Our Board of Trustees

Jack Watts

Chair of Trustees

Jack has been a trustee at the Nightline Association since 2021. Whilst studying at the University of Exeter, Jack became very involved with a number of different student groups, and went on to serve on the Students’ Guild’s board of trustees. Since graduating, Jack has begun a career in the charity sector and gained valuable experience in marketing, fundraising, governance, and project management. Jack now works as a Direct Marketing Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, as well as working as a freelance consultant for local charities, and serving as a governor at the Deaf Academy, in Exmouth.

Matthew Axbey

Vice Chair of Trustees

Matthew is currently undertaking a law conversion course after 4 years of working in education as a physics teacher. Matthew likes to spend a lot of time outdoors on DofE expeditions and Scout/Guide camps. While studying at university, Matthew was a listening volunteer with Warwick Nightline before moving to Canterbury Christ Church University for a PGCE. There, Matthew founded Christ Church Student Minds and was the Project Lead to establish Canterbury Nightline. Matthew joined the Nightline Association as a volunteer in October 2019 and became a Trustee in May 2020.

Martin Smith

Treasurer

Martin works at the Universities Superannuation Scheme, where he leads the Financial Planning and Analysis team. He is a Chartered Management Accountant with over 25 years' experience in both the for- profit and not for-profit sectors, predominantly undertaking commercial finance and business planning roles. He studied Business Studies and German at Aston University. Having seen the impact of poor mental health at key life stages, he understands the critical role that Nightlines play in our universities. He joined the board in May 2020.

Aisling Curtis

Trustee

Aisling is currently studying graduate Medicine at the University of Oxford. Originally from Ireland, she also studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she was Coordinator of Dublin Niteline. She has previously worked in business consulting for a large international firm, and spent time living and working in Taiwan, Paris and India. Aisling joined the board in May 2020.

Harry McLaren

Trustee

Harry currently works as a cybersecurity professional, specialising in threat detection and response at a UK company called Adarma. His background with the Nightline movements goes back to 2011 where he was a volunteer at Edinburgh Nightline, and later worked with the Nightline Associated as an IT volunteer in 2015. He enjoys climbing, cycling and most of all technology! He believes that two important things to be are competent and kind and is a chartered member of the British Computer Society. He joined the board of trustees in May 2021.

Jacob Kelly

Trustee

Jacob joined the board in May 2021 having just graduated from the University of Oxford, where he volunteered for three years with Oxford Nightline. Whilst at university, Jacob founded the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative which gave 50,000 hours of free online tutoring to underprivileged students during the pandemic. He now works full time on its successor, Tutor The Nation. Alongside his day job, Jacob is also studying part-time for an MA in Social Justice and Education at UCL. Jacob is a student trustee and thus represents the interests of students at board level.

Jess Hudson

Trustee

Jess Hudson is a Senior Programme Manager at Cancer Research UK, responsible for the organisation’s Gift Aid programme which involves strategy development and delivery and leading a cross-organisation team. During her 7 years at Cancer Research UK, she’s worked across multiple fundraising roles, leading a team to deliver national fundraising campaigns, managing significant budgets and working with external partners on income generation activity. Jess has volunteered with Girlguiding UK for 4 years and can be found every Tuesday honing her arts and craft skills as a Group Leader for the Rainbows. Before working at Cancer Research UK, Jess worked for the Richmond Fellowship, a leading mental health charity, and studied History at the University of Leeds. She joined the board in July 2020.

Matt Youngs

Trustee

Matt has been a trustee at Nightline Association since 2021. He is currently on the Graduate Management Trainee Scheme at Loughborough University, and before that spent two years as a sabbatical officer at Loughborough Students’ Union: first as the Executive Officer for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and latterly as President of the Union. As a student at Loughborough, Matt spent four years with the University’s Nightline service, two years of which he served as Coordinator. In his spare time Matt is a volunteer First Responder with the Ambulance Service and is also a trustee for Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust.