Who We Are
ACE is about people working together to build community and to improve their own, and each other’s, lives. We rely on the skills, knowledge and good will of our trustees (elected from amongst our members), our volunteers and our staff (many of whom live locally). You can learn more about them here!
Our Trustees
The ACE Board of Trustees have overall control of the charity and are responsible for making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do. The board meet monthly to discuss the development, delivery and finances of the organisation. With a mix of skills, expertise and experience the board provide a firm structure to enable ACE to succeed in its charitable purpose.
Tracy Cazenave
Tracy has lived in Ely all her life, and knows a lot of people! She is a familiar face at Our Place Dusty Forge and she helped set up the Getaway wellbeing group. She is trained in mental health first aid. She is knowledgeable about local issues and is keen to influence local service delivery.
Marian Dixey
Marian lives in Fairwater. She has worked for the NHS for over 30 years. She started volunteering on a Good Neighbours scheme and is now involved in her local PACT group and sits on the Timeplace steering committee. She is committed to supporting a multi-agency response to local issues.
Martin Hulland
Martin is the head teacher at our new Cardiff West Community High School. He has been working hard to engage the local community as he seeks to work collaboratively to create a world class educational establishment. He has been teaching since 1994 and a Senior Leader since 2003.
Helen McCarthy
Helen lives in Ely and her parents are from Ely. She and her husband set up a successful haulage company where she has been a company director and office manager. She has also been active on school governing bodies and Parent Teacher Associations. She volunteers on ACE’s CAER Heritage project and sits on the project’s management committee.
Carl Meredith
Carl grew up in Caerau and attended Glyn Derw High School. He trained as a carpenter and went on to establish a successful construction firm, delivering contracts for (amongst others) Cardiff Rugby Club, Glamorgan Cricket Club, Cardiff City Council and a number of private sector companies. He brings skills in building design and management.
Jean O’Keefe
Jean attended Windsor Clive Primary School and has lived in Ely and Caerau since she the age of 3. She has volunteered on a number of local projects including: Ely Grapevine, Ely Festival, Ely Wheelies cycling group, and summer play groups at Western Leisure Centre. She acts as the vicar’s warden at St David’s Church, Caerau. She is a member of the Timeplace Steering Committee and a strong advocate of co-production principles.
Anne O’Regan
Vice Chair
Anne lives in Caerau. She worked for 32 years in the NHS in both community and hospital environments. She was also an equalities officer for Unison and is passionate about equalities issues. She brings expertise in Human Resource management.
Gareth Pierce
Gareth manages the Ely & Caerau Community Hub on Cowbridge Road West. He has seven years’ experience as an operational manager for Cardiff Council and eight years’ experience working in Cardiff West. He has extensive knowledge of housing and benefits issues, and issues relating to welfare reform. He is experienced in staff management.
Mel Witherden
Chair
Mel is a retired community development consultant with 40 years’ experience in the voluntary sector. He has worked as an advisor and volunteer with ACE since 2012. His work in Wales has included establishing development trusts and supporting Communities First projects. He is the author of books on developing social enterprises and running charities.
Gloria Yates
Gloria has lived in Ely all her life, and has brought up her 6 children here. She has volunteered on a number of projects here over the years. Having helped establish the Healthy, Wealthy and Wise older people’s project in Ely over 27 years ago, she has only just retired as the project’s co-ordinator. She has extensive knowledge related to our local community and strong local networks.
Breaking the Mould Project
ACE Vacancies
If you are interested in working for ACE, please view our Job Vacancies page to see current roles available.
Volunteers
ACE offers a range of volunteering opportunities far from the normal volunteering placement. We work with the volunteers to co-produce a role together. This way of working is an integral way of ACE working, for both the volunteer and organisation. ACE is built on working on people’s strengths and offers the chance to develop and empower people to reach their full potential.
Activities such as:
- Setting up or supporting a community group
- Attending community courses,
- Working together to spread the word of ace,
- Building a community garden together,
- Supporting and growing the community together,
- Having pride in your area with clean ups
And much, much more – earning Time Credits along the way!
For more information on volunteering and how to get involved please contact the ACE team on 02920 003132 or info@elycaerau.com.
Partners
We have a wide range of partnerships and collaborations to help us deliver a range of activities supporting the social wellbeing and the economy of our communities.
Please view our Partners page to see who we work with.
Becoming an ACE Member
The benefits: When you join ACE you automatically become a member of Timeplace too, which means you can earn time credits for your efforts in the community. Members who are over 18 can vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and can put themselves forward for election to the board of trustees. Every registered member receives an invitation to the AGM with information on making nominations to the board.
All members are asked to make the following pledge:
I will…
Act with others to help make Ely and Caerau an ace place to live.
Care for the streets and parks and places we share as a community.
Encourage my family, friends and neighbours to do the same.
How to be an ACE Member
To become a member of ACE, please fill in the ACE Membership Form and send to info@aceplace.org or bring to the ACE reception at:
Our Place : Dusty Forge,
460 Cowbridge Rd W, Cardiff CF5 5BZ.
ACE Code of Conduct
ACE members are expected to abide by a simple Code of Conduct which you can view here
