, first as a nursery officer, then as deputy and since 1990 as a manager with overall responsibility of the centre.

In addition to her involvement in MDC she is a director at Manor Training and Resource Centre. All three organisations work together in partnership to regenerate the area by providing training, employment support and childcare.

Craig Judson - (Director since 2007)

Craig has both volunteered and worked in the voluntary sector for six years since volunteering for the local community forum while at university studying computing. He presently manages MASKK, a children's charity that provides out-of-school childcare in addition to free community activities for youths within the area. Additionally, he is also a director of his local forum; Batemoor and Jordanthorpe Forum and Manor Community Childcare Centre.

Through working at MASKK, Craig has gained experience in various aspects of running such an organisation; including cross-organisational partnership working, the development of a constituted group into a registered charity and the balance of operating as both a business and a charity.

Richard Foster - (Director since 2010)

Although only a recent additional to the board, Richard has a long relationship with Manor Development Company and the Manor & Castle area through his former career with Sheffield City Council.

Richard played a key role in securing and delivering the SRB programme of £20m+ via the Manor & Castle Development Trust and also managed the Neighbourhood Renewal Funding and Working Neighbourhoods Funding Programmes in the area over a considerable period while working as the Area Monitoring Officer for the Manor.

Ruth Dowling - Chief Executive

Ruth's full time role within the company is the strategic development of the organisation and its partnerships within the local and
surrounding areas.

With overall responsibility for MDC and its operations under the guidance of the Board of Directors, Ruth was the company's first empolyee in 1993 and her initial role was to oversee the building of the Phase I business centre.

Ruth was brought up in the local area and holds a BSC (Hons) Degree in Social Sciences and BTEC diploma in Business Studies.

Alex Davies - Operations/Development Manager

Alex is responsible for the day to day management of Alison Business Centre and acts as on-line manager for all staff in the Business Services Department. Her role also incorporates the research and development of new revenue streams and she acts as Project Manager for a number of initiatives within MDC.

Living locally, Alex started her employment with MDC as part time receptionist in 1995 following training at local training provider, MaTReC. She has since progressed through MDC in a number of different roles to her current position.

In order to bring new skills to the MDC team, Alex is undertaking a part time degree course in Community Research, Regenrations and Policy.

Email: alex@mdcltd.org.uk