Nikki’s first role in further education management was as Course Leader for Business and Economics at Calderdale College, before moving back to Park Lane College as Curriculum Manager for Business and Enterprise.

A role at Kirklees College as Head of Department came next, managing various departments from Hospitality to Business Development. Nikki then joined York College as Assistant Principal leading the apprenticeship programme before being promoted to Vice Principal for Technical and Professional programmes, which included leading the successful bid for the Yorkshire and Humber Institute of Technology.

Nikki commenced at Leeds College of Building in May 2019 as Vice Principal – Teaching, Learning & Quality. In August 2022 she became the first woman to hold the post of Principal in the College’s 60-year history. Nikki is delighted to build on the College’s previous successes and first rate tradition of delivering exceptional training to leaners across the UK.

Steve Carmody is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Fellow and Vice President of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and Managing Director of Carmody Infrastructure Ltd. He is an experienced strategic leader with a strong track record in highways, transport, drainage, flood risk and wider civil infrastructure, combining board-level business leadership with hands-on project delivery expertise.

Steve has led multidisciplinary teams and overseen complex, high-value public and private sector commissions across the UK, including nationally significant infrastructure, regeneration, retail, residential and energy projects. His experience spans strategy, planning, governance, commercial management, contractual risk, client care, health and safety leadership, technical assurance and delivery.

Based in Leeds since the mid-1990s, Steve studied at Leeds Beckett University, graduating with qualifications in Civil Engineering and Quantity Surveying. He has been a Chartered Civil Engineer for more than 15 years and brings particular strength in risk management, safe delivery and compliance through his work as a qualified Principal Designer.

Steve is actively involved with national professional and industry bodies, including the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association and the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is also committed to supporting apprenticeships and helping candidates meet end-point assessment requirements.

As a leader, Steve promotes the values of great service, the highest standards, professional teamwork and creative solutions. His wider site development experience includes master planning, flood risk, drainage, utilities, plot layout and levels, and roads design, enabling him to provide clear strategic direction in complex stakeholder environments.

Sammy Lambert is a strategic leader in the Education Technology (EdTech) sector, currently serving as a Learning Lead at Genio, a Leeds based internationally regarded learning technology company. Sammy brings extensive expertise in digital strategy, evidence-based development, and quality assurance to the Board.

Sammy is passionately committed to Further Education, having dedicated nearly a decade to the sector, as an Advanced Practitioner and a Maths Teacher at Leeds City College (Luminate Group). This local experience provides her with a deep understanding of the systemic challenges and opportunities facing vocational learners in the Leeds City Region.

As a recognised industry thought leader and Women In Tech national award winner, Sammy provides strategic guidance on future-proofing the college’s curriculum and ensuring robust, evidence-backed educational outcomes. She is committed to supporting the college’s mission to equip all students, particularly those with diverse needs, with the critical skills required for the modern workforce.

James Mottram is Co-Owner of Canvas Homes and Fallons, working across sustainable housing, infrastructure and investment with a focus on creating long-term environmental, social and economic value.

He focuses on strategy, investment and growth, delivering projects that support regeneration, sustainability and innovation across the built environment. Through Canvas Homes, James has championed a fully integrated approach to housebuilding, investment and long-term ownership, including the delivery of low-carbon, zero-bills homes designed to improve affordability and quality of life for residents.

A strong advocate for education and skills development, James brings extensive experience in leadership and governance. As Vice Chair, he is committed to supporting the College in developing the skills and opportunities needed to shape the future of the construction industry.

Phil brings with him significant experience with his construction career now in its 41st year. His father was a City & Guilds trained builder, so he really was born into the industry.

After studying Quantity Surveying at what is now Leeds Beckett University he has worked for Wates, Taylor Woodrow Construction, Willmott Dixon and Seddon.

He is a chartered Quantity Surveyor and is currently the Preconstruction Director at Wordsworth Construction Management, a position he has held since 2020.

He is RICS qualified with experience covering all sectors but specifically health, education, justice, industrial, manufacturing, leisure and living.

Sandra’s first role in further education was as a lecturer at the former Dewsbury College in Sport and Public Service in 1989 having worked as both a police officer and freelance aerobics instructor. She was promoted to Head of Department and was then appointed to Director of Curriculum at Kirklees College. She was subsequently appointed to Assistant Principal with strategic responsibility for Apprenticeships and Adult provision at the college.

Sandra was appointed to the role of Vice Principal at Askham Bryan college in 2016 where she was strategically responsible for Quality, Students and Apprenticeship provision. She also sat on the board of Land Based Assessment Ltd a company set up for apprenticeship provision in the land-based sector.

Sandra is passionate about skills-based learning and particularly apprenticeship provision. She is an advocate for students receiving high quality teaching and learning.

James has worked as a Teacher of English since 2006. Starting at Carr Manor Community School as an NQT, he began managing the English team in 2011. Over time, he progressed to the Senior Leadership Team, where his responsibilities have included the school’s results, destinations work – including careers guidance and pathways work – and, more recently, attendance. In all of these roles, he has tried to work in an inclusive manner, using a high challenge and high support ethos to get the best out of those around him.

His areas of knowledge and interest include careers and destinations work. Having focused on outcomes for pupils for a significant period of time, he has begun to understand how important a clear pathway is to the engagement of pupils. This includes their pathway after college – post-18 – where the work of those of us in education starts to really impact on society.

He is passionate about improving life chances and creating opportunity for all – especially those who may have face greater challenges than others. He is extremely interested in how young people can progress through education, through colleges, into purposeful and fulfilling careers that enhance society and allow them to be the best that they can be.

Julie lives in Leeds and has worked for over 30 years in the HE and FE sectors. She was a Vice Principal at Wakefield College before working for over 10 years as a Management Consultant with Colleges and Universities across the UK. She brings a range of skills and experience to her role with LCB having developed business cases (SOCs/OBCs and FBCs) to inform estates planning, capital build projects and new partnership options; supported organisations to explore options for new operating models including merger; used LEAN analysis to improve internal processes and procedures and identify more efficient ways of working; and led on communications and stakeholder management on large projects.

Following a role as an Adviser to the FE Commissioner, Julie qualified as a Senior Practitioner (EMCC) Executive Business and Leadership Coach in 2018 and now offers coaching and mentoring for effective leadership and improved performance to senior executives, their management teams and Boards of Trustees/Directors with a particular focus on the education sector. She is involved as mentor and coach on several national projects in the FE sector including Strategic Innovation for Skills for senior FE leaders and Leading from the Middle for middle managers.

Julie is particularly interested in engaging with students and ensuring their views are sought and heard in order for the College to be relevant, successful and outstanding.

Nadine joined Leeds College of Building as an Associate Governor and Chair of the Search and Governance Committee in March 2026.

Nadine is an experienced executive leader and qualified solicitor with over 20 years’ experience, with deep expertise in governance, transformation and inclusion. She is currently Executive Director of Legal, Governance and Compliance at CITB, where she leads a wide-ranging portfolio including legal and levy compliance, corporate and information governance, audit and risk, business continuity, procurement, ESG, and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Nadine has held senior leadership roles across the public sector, including Executive Director and General Counsel at the Gambling Commission, where she was part of the 4th National Lottery Licence Competition team; Executive Director of Legal at Social Work England, where she led the legal work to establish the new regulator; and Head of Governance & Legal at the Care Quality Commission, where she developed a new in-house legal services model.

She is also a lay Council Member and Trustee at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, with a particular interest in organisational culture and inequalities in maternal outcomes.

In addition to her executive roles, Nadine is a civil and commercial mediator, a certified coach and a Thinking Environment facilitator. She is passionate about creating the conditions for people to think well and make effective decisions.

Outside of work, Nadine enjoys travelling and is an active Rotarian. She has served on Rotary International committees, including as a founding member of its global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce, and will become President of the Rotary Club for Global Action in July 2026.

A seasoned risk professional with extensive experience in financial services, Lynne has over 30 years of experience holding various senior roles in multiple organisations.

She has been directly involved with significant transformation programmes, has performed secretarial roles within several corporate governance structures, developed enterprise risk frameworks reporting into Board-level committees and has also been at the forefront of significant cultural and operational changes.

Emphasising the importance of clarity, communication, empathy, and resilience, Lynne joined the board to bring her skills and values to the table and help drive forward the benefits of what the College has to offer the community of young people in Leeds and beyond.

Matthew is a Chartered Accountant and currently Head of Finance for Biffa Polymers, a major plastics recycling facility in the North East of England. Biffa is a leading UK sustainable waste management company. Their operations span everything from everyday commercial bin collections to hazardous material processing and circular economy manufacturing.

He has spent most of his career in utilities after qualifying as an accountant at KPMG in Leeds.

He wants to support the College, its unique facilities and its dedicated team to develop students’ construction and built environment skills.

Martina was appointed as an Associate Governor and Chair of the Senior Postholder Committee in March 2026 and is looking forward to contributing to the LCB Board.

Martina joined CITB in September 2023 as People Director. She is responsible for the people and culture across CITB and ensuring that people are central to the achievement of CITB’s Strategic Plan.

Prior to joining CITB, Martina held Head of Human Resources and Head of Learning and Development roles in the FMCG sector. Additionally, Martina is a certified coach and facilitator.

Martina is passionate about leadership development and believes that having the right inclusive leadership culture can enable enduring success. In Martina’s current role, her goals are to ensure that CITB’s people thrive and are experts at what they do for the benefit of the construction industry.

Dwayne Hutchinson is the Owner, Founder & CEO of AccomplishBCEL®.

Over the past 14 years, Dwayne has provided people from a plethora of age groups with support in a variety of professional mentoring, coaching, pastoral and safeguarding roles. In September 2020, Dwayne launched his company, AccomplishBCEL®, to provide personal and community development opportunities to a variety of ages and ethnicities, to help them thrive within their Businesses, Careers, Education and their lives.

Dwayne continues to work with people, both adults and students, across the UK, as they achieve their aspirations through, but not limited to, mentoring, coaching, consultancy services, public events, professional speaking engagements, conferences and more.

Since 2022, Dwayne has developed and then hosted over nineteen conferences and events, to raise awareness about issues that continue to impact the communities across the UK today, covering topics such as, well-being, personal development and community issues, social class issues and race. The conferences so far have included changing the outcomes for boys, young men and men both across Leeds and nationally, alongside the changing education outcomes impacting young men and young women from all ethnicities, whilst looking into the specific needs of the communities, including but not limited to, African and African-Caribbean students, white British students, Asian Students and European students.

The most recent AccomplishBCEL® event was hosted in 2025 and included, A Community Conversation with the 130th Lord Mayor of Leeds. Since then, Dwayne continues to attend and speak at multiple education institutions and community events in partnership with University of Leeds, alongside community focussed organisations and city-wide issues within Leeds and London.

Since October 2025, Dwayne is officially self-employed, working with organisations, educational institutions; staff and students, Parents/Carers and more, such as, but not limited to, University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds City College, and Leeds City Council, to truly look into the ongoing disparities within education and community settings, whilst developing more positive and lasting changes for this generation and future generations.

Sarah is a Solicitor and Partner at Bevan Brittan LLP, a national commercial law firm.

She works as a construction lawyer specialising in negotiating construction and other related contracts.

She also resolves construction disputes by negotiation or court and other proceedings.

She has an in-depth knowledge of the construction industry, the challenges involved and the law relating to it.

She is keen to promote construction as a career.