Meet your board members

Jess is the Member of Parliament for Lowestoft, Beccles and the Villages and is passionate about helping Lowestoft realise its full potential.

She believes the town’s greatest strength is its people and values every opportunity to meet residents, businesses, schools, charities and community groups to hear their ideas and ambitions for its future. She is particularly passionate about bringing empty and neglected buildings back into use, supporting local businesses, improving public spaces and creating more opportunities for young people.

As a member of the Pride in Place Board, Jess is determined to ensure that regeneration is shaped with local people, not imposed upon them, and that residents from every part of the town have a meaningful voice in how the investment is used.

She hopes Pride in Place will build on everything that makes Lowestoft special, restore confidence and pride in the town, and deliver lasting improvements that local people can see and feel in their everyday lives.

Rachel has worked at East Coast College for over 24 years, beginning her career as a lecturer in Animal Care and Health and Social Care before progressing into curriculum management and later joining the senior leadership team. She holds a degree and Master’s degree in Environmental Science and has a strong passion for sustainability, educational leadership and creating positive change within communities.

As Skills and Innovation Director, Rachel leads a diverse portfolio of projects focused on skills development, employability, community engagement and green growth. She has successfully managed and secured multi-million-pound projects designed to support employment, careers education, workforce development and upskilling opportunities across Norfolk and Suffolk, working closely with local authorities, employers, education providers and community organisations.

Rachel is recognised as a community champion within the college and has developed extensive networks across the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, employers, schools and strategic partners. Her collaborative approach has helped create innovative programmes that inspire future talent, break down barriers to opportunity and support inclusive economic growth.

Rachel is also a Director of the East Coast Energy Training Academy, based at the Energy Skills Centre in Lowestoft, where she works with employers and sector bodies to deliver responsive, industry-led training that meets current and future workforce needs. Alongside this, she leads a range of STEM initiatives designed to inspire young people and strengthen the region’s talent pipeline.

Beyond her professional role, Rachel is passionate about supporting local communities through volunteering and charitable work. As a long-standing trustee of an oxygen therapy charity and an active fundraiser, she has helped raise more than £200,000 for local causes, supporting individuals and communities across the region.

Jay is a proud Lowestoftian. Although he moved away in his late teens, he returned in his early thirties and has called the town home ever since.

Outside of work, Jay's most important role is being a father to his three daughters, who keep him on his toes and inspire him every day.

Jay has spent more than 20 years working in retail, including the last 18 years with Vodafone in a variety of roles spanning retail stores, retail transformation and brand marketing. Creativity has always been a key part of his career, and while life is busy, he is fortunate that his role enables him to channel that creative energy into his work every day.

Having travelled extensively across the UK through his work, Jay has developed an even greater appreciation for what makes Lowestoft special. He is passionate about placing the community at the heart of Pride in Place, listening to local people, understanding their challenges, and helping to create positive, meaningful change that benefits everyone who lives and works in the town.

Stuart Everett is a lifelong advocate for Lowestoft, bringing more than 25 years of senior leadership experience in local government, leisure, regeneration and business development. Having previously served as Chief Executive of Sentinel Leisure Trust, Stuart was sadly forced to retire on medical grounds. He now works as an independent consultant, supporting local authorities and businesses to deliver regeneration, coastal development and community projects across the UK.

A proud resident of Lowestoft, Stuart has played a key role in projects that have helped shape the town, including the redevelopment of Waterlane Leisure Centre. He has also served in a number of voluntary governance roles, reflecting his commitment to improving opportunities for local people and strengthening public services.

As a Board Member of Pride in Place, Stuart is passionate about helping Lowestoft realise its full potential. He believes the town has outstanding assets, a passionate community and exciting opportunities for growth, and is committed to working collaboratively to help create a thriving future that residents can be proud of for generations to come.

As the East Suffolk councillor for the Harbour & Normanston ward Tess sits on the Pride in Place Board as the ESC representative.  Living in the heart of Harbour division, Tess has been a district councillor for the area for over a decade. As a qualified solicitor, with a background in corporate/banking law, and for the last 15 years working in the VCSE sector, Tess brings a wealth of knowledge and experience; with specific emphasis on ensuring good governance, legal compliance, accountability and transparency. Tess has also served in a number of voluntary governance roles and is currently a trustee for two local charities. Tess is passionate about our town, thus is firmly committed to serving the people of Lowestoft.  As a Board Member of Pride in Place, Tess will prioritise that the views of residents are listened to, and that the Pride in Place funding is used to help Lowestoft become a thriving, healthier, cleaner, and better place to live. 

Debbie has lived in the Harbour area of Lowestoft for several years and has two adult children.

She has spent her career working in the finance sector, beginning as a Tax Officer with the Inland Revenue before moving to the tax department of a firm of City accountants. She subsequently worked as a property accountant in both London and Sydney, Australia. Debbie is now semi-retired but continues to run a small bookkeeping business from her home.

In 2020, Debbie graduated from the University of East Anglia with a First Class Bachelor of Science degree in International Development and the Environment. Alongside environmental studies, her degree covered community development, social justice, the links between environmental and social outcomes, and sustainability. On completing her degree, her desire to work with the people of Lowestoft to help create an environment that promotes healthy, positive lives led her to join the Lowestoft Town Council Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee as a public member. She subsequently became a Lowestoft Town Councillor.

Debbie is also a member of Use Your Voice, a group dedicated to building community resilience around environmental issues, including advocating for the reinstatement of funding for the Lowestoft tidal barrier.

As a board member, Debbie will contribute to ensuring that the Pride in Place Central Lowestoft Fund is managed in an accountable and transparent manner, delivering the aspirations of local residents to enhance their environment into a place that supports wellbeing and is a source of pride for the community.

Geoff spent his early years in Bermondsey, South London, where he attended Ilderton Road Primary School. One of his earliest notable achievements was playing Ima Barba in a school production of Aladdin.

In 1966, as England celebrated their World Cup victory, Geoff's family moved to Orpington, Kent, where he completed his primary education at Ramsden Junior School. During this time, he gained his Cycling Proficiency certificate and successfully passed the 11-plus examination.

He went on to attend Cray Valley Technical High School, where he represented the school in hockey, rugby, tennis, cricket, athletics and chess. He served as captain of both the hockey and cricket teams and, beyond school sport, represented Kent at under-18 level in tennis and under-22 level in hockey.

After completing his O-levels and A-levels, Geoff studied Graphic Design at Croydon College of Art. During his first week at college, he met the woman who would become his wife. More than 46 years later, they remain happily married and are blessed with three sons and three grandchildren, with hopes for more grandchildren in the future.

Upon leaving college, Geoff was offered a position as an assistant to one of his tutors at Michael Carney Design Associates. The practical experience he gained during his first year of employment proved invaluable and, in his view, taught him more than his three years of formal study.

After four years, he moved to a multinational design company but soon realised that corporate life was not for him. A year later, Michael Carney tragically drowned while on holiday, and Geoff returned to help his widow run the business. When she remarried two years later, Geoff took over the company and, within five years, grew it to a turnover of more than £1 million.

During this period, Geoff became a Christian and felt called to provide a more personal service to a smaller group of clients. In 1989, he established The Upper Room, a business that continues to thrive today.

Following the death of his father in 1999 and with two of his sons having left home, Geoff and his family relocated to Lowestoft.

In 2014, just as he was preparing to launch Pathways Care Farm, his mother was tragically killed. In response, he handed over the day-to-day management of The Upper Room to his colleagues and focused his attention on developing the newly formed charity.

In 2021, Geoff was invited to join the Board of the Adnams Community Trust, and in 2026 he became its Chair.

Throughout his life, Geoff has been guided by a commitment to creativity, service, faith and community. Whether through business, charity leadership or investing in the lives of others, he has sought to make a positive and lasting difference to the people and communities around him.

Justin, having lived in Lowestoft all his life, has a strong bond with the town and cares deeply about its future. He runs Graphitas, a creative and digital agency based near the town centre. Justin joined the Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board because he wants the programme to make a difference, be bold and create memorable legacies the community can enjoy long after the funding has been spent.