Our team

Kate Burgess

Kate Burgess is Strategic Education & Research Lead for Lancashire & South Cumbria Hospices Together.

She has been a commissioner with Lancashire County Council and Clinical Commissioning Groups, and has been involved in end-of-life care for 15 years.

Kate, who hails from Adlington, said: “I’m very interested in both a personal and professional capacity in the work which is being done to widen access of palliative and end-of-life care in our area.

“My dad was cared for by St Catherine’s; it’s our community’s hospice and I really believe in the charity’s values and the difference it makes to local families.

“I’m particularly passionate about helping older people and those with dementia to access palliative care, and I’m very interested in the Compassionate Communities project which St Catherine’s is developing.”

Kate sits on the St Catherine’s Patient Care, and Knowledge Exchange Committees, and the Patients & Families Sub-Committee.

Yaseer Ahmed

Yaseer is the Director of Strategy, HR, Organisational Development and Marketing at Roccia tiles, bathrooms and kitchens, and also sits on the Board of Trustees for the British Red Cross.

With expertise in entrepreneurship, marketing and brand development, promoting equality, diversity & inclusion, Yaseer is passionate about emotional, cultural and social intelligence, people development, spirituality and in particular well-being.

With 30 years’ worth of professional experience, spanning the private, public and social sectors together with volunteer work in the charity sector, Yaseer believes through inclusive and effective collaboration, there is absolutely no challenge too difficult to overcome.

Yaseer’s values include love, trust, integrity, well-being, making a difference, meaningful engagement, diversity and inclusion, resilience, continuous learning, and leadership.

Yaseer is married with six amazing children which keep him healthy and active.

At St Catherine’s, he sits on the People, EDI & Governance Committee, and the Communications & Engagement Committee.

Peter Franks

Peter Franks has more than 44 years’ business experience in many roles within the food retail sector, starting his career as a van salesman for Unigate Foods. His last 16 years were as Managing Director of Dr. Oetker (UK) Limited; he launched the business in the UK in 2002, building a multi-million pound, brandleading company, employing over 500 people at two sites in Leeds and Leyland.

Peter oversaw a ten year re-development of the Leyland site, upgrading and refurbishing the total site. He was responsible for sales, marketing, category management in Leeds; and manufacturing at the Leyland site. He was also responsible for the business development in the Republic of Ireland and served on several strategic international boards.

Since his retirement, he has been spending more time with his family and enjoys walking and cycling; he is a keen Blackpool FC fan and has a passion for all types of music.

He said: “I was delighted and proud to be asked to join the St Catherine’s team; I am aware of the importance of the hospice to the Central Lancashire community and the amazing work of the staff and volunteers there.  I hope I can utilise my business experience to make a difference and add value enabling St Catherine’s to carry on serving the community into the future so positively.”

Peter sits on the hospice’s Income & Business, and Communications & Engagement Committees.

Gill Bardin

Gillian currently holds a Non-Executive Director position with a franchise business, is Vice Chair of Governors at Burnley College and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University. Prior to these roles she was Managing Director of a Preston based Financial Services Group where her key responsibility was the strategic direction of the business until its sale to an AIM-Listed plc.

Gillian is a Chartered Accountant and a former President of ICAEW Lancashire and South Lakeland.

She said “My Dad was cared for by the hospice and the last few weeks of his life were truly memorable due to the nursing, care and laughter he enjoyed at St Catherine’s. I understand what a very special place St Catherine’s Hospice is and I am delighted to be joining the Board of Trustees and using my skills and experience to support the Hospice in continuing to provide its services to our community.”

Gillian is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

Michael Lough

Michael is co-owner and Director of software company Blue Wren, where he specialises in business operational efficiency, process improvement, and sales and marketing.

Originally from Adelaide, Australia, Michael has made Preston his home, where he is proud to live and work with his wife and two daughters. However, his sporting loyalties remain firmly with Australia. Michael first joined St Catherine’s Hospice as a trustee in 2015, serving for nine years before stepping back.

After a 12-month secondment to the board, he has now returned as a full trustee. Over this time, he has witnessed the hospice’s resilience and innovation in responding to challenges, particularly around generating income while remaining at the heart of the community.

He currently chairs the Income and Business Committee and sits on the IT and Data Committee.

Tim Frier

Tim Frier, Head of Communications at Star Academies, sits on the hospice’s Income & Business, and Communications & Engagement committees. One of his key focuses is offering insight and advice on the direction and delivery of the organisation’s communications strategy.

Tim has more than 15 years’ experience in marketing and communications across a range of sectors, including housing and education.

A chartered marketer and UCLan journalism graduate, Tim is excited to serve on the board at such an important time in the development of the charity’s marketing and communications activities.

Tim said: “St Catherine’s plays such an important role in the Central Lancashire community by providing invaluable care. It can only do so thanks to the generosity of its wonderful supporters, and I am proud to be part of the dedicated team which really makes a difference to local people.

“Marketing and communications are fundamental to any organisation’s success, but particularly for a charity which is so dependent on its strong reputation and ongoing public support. It is an exciting time for St Catherine’s as they work to deliver their ambitious communications and engagement strategy, and I am pleased to work with them to maximise its potential to deliver the best outcomes for the charity and the people it serves.”

Professor Rob Aspin

Professor Rob Aspin is an Associate Dean and Head of Computing in the School of Engineering and Computing at the University of Central Lancashire. Current activity is split between strategic leadership of the computing subject domain and activity related to the development of the Cyber, AI, and wider Digital eco-system across Lancashire and the wider North West. In this he sits on various boards and committees including the Lancashire Cyber Partnership (LCP), Northwest Cyber Corridor group, NW Regional Defence and Security Cluster, GMCA Cyber Advisory Group (CAG)  and is a governance board member for the NW Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC). He is a CI on the North West Cyber Comm project and was an organizer for the Lancashire Cyber Festival (2023), with additional funding granted for the development of the Lancashire cyber eco-system and novel immersive display systems to support data visualisation for cyber and security systems.

Professor Rob sits on the St Catherine’s Knowledge Exchange and IT & Data Management Committee.