Your Lieutenancy

Robert Bourns. Vice Lord-Lieutenant. Bristolian. Married- 4 fantastic adult children, a granddaughter and extraordinary wife. Solicitor- former Managing Partner and then Senior Partner of TLT Solicitors, a national firm employing c.1200 people across the UK, proudly headquartered in Bristol. I was President of The Law Society of England & Wales (2016/17) and am passionate about the power of diversity, showing individuals and communities what can be achieved and supporting them as they seize the opportunities open to them.

I am currently a governor of the Merchants Academy (Hartcliffe) and director of Friends of Room 13 (Hareclive) Limited and former Chair of the Quartet Community Foundation.

Sheila Wileman has been Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol since its inception in 1996.

She received an MVO in The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2015 – for services to the Bristol Lieutenancy.

A retired police officer who served for 30 years with the Avon and Somerset Constabulary. He remained there for a further 13 years as a member of police staff planning Royal and VIP visits.

I'm a listening volunteer with Bristol Samaritans. Within Samaritans I'm the South West Regional Volunteering Support officer, a Postvention advisor providing support following an unexplained death in a school, college or University and a Quality Mentor ensuring other branches are following policies, good practice and safeguarding.

Outside of Samaritans, I volunteer for Shout crisis text line and deliver several suicide intervention training programmes for LivingWorks, SFA and suicide awareness workshops for the local authorities.

I also support my husband Don in Cameron Balloons. We have seven amazing children and have four lovely grand-children.

David Constantine MBE is Founder Director of Motivation, a charity which sets up self-sustaining projects to improve the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities, mainly in developing countries. Working in collaboration with partner organisations, both international and national NGO’s, Motivation designs and provides wheelchairs specifically developed for the challenging environment they are needed in. Motivation also works to ensure that the wheelchairs are provided through trained wheelchair services and that disabled people have the best opportunity to be included in all aspects of life, receiving the equipment, training and support to be healthy, confident and active. Motivation has worked with the World Health Organization to help create global guidelines on the provision of wheelchairs in less resourced settings.

Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol in September 2014.

My two key community interests are in the environment and education. In environment I have been Chair of the cycling and walking charity Sustrans, the wildlife film charity Wildscreen, and the External Advisory Board of Bristol University’s Cabot Institute for the Environment. I am a Trustee of Avon Wildlife Trust and Chair of the environmental education centre Folly Farm.  In education I have been a member of the governing body of Bristol University and Chair of the Governors of Merchants’ Academy Withywood. As a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers I have high-level oversight of its family of schools, including the eight state-maintained Bristol schools in Venturers Trust. For 5 years until 2020 I was a member of Bristol’s Learning City Partnership Board. I am a Vice-President of Quartet Community Foundation and was one of its earliest Trustees. My career was as a lawyer and business leader. I am married to Kathy. We have three children and six grandchildren.

I was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant in July 2020.

Anne is a Trustee and Chairs The Nisbet Trust, which focusses on supporting Bristol charities working with disadvantaged children and young people, tackling racism, preventing homelessness and supporting arts and performance venues.  She is a Director of Keywest Holdings and Nisbets Plc.

Passionate about charitable causes in Greater Bristol, Anne is active in a number of local organisations through the Trust, including Bristol hospitals’ charity Above and Beyond and Chaired their Golden Gift Appeal 2012–2016. Anne has been on the Management Committee of the Cote Charity since 2007, which manages two care homes for the elderly in Bristol.

Alex became Strategic Director of Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) - a leading, regional hate crime charity – in 2014 having joined as their first caseworker in 1991 under the leadership of the founder Director the late Batook Pandya MBE DL.  Alex has gone on to be a driving force in SARI and its surrounding areas for tackling racism and hate crime; ensuring a best practice response by responsible agencies and ensuring that conflicts between and within communities are minimised so safety, security and cohesion is maintained for all. Alex is a trustee of the Learn @ Multi-Academy Trust (provides specialist education provision for children with communication barriers and alternative education for young people excluded from mainstream); is a member of the University of Bristol Court; was awarded an MBE in 2009 for her contribution to race relations; was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of West of England in 2019 and in November 2019 was announced as Bristol’s High Sheriff in Nomination (2022).  Crucially, as a dual heritage individual with 4 sons, Alex has first-hand experience of racism and running a busy, lively household.

Stephen Parsons read law at Leeds University and General Management at Bradford University, His business career was principally in Aerospace and Defence Companies He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol in June 2010 and was Master of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals between 2009 – 2010. He was Chair of the NSPCC Bristol Business Committee between 1998 and 2002, Chair of the Choral Foundation of Bristol Cathedral between 2002 and 2012. He was Chair of Quartet Community Foundation from May 2010 to October 2014. He was the Chair of The Social Enterprise Sector Group of the West of England LEP between 2010 and 2017 and more recently a board member of the WOE LEP West of England Investment Board. He was Chair of the Worshipful Company of Security Professional Charitable Trust between 2011 and 2015. Stephen is Chair of the following: The Cathedral Schools Trust, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, The Cathedral Primary School, The Fitzhardinge Society, Bristol Cathedral Trust. He is a Director of the Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust and the Diocese of Bristol Academies Company. He is a Board Member of the United Kingdom Community Foundations, Nuclear South West and the Bristol Initiative. Stephen is a member of the Standing Committee and actively participates in Merchant Venturers Committees including the Care of the Elderly Charity, the Charity Committee, and the Heritage Committee. He is a Canon of the College of Canons of the Diocese of Bristol. He was awarded an MBE on 31/12/2014.

Richard is the Chief Executive of the Anchor Society, a grant making charity serving older people in the greater Bristol region and chair of Bristol and Bath Regional Capital, a social investment Community Interest Company.   Prior to this he established a number of charities including Changing Tunes, Emmaus Bristol and The Beacon Centre, Cardiff.  Richard is an ordained minister in the Church of England. 

Richard was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours 2009. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol in June 2010.

Aroona Smith is wife to Steven, mother to Aysha and Natalie and grandmother to Louana and Anaya. She worked in the voluntary sector for 30 years. Much of her work involved setting up skills and building employment opportunities for disadvantaged women.  Now retired.

Currently Trustee of the New Room [John Wesley’s Chapel] and Steward at Totterdown Methodist Church. Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant in March 2004, she received an MBE in the Birthday Honours 2005.

Meg moved to Bristol in 1970 aged 18 to undertake State Registered Nurse training and became a Staff Nurse followed by a Ward Sister.  Marriage and motherhood progressed and Meg dedicated her professional life to charity work, and projects in the community. In 1985 Meg was appointed as a JP which opened her eyes to various areas of life in Bristol that needed support. Her passions included Bristol Drugs Project, as a trustee for ten years, where she honed her skills at raising significant amounts of money to help fund its services. In 1992 Meg became a trustee of the St Monica trust for 14 years. Meg became a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of HMP Leyhill and HMP YOI  Ashfield, positions which she held for 20 years. This led Meg to become a founder Trustee of Making the Change, a halfway house for children leaving HMP Ashfield. In 2002 Meg became a Deputy Lieutenant and very much enjoys participating in citizenship ceremonies and helping the Lord Lieutenant when necessary. Meg was awarded the medal of the League of Mercy in 2002 and became a trustee in 2006. She takes great pleasure in awarding the League of Mercy medal to exceptional volunteers. Meg was recognised for her voluntary work in 2010 when she was awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours list. Currently Meg is a trustee of the Nepali Children’s Trust, a charity she helped to found in 2005. In her spare time, Meg enjoys looking after her house and garden and loves entertaining friends and family. In recent months, Meg has had the joy of becoming a grandmother, which she adores.

I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 1976, with a BSc in Human Biology, followed by an MSc in Animal Nutrition from Aberdeen University.  Having worked at the Medical Research Council Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford, I came to Bristol in 1985 to do a PGCE.  In 1994 I obtained a PhD in Clinical Veterinary Medicine and then changed career to be a Chartered Financial Planner.  I was in the Reserve Army for 35 years, a great deal of it at Bristol University Officers Training Corps, and I was on the staff of the Army Officer Selection Board at Westbury.  In August 2009 I became the first woman to command the Bristol City and County Army Cadet Force, a youth organisation staffed mainly by volunteers. I keep in contact with Bristol University by sitting on a number of Committees, including the Wills Hall Association, the Knowlson Trust and Convocation. I live in Bristol and I am Chairman of the Army Benevolent Fund.

Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol in September  2014.

Lee was born and educated in Bristol and is married to Susan with two daughters Aimee and Lucy.  Lee has had a lifetime's involvement with the Bristol Voluntary Youth Sector initially through his association with community based Youth Clubs and now through his role at Young Bristol.  Lee worked for many years in the private sector in various roles.  A career change saw him join Young Bristol in 2002, becoming its Chief Executive in 2017.  Upon retiring from playing football at semi-professional level, Lee qualified as a Sports Therapist and until recently combined his role at Young Bristol with running his own Sports Injury Business and being Sports Therapist at Bath City F.C.  Lee represents Young Bristol on a number of Local and National Youth Sector Bodies, is a Trustee of a number of charities and also provides support on youth related matters to the High Sheriff of the City of Bristol.

Dom came to Bristol to read maths and psychology at Bristol University in 1987 and loving the city, stayed ever since.  He started work in homelessness in 1991 for Riverside and joined 1625 Independent People, the leading Youth Homelessness and Care Leavers charity in the area, in 1996. 1625 Independent People is part of the National End Youth Homelessness Alliance and provides services across the whole youth homelessness and care leavers pathway from prevention to move-on housing including specialist support around areas such as education, employment & training and mental health.  In 1999 Dom completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing Studies at the University of the West of England and became Chief Executive of the charity in 2003.  For his work in youth homelessness and for Bristol, Dom was awarded an Honorary Dr of Laws by Bristol University in 2018.  Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County and City of Bristol in July 2020.