Bishop Richard was born in Chingola, Zambia in July 1958. He was brought up in Kent and after leaving The Judd School, Tonbridge, began formation at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. He was ordained a Priest on 3rd July 1982.

He served as assistant priest at St Bede’s, Clapham Park before pursing studies in Canon Law at St Paul University, Ottawa. In 1987 he was appointed assistant priest at St Saviour’s, Lewisham, during which time he also served as a Territorial Army Chaplain with 217 General Hospital RAMC(V).

He was Private Secretary to Archbishop Michael Bowen from 1992 - 2001, during which time he was also President of the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Second Instance of Southwark and Vocations Director. In 2001 he was appointed Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese.

In September 2009 he was appointed Bishop of the Armed Forces by Pope Benedict XVI. He is Chair of Governors at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, Liaison Bishop both for Prisons and for the National Catholic Scout Fellowship and holds a brief on Mental Health on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

In March 2015 he was announced as the 5th Bishop of the diocese of Arundel & Brighton and was installed at Arundel Cathedral on 28 May 2015.

Bishop Richard has been a Benedictine Oblate for over 30 years and is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, with whom he has travelled many times to the Holy Land. He enjoys horse riding and walking. He became the chair of the CPT in 2022, replacing Cardinal Vincent Nichols.

Bishop Paul leads the Office of Migration Policy, a section of the International Department for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. It was in this capacity that he was invited to be a Trustee of the Charles Plater Trust. As an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster with responsibility for Caritas, which is dedicated to social justice and the implementation of Catholic Social Teaching, there is an overlap with Bishop Paul's work at the Bishops’ Conference.

Both roles demand that one operates from the perspective of promoting and advancing the dignity of all. A defining aspect of the Plater Trust is the desire to develop social justice through education. It is this thread of Catholic Social Teaching and how it can be furthered in ways that make a difference to the lives of individuals which led to his position on the Board.

Bishop Peter was born in South Wales and educated in local Catholic schools. He briefly explored a career in teaching before commencing seminary formation at the Royal English College, Valladolid, Spain. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Cardiff on the 14^th July 1984.

Alongside his pastoral responsibilities, he served in a number of diocesan roles including: 12 years as Chair of the Education Commission; 10 years as Director of the Diaconate and 28 years in various safeguarding roles. He was appointed to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2004 and became a member of the Metropolitan Chapter of Canons in 2006.

The Holy Father appointed Canon Peter as the Fifth Bishop of East Anglia in 2022, with his episcopal ordination taking place in at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Norwich. Within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Peter serves as representative on the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission and on the English and Welsh Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee.

Brian is currently the Head of Credit Product Policy & Appetite for NatWest Holdings, responsible for wholesale risk appetite and policy framework across NatWest Holdings and its subsidiaries.

With over 35 years in banking and finance, he has broad leadership experience in risk management and project management – including transformation projects post the take-over of ABN Amro by RBS and the take-over of NatWest by RBS.

He views Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as a guide to how individuals and society might respond and engage with issues such as homelessness, poverty and the poor, domestic violence, climate change and the marginalised. The work of The Trust and its grant making resonates with his motivation to search for social justice/social reform.

Oliver has spent more than 15 years in the Investment Management industry in a variety of roles, including working in the CIO Office of Julius Baer, launching an online wealth management platform, and managing portfolios for several high-profile charities and foundations.

Away from work, he is currently Treasurer of his local nursery school and governor of his local primary school, Balcombe CofE. He wanted to be a trustee for CPT because he knows from this first-hand experience how important grants are to small local institutions.

Michael is an economist and was Head of the International Department of the Trades Union Congress when the TUC played a leading part in supporting trade union organisations in Southern Africa and Poland, and were crucial agents of a peaceful transition to democratic political systems.

He was a member of the Governing Body of Plater College Oxford and has served as a member of the Grant Making Body of the Charles Plater Trust since 2007, and as a trustee since December 2017. He is a volunteer for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and a board member of other charities seeking to meet urgent community need in Britain and overseas.

Originally a teacher, Andy spent many years in special education and social care. He subsequently led charities providing for children and young people, older people and the homeless.

He has over 30 years experience as a trustee and chair. In recent years he has acted as a consultant to several voluntary organisations advising on governance and management. He joined CPT as a committee member in 2019; was interim manager pro bono in 2021 and became a trustee in 2021. He now chairs CPT's finance committee.

Laura has worked in third-sector research and communications for a number of years and is currently Head of Communications for the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton. She is digitally focused and highly experienced in identifying and maximizing opportunities to share the Church’s story and promote Catholic Social Teaching across a range of on and offline channels. Laura has collaborated on a wide range of social action initiatives as part of her current role raising awareness of homelessness, food poverty, modern slavery, climate change, and the global refugee crisis. She enjoys working with people of all ages and backgrounds and looks forward to building positive, supportive partnerships with people and organisations across The Plater Trust community.

Matt has spent most of his professional life in journalism, digital consultancy and corporate communications, most recently as Head of Editorial & Content for Vodafone UK. Prior to that he worked for the BBC and has contributed to most national newspapers. His voluntary work includes campaigning with Citizens UK for the London Living Wage, eight years as a school governor in Greenwich, as well as chairing school and local community groups. Fuelled by a passion for social justice, he hopes to use his comms skills to bring the inspirational work of the many charities CPT supports to a wider audience.

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Philippa worked in the UK social action voluntary sector for 20 years. She was Director of Fundraising for Depaul UK in its early days, CEO of FSU, a national social work organisation and Director of CSAN. After retiring in 2010 she lived in France for 8 years and served on the board of Depaul France.

During her working life, Philippa was a trustee of Children England, and also served as Chair of governors of a local authority special needs school, as a governor of a Catholic secondary school, and a governor of two independent schools.

Since her return to London in 2018 Philippa has acted as a consultant on governance for a number of charities, and was a trustee of FARA, a charity working with disadvantaged children and families in Romania. She is currently a trustee and Chair of St Vincent’s Family Project , a small family support charity based in Westminster. In that capacity Philippa is a member of the Daughters of Charity Services Group.