Meet the team

Meet Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire’s team of dedicated Volunteers, Staff and Trustees. We’re based in Yate and run drop-in sessions around South Gloucestershire.

Volunteers

Mary-Anne

Disability Benefits Adviser and Generalist Adviser

Mary-Anne Darlow

Mary-Anne has been with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire for over five years. She is a Generalist Adviser and also helps clients complete forms for claiming benefits. For many years she worked in the health service.

Janet

Disability Benefits Adviser and Generalist Adviser

Janet has been a volunteer at Citizens Advice for more than 10 years. She is a benefits and generalist adviser. She helps people to claim benefits, and appeal decisions where necessary. She also gives advice on whatever issues our clients have. She is a former research chemist and science teacher.

Janet has been a volunteer at Citizens Advice for more than ten years. She is a Benefits and Generalist Adviser. She helps people to claim benefits, and appeal decisions where necessary. She also gives advice on whatever issues our clients have. She is a former research chemist and science teacher.

Jacky

Disability Benefits Adviser and Generalist Adviser

Jacky

Jacky started volunteering with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire in late 2022. She is a Generalist Adviser and also helps people who are applying for health-related benefits, putting to good use her 20 years of experience working in the NHS.

Bella

Receptionist

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Bella has been with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire since May 2024, volunteering as a Receptionist. Her role is to serve as the first point of contact for clients during drop-in sessions. She instructs clients to complete the necessary forms, registers their information in Casebook, and directs enquiries to the supervisor.

Phyllida

Generalist Adviser

Phyllida

Phyllida has been an advisor with Citizens Advice for 2 years, covering the drop-in sessions and the Citizens Advice telephone help line. Before joining, she worked in public health.

Robert

Carbon Monoxide Adviser and Receptionist

Robert
Robert is a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Adviser and Receptionist, meaning he both gives advice and supports other Advisers. The CO advice involves him advising clients about CO, then ordering clients a free-of-charge CO alarm. On reception, he meets and greets, registers and answers questions for clients, also providing auxiliary admin assistance for the operations of Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire. He joined in August 2024.

Akinyemi Abibu

Generalist Adviser

Akinyemi

Akinyemi Abibu joined Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire as a trainee Generalist Adviser in January 2025. He has a background spanning many years in Nigeria as an administrator and academic, and holds a Master’s degree in Employment Work and Equality Law from the University of Bristol.

Staff

Chantal Watts

Chief Executive Officer

Chantal Watts

I have worked for the organisation of Citizens Advice for 24 years . I started as a Volunteer and progressed to a Welfare Benefit Adviser undertaking general and disability forms along with assisting clients with their appeals and tribunal representations. I joined the team at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire 16 years ago as a Supervisor and then progressed to Operations Manager. I have now been CEO for the past 9 years after the retirement of my predecessor. I have seen many changes over the years I have been with the organisation and hope I have had a positive impact on the lives of our clients.

Amanda Wood

Finance & Admin Manager

Amanda is our Finance & Admin Manager. Her role is wide ranging but is primarily responsible for dealing with Finance; HR & IT along with all other back office support. She has a wealth of experience having been with the organisation for 25 years.

Amanda is our Finance & Admin Manager. Her role is wide ranging but is primarily responsible for dealing with Finance, HR & IT along with all other back office support. She has a wealth of experience having been with the organisation for 25 years.

Rebecca Brown

Development Manager

Rebecca Brown
Becky is our Development Manager, leading on strategy, income generation and communications. Her work is focused on demonstrating impact to articulate how we solve problems for local people and securing the funding needed to deliver and develop our advice services. Before joining us in 2016, Becky led a charity based in the South Wales valleys. She’s been working at a senior level in the voluntary sector for the last 15 years and has a wealth of experience in strategic leadership, bid-writing and project management.

Emmanuelle

Lead Supervisor

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Eliza

Debt Team Manager

Eliza Hirst

Eliza is the Debt Team Manager at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire. She leads our specialist debt team of four caseworkers and oversees the When Advice Really Matters (WARM) and Ingeus projects, to ensure clients receive high-quality advice and support. Alongside her management role, she provides debt casework, helping clients work towards financial stability. Eliza also provides generalist advice at community outreach sessions.

Iestyn

Supervisor

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Yvonne Parks

Specialist Debt Adviser

Yvonne

Yvonne is in the debt team and has been a Specialist Debt Adviser for over 30 years. She started in private practice in 1995 after studying law and specialised in debt and housing law and has been at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire for 12 years. She provides specialist debt advice including debt casework and advocacy. Before going into law and debt advice she worked as a freelance artist in Spain.

India

When Advice Really Matters (WARM) Project Adviser

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Julien

Ingeus Project Adviser

Julien has been with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire for more than three years. He currently works on the Ingeus project giving finance, debt and benefits advise to people on probation. He has previously worked on the Help to Claim team and as a benefits adviser at a different charity in Bristol. In his spare time Julien is a big fan of 1.FC Union Berlin and also of Bruce Springsteen. 

Em Wright

Help To Claim Adviser

Em

Em joined the team in November 2025 and helps people nationally to apply for Universal Credit up until their first payment. They previously volunteered at another advice centre and worked in several campaigning organisations in Bristol and the UK.

Sarah MacFarlane

Help To Claim Adviser

Sarah M

Sarah has been working with the Help to Claim team at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire since August 2023. Previously, she worked at both Citizens Advice Bristol and Citizens Advice North & West Gloucestershire in their Help to Claim teams. She started volunteering at Citizens Advice Bristol in 2011, working in Reception and completing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) forms.

Ed Phillis

Help To Claim Adviser

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Ed’s role involves helping clients navigate the Universal Credit system and manage claims. He joined Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire in November 2024. He worked as a web developer for 15 years for a number of charities in Bristol and in Sweden.

Mark Cardwell

Communications and Campaigns Officer

Mark is Communications Officer with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire. He has responsibility for publicising and promoting the vital work we do as well as maintaining strong internal communications. Mark is a former reporter and is keen to continue building valuable relationships between our charity and local media.

Mark is Communications and Campaigns Officer with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire. He has responsibility for publicising and promoting the vital work we do as well as maintaining strong internal communications and leading on research and campaigns for the charity. Mark is a former reporter and is keen to continue building valuable relationships between our charity and local media.

Trustees

John-Paul Corry

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Our Chair of Trustees, J-P Corry

John-Paul is a seasoned professional with 30 years of experience in growing international industrial businesses. With a focus on helping organizations to develop and grow, J-P is passionate about creating happier, healthier, and more effective work environments. As our Chair, J-P aims to provide energy, clarity, and meaningful impact in delivering our strategy.

Shaun Murphy

Trustee

Shaun Murphy

Shaun became a trustee in August 2024. He is committed to providing the best physical, financial and organisational environment for the staff to do their vital work. After a variety of scientific positions, he was a manager in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bristol before retirement.

Janet Blikmans

Trustee

Janet B
Janet joined the Board of this amazing charity in November 2024. Her relevant experience is in operational, senior and project management at Soil Association Certification Ltd. Before that she spent 15 years as a farm vet, mostly in the UK, after qualifying in her native The Netherlands.

Deborah Webb

Trustee

Debbie

Debbie joined the Board in 2024 following 38 years in Financial services, mainly focused on Risk and Programme Management. She is a great believer that everyone should be given opportunity and provided with the support they need to fulfil their potential and hopes to continue this quest as a trustee.

Tom Sharp

Treasurer

Tom

With over 25 years’ experience in finance, risk and audit roles (mostly in financial services), Tom joined as Treasurer in May 2025. He is passionate about supporting the incredible work of the charity and helping ensure the services continue to be available to everyone who needs them.

Joseph Kerkvliet

Trustee

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Geoffrey Williams

Trustee

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