I am SYLVIA LEIGH and I have spent many years serving the North East community in various capacities.  As a City Councillor I answered the queries of constituents, resolving problems liaising with the Council.  I served on several Committees, including Finance and Social Services. Through the latter Committee, I inspected residential homes for the elderly and remedial schools, becoming Governor at both Comprehensive and Junior schools. The latter brought me, as a Council representative, to Axwell Park, [Clavering House] Approved School, where I became Chairman.  During my tenure, I oversaw the sale of Clavering House, which became St. Nicholas Educational Trust, and, was ultimately responsible for guiding the Trustees in managing a fund of some £2,000,000, the interest of which goes to support local young people under the age of 25 from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their goals.
 

I was one of the founders of the Northumbria Speakers’ Club, which encouraged women to speak in public. I am founding Chairman of the Tyne and Wear Branch of the European Union of Women, a European-wide NGO, established in the North East since 1994. The Branch is flourishing, bringing in prominent speakers to lecture on subjects of importance. As a mature student, I took a degree at Northumbria University, and graduated in English, History and History of Ideas. If I have any spare time I enjoy a game of Bridge.

I hope that my experience and the knowledge I have gained through the years will be of value to the 
Elders Council.  I look forward to working with my fellow Trustees to make Newcastle a genuinely Age Friendly City.