Board and Management Team
The Board
David Coulter - Chair
David has 30 years of experience across the public and voluntary sectors and currently works as a Senior Associate in Compliance, focusing on the public sector, for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. He has a legal background (GDL and LLM in Equality and Human Rights Law) and has been a Trustee of Breakthrough UK since 2017
Stacey Stanhope - Vice Chair
Stacey has many years’ experience of project and policy leadership across a number of sectors, including the public and voluntary community sectors, local governemnt, the NHS. Her portfolios have included, hate crime, Violence Against Women and Girls, impact analysis and audit.
She is a a committed advocate for the rights of seldom heard and underserved communities, including disabled people.
She works to ensure that the voices of disabled people and their lived experience help to inform public policy and practice, particularly within the criminal justice sector.
Councillor Basil Curley - Trustee
Basil is a Councillor for Charlestown ward in North Manchester, and an employee of Manchester College. He is Chair of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee and is closely involved with Work Solutions. He is a champion of dignity and care and his main focus is on people who have mental health issues, giving support where it is needed whilst showing personal respect to people in all the different circumstances. Previously, Basil has been Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health and Housing. He organised a partnership of Manchester NHS Trusts and the Primary Care Trust to investigate employment opportunities for local people.
David Neibig - Trustee
David joined the board of Breakthrough UK in late 2023. He has held finance and governance roles in other charities and has previously worked as a volunteer with North West Ambulance Service. He is one Breakthrough UK’s representatives on the Greater Manchester Disabled People’s Panel.
Richard Currie - Trustee
Richard has been a long-time Board member and is a lifetime member of Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People. He is a passionate advocate for social justice, equality and the Social Model of Disability. He has previously worked for organisations such as My Support Money and the McPin Foundation. He is currently finishing a PhD in Disability and Citizenship and has co-authored a number of academic articles ,research reports and book chapters in the fields of disability studies, mental health and research methods.
He is currently employed as Co-production Lead at Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.
The Management Team
Paul Berry - Finance and Business Manager
Paul has been with Breakthrough since 2020. He is an experienced accounts administrator and Finance Manager and has worked accross the private and voluntary sector in Greater Manchester.
Elaine Astley - Policy, Influence and Engagement Manager
Elaine has worked for Breakthrough for many years. She has managed a wide range of projects and services that seek to ensure that the lived expereince of d/Deaf and disabled people influences how services are developed and delivered.
James Gasarah - Business Development and Partnership Lead
James is an experienced Business Advsier and Business Strategist. He manages our Trading Arm, Equal Edge.
We also have a small staff team that work across our Policy and Influence work projects and service delivery accross Greater Manchester.