Governance

Bishop Richard Moth

Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
Diocese and Chair of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference Social Justice Department.

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

He served as assistant priest at St. 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 served as Private Secretary to Archbishop Michael Bowen from 1992 until 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 Jan 2022, replacing Cardinal Vincent Nichols.”

Bishop Paul McAleenan

Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster

I lead the Office of Migration Policy on the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. OMP is a section of the International Department. It was in this capacity that I 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 my work on 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 my position on the Board.

Brian Mooney

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 Smith

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 Walsh

Michael is an economist who 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 where these union organisations 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 and a board member of other charities seeking to meet urgent community needs in Britain and overseas.

Cathy Corcoran OBE

Cathy was the CEO of the Cardinal Hume Centre in Westminster until 2018. The Centre works with homeless young people, families in need, refugees and migrants, helping them access the support that they need to overcome the barriers facing them.

Prior to that, Cathy worked for CAFOD for 25 years, latterly as International Director, responsible for a multi-million pound budget for development programmes and emergency response across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Cathy is currently a Trustee of Pact (Prison Advice and Care Trust) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

Richard Hopper

Richard began his career as a Merchant Navy officer and operations management in the shipping industry. More recently, Richard brings cross sector experience leading. organisational change in the public, private and charitable sectors for the last 20 years. He works with several Catholic organisations, helping them focus and develop their practice and organisational culture.

He was a Trustee of the Cardinal Hume Centre for 9 years and Charles Plater Trust for 4 years. He is deeply committed to translating Catholic Social Teaching into practice and is excited by the potential that funding from the Charles Plater Trust can support at local level to make lasting impact.

Andrew Haines

Originally a teacher, Andy spent many years in special education and social care. He subsequently led charities providing for children & 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 Dec 2021. He now chairs CPT's finance committee.

Steve Hargrave

Steve has over 30 years’ experience in social care, including operational and strategic management both in the statutory and voluntary sectors, as a social worker, service manager and chief executive officer of faith-based registered charities.  He is also an experienced Chair of Local Authority Fostering, Adoption and Permanence Panels.

Steve is the Chair of Trustees and Company Secretary of The House of Light (Leeds), a charity which provides residential care and support for people with learning and physical disabilities, and a member of a Local Authority Fostering Panel.

Throughout his career, Steve has seen how the implementation of Catholic Social Teaching can make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people and believes that the Plater Trust can make a significant contribution to supporting the Common Good through direct interventions for individuals and communities who are experiencing the impact of loss, poverty and / or disadvantage.

Laura Maydew-Gale

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.