Archives: Team Members

Ruth Crossley

Meet Ruth Crossley, Finance Manager at Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Proudly residing in the vibrant town of Huddersfield, Ruth became an invaluable member of our YAA team in November 2020. It’s worth noting that Ruth’s journey began amidst the challenges of the second Covid-19 lockdown, which meant she didn’t have the chance to meet her YAA colleagues face-to-face for a remarkable six months!

Initially joining as a Finance Officer responsible for Purchase Ledger, In July 2021, Ruth was rightfully promoted to the position of Finance Manager, working closely with our Finance Director, spearheading Month End accounts and overseeing the rest of our talented finance team.

Speaking of why she loves working for YAA, Ruth said, “Working for YAA not only allows me to pursue what I love but also provides me with a profound sense of fulfilment, knowing that I am contributing to supporting our lifesaving missions across Yorkshire.”

Outside the realm of finance, Ruth embraces the joyful busyness of her life as a mother to three beautiful children. Creating cherished memories with her family is a top priority. Additionally, Ruth finds excitement in attending concerts, immersing herself in the electrifying atmosphere alongside her family and friends. She takes great delight in sharing her passion for music with her two older children, who now accompany her to many of these gigs!

Interestingly, Ruth once owned her own wedding stationery business. From designing and handcrafting wedding stationery to dressing the wedding venues, Ruth played a crucial role in making couples’ special days truly memorable.

Laura Wilson

Laura joined Yorkshire Air Ambulance in 2021 as HR Manager. She has a degree in Psychology and Human Resources Management and is CIPD qualified. Laura has worked in a variety of HR roles within a variety of sectors during her career – housing, utilities, financial services, and construction.

Working in the charity sector for such a worthwhile cause is something Laura had always wanted to do and she enjoys the variety of work and interacting with the wider YAA team on a daily basis.

Laura has two young children who keep her very busy – a son who loves skateboarding and a daughter who enjoys ballroom dancing. She enjoys cooking, travel, fitness and spending time with her family and friends.

 

Mark Jones

Mark is a solicitor and partner at Yorkshire law firm Gordons LLP. He leads the food and drink sector at the firm and specialises in commercial disputes, data, and rare asset disputes.

Most of Mark’s time is spent advising listed or large privately owned businesses on challenging issues that they face from disputes with suppliers, regulators and how to avoid such situations entirely. That support regularly includes acting for his clients in High Court Proceedings and other forms of dispute resolution.

In addition to advising businesses in private practice, since qualifying as a solicitor Mark has spent time working in-house for businesses like Morrisons and Iceland.

Mark joined the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Board of Trustees in July 2021 to provide support, primarily on legal matters.

Mark is married to Rachel and they live in Huby, between Otley and Harrogate.

Gemma Richmond

Gemma joined the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in 2002 as a Technician and worked at Menston Ambulance Station as an AEMT (Advanced Emergency Medical Technician) until she was offered a position at HART, Yorkshire’s Hazardous Area Response Team. It was there she completed her Paramedic training and remained on the unit for eight years before joining YAA.

Gemma said: “I really wanted the opportunity to experience life as a HEMS paramedic. I spent eight years working across Yorkshire providing a HART response so now is a really exciting opportunity to provide a similar response but arriving to the emergency in a completely different way and providing my patients with a wider variety of clinical skills. I am really looking forward to working alongside the Doctors, providing a critical care response to the patients in the greatest need and hopefully learning a huge amount from the Doctors’ experience in pre-hospital care.”

Kevin Hynes

Kevin has been a Trustee since 2004 and now has responsibility for oversight of the Charity’s Aviation and Operational activities, working closely with Steve Waudby (Director of Aviation) and Neale Jacobs (Director of Operations).

Professionally, Kevin is now retired but his early career was in the motor industry and subsequently the banking sector, specialising in business delivery methods, regulatory risk, and colleague engagement. Before retiring to focus on Yorkshire Air Ambulance and being a Parish Councillor, Kevin owned a property management and sales business in Leeds.

Kevin lives in the East Riding of Yorkshire on the glorious Yorkshire Wolds with his wife Jan. He has a keen interest in motorsports and archery, together with regular travel experiences.

James Eastwood

From a background in engineering, James has been the Group IT Director of Renew Holdings since 2002, responsible for the provision of IT/IS throughout the transformation of the holding company from YJL/Montpellier (construction/property/investments) to Renew Holdings (providing multi discipline engineering services).

James initially became involved with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in 2016 advising on the upgrade of the charity’s computer systems. He then become a Trustee in 2017 and provides advise to the charity on Information Technology.

James is married to Nikki with two (nearly) grown up children and lives in Leeds.

Dr Judith Parker

Judith became a Trustee for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) in 2016 and is a retired GP, having worked in General Practice in Huddersfield for 26 years. During this time she also had a variety of senior clinical management roles and was active in delivering post-graduate education to all grades of frontline health professionals.

Judith enjoys her role in the charity, liaising with The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and members of the Critical Care Team.

Judith was born and educated in York before attending Leeds Medical School where she met her husband, who was also a GP. They have two grown up children and continue to live in Huddersfield.

Richard Marsh

Richard is a Chartered Accountant with over 35 years’ experience of professional practice in South Yorkshire. Until his retirement in 2018 he was a partner in Hawsons Chartered Accountants, a firm he joined in 1986.

Richard has been a Trustee in a number of charities since 1993 and joined the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in 2020.

Richard lives near Wetherby in West Yorkshire and is married with a daughter and a step daughter.

Percy Pilot

Percy joined the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in the summer of 2017 as a Pilot Mascot and has been working hard for us ever since. Attending a huge number of events and helping our fundraisers to tell as many people as possible about the work that we do saving lives across Yorkshire.

Percy is often joined by his colleague and good friend Polly Paramedic but sometimes you will see him at events with Polly, who may be attending another event at the same time.

Together with Polly, Percy took part in the 2019 Race for Jo – Mascot Race at Oakwell Country park on 23rd June 2019. It was a hot, sunny day but Polly and Percy did their very best. They may not have finished first but this race was definitely about the taking part and about meeting lots of other mascots from other charities and sports clubs. These included Ronnie the Rhino from Leeds Rhinos and Roger Ram from Dewsbury Rams RLFC.

Image of Percy and Polly with the medals after the 2019 Run for Jo Mascots' Race

If you would like to talk to us about Percy attending an event you are organising please contact your local fundraiser. You can find their details here.