Archbishop Bernard Longley is delighted to announce that two new Trustees have been appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Birmingham Diocesan Trust (Archdiocese of Birmingham). Ms Jacqui Francis and Professor Deirdre Kelly have joined the Board of Trustees from April.

The appointments come after Bishop Robert Byrne and Matthew Weaver step down from the Board.

The Birmingham Diocesan Trust currently has 11 trustees consisting of clergy, religious and lay trustees.

Jacqui Francis runs her own consultancy AdinaMay, providing a range of specialist recruitment services. She brings a constructive external perspective to senior recruitment campaigns for ministerial appointments, executive and non-executive roles and membership of regulators and expert bodies.

Jacqui is a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission recruitment panels and she serves on the Bar Standards Board, Independent Appointments Panel. Locally she is a Citizen Member of Birmingham City Council - Independent Remuneration Panel. Jacqui is a previous ministerial appointee Lay Adviser on the West Midlands Strategic Management Board responsible for public protection arrangements.

Outside of work, Jacqui is a volunteer at PAUSE a mental health drop-in centre for young people.

Jacqui said “I'm honoured to play my part in serving the Diocese, supporting the clergy and bringing a lay perspective.”

Professor Deirdre Kelly is the Founding Director of the Liver Unit, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Professor of Paediatric Hepatology at the University of Birmingham. She has extensive Board and Charity Trustee experience as an executive and a non-executive in healthcare, professional, voluntary and civic settings.

Deirdre continues to work as a paediatrician and is on the Council of the General Medical Council and a Trustee of Breast Cancer UK. She is married to Sir Ian Byatt and has two sons and three grandchildren.

Deirdre said: “I am pleased to become a Trustee of the Archdiocese and look forward to working with them to achieve their mission.”

Archbishop Bernard Longley said: “We are delighted to welcome Jacqui Francis and Deirdre Kelly to the Board of Trustees. Their extensive experience and different skillsets will be of great benefit to the Archdiocese and we hope they will approach diocesan issues with rigour as true critical friends.  I am grateful that they are also involved in the life and mission of local parishes.

“The diocesan trustees would like to thank outgoing trustees Bishop Robert Byrne and Matthew Weaver for their great support of the Archdiocese during their term of service.”