Management and Governance

Disability Sheffield CIL has a management committee of Trustees who all have personal experience of disability and the barriers that disabled people face in society. Our Trustees are committed to the concept of a social model of disability and a rights-based approach to services and public policy. They are accountable to both Companies House and the Charity Commission and ensure that Disability Sheffield CIL has systems in place to protect the interests of the organisation and its members.

Darren Lee – Chair

Darren Lee is Sheffield born and bred and is a Sheffield Wednesday supporter for his sins. Darren is a member of the British Institute of League of Learning Disabilities, and sits on Inclusion North’s Advisory Council.

Darren has been a volunteer quality checker at the Northern General Hospital and an advisor at the Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU).

Darren is a Disability Representative at the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board

Darren is a good listener, loves animals , enjoys walking locally and likes listening to music particularly from the eighties.

Matthew Gibson – Honorary Treasurer

Matt is an international tax and treasury partner with the world’s leading professional services firm PwC. He first became involved with Disability Sheffield through PwC’s Responsible Leaders Program, spending 4 weeks working with the organisation on a program run by the firm in conjunction with Common Purpose. He was so impressed by the organisation and their work in Sheffield, that he volunteered to take on the role of Treasurer in February 2015.

Matt is a chartered tax advisor, holds an Executive Master of Business Administration in International Business jointly awarded by Bristol University’s Graduate Business School and École Nationale Des Ponts et Chaussée (Paris).

He is the Finance Partner and Risk Partner and is a member of the leadership for his team in PwC London (London Region – Private Client/ Private Business). He was previously the People Partner for a team in PwC’s North East region with overall responsibility for human resources for 300 people. He is very familiar with governance and risk management procedures. In his work, he has advised a number of leading international charities and charitable foundations on how to structure and operate across borders.

Outside of work Matt enjoys listening to and playing music (he plays bass in Leeds indie band Spring). He also enjoys cooking (and eating!), reading, watching movies but most of all he loves spending time with his son, Nathan.

John Fuller – Trustee

As a Senior Civil Servant with a career starting in the private sector in HR, I worked in strategic posts on skills and qualifications in the Department for Education, on disability employment programmes in the DWP, on the Life Chances team in the Cabinet Office, and lastly Strategy Director at the (now tragically abolished) Independent Living Fund.

My career took me through personnel management, training and development, skills and qualifications policy, administration and reform of the national training system, the European training system, age discrimination and disability reform. I advised on reform of Incapacity Benefit, into work programmes, health and rehabilitation, and the creation of the Office for Disability Issues (ODI).

Since leaving full time employment I have held non executive board roles at a number of national and local charities, alongside parenting teens, rock bands, choir, allotment, running and cycling.

Emmanuela Banda – Trustee

Emmanuela (Emma) Banda, a 24-year-old native of Sheffield, is a passionate advocate and champion for young individuals facing invisible illnesses and disabilities. At the age of 19, Emmanuela received a life-altering diagnosis of Lupus, which propelled her into a journey of understanding and advocating for those grappling with similar challenges.

Her firsthand experience with the complexities of living with a chronic condition in a society often geared towards quick recovery has fueled her commitment to fostering awareness, support, and inclusivity for individuals with disabilities.

Outside of her advocacy work, Emmanuela finds solace and joy in simple pleasures. She enjoys leisurely walks, delving into captivating reads, and indulging her passion for collecting perfumes.

Stephanie Hannam-Swain – Trustee

Steph is a Senior Lecturer working at the Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University. She is passionate about instilling the principles of the social model of disability into her students, many of whom go on to work with disabled children or adults. Alongside this she is in the end stages of completing her PhD which looks at Disabled people and Self-harm from a disability studies perspective. Previously Steph has worked in the insurance industry and held a number of voluntary roles including at the Samaritans, Stop Hate UK and as an Appropriate adult.

In her spare time she loves to spend time at home with her family, including her dog. She likes to eat out, read, cross-stitch, go to the theatre and relax in front of the TV (especially cooking programmes such as MasterChef Australia).

Robert Smith

Robert is a postgraduate student with an MA in Global Justice. He is on the autism spectrum and cares for his mother who is also on the spectrum and has fibromyalgia and CFS. He runs a group at the Curzon which is open to anyone on the autism spectrum.

He likes to blog about issues relating to autism and his own experiences in navigating the neurotypical world as well as political and psychological insights about society that question the common-sense notions of the world. He also enjoys to go on walks in the South Yorkshire area, creating music, gardening, attending board gaming socials and other autism related social events in the A-team.