City of York Leadership Team Appointed!

I am delighted to announce the team that will lead and shape scouting in York!

Matching the boundary of the Local Authority, City of York District Scouts will bring together the entire Scouting community in York – this includes all of our Groups, Explorer Units, and Snowball, as well as the City events and support functions!

After an open and competitive process, Nigel White has been appointed as City of York’s first District Lead Volunteer! Nigel’s true dedication to the young people we are here to serve will be his biggest strength as he moves Scouting in the City to its next chapter! 

Nigel said: “The creation of City of York Scouts offers a unique opportunity that comes at the right time for me personally, as I have recently retired from paid work, and completed 5 years as District Lead Volunteer for York Ebor.  Prior to this I was a Cub Scout Leader for over 20 years, along with Group, District and County leadership and support roles.  I hope to work with our amazing volunteers to do my best to re-energise Scouting across York, and unlock potential to grow and deliver benefits to more young people and volunteers.

My 3 grown up children have benefited from The Scouts and Girlguiding and I am passionate about helping others to experience the fun, adventure and development that Scouting offers.  My wife is supportive though has vowed not to become a Scout volunteer herself!”

Rowan Ward has been appointed as our new District Youth Lead for the City. Those that have met Rowan before will know that she is epitome of youth shaped Scouting and how young people can take on meaningful leadership positions at all levels in our movement. 

Rowan said “I’m Rowan, District Youth Lead and a Scout Leader at Heslington. Some of my highlights in Scouts so far have included: attending the WSJ in Korea, volunteering at Gillwell Park, attending the National Youth Forum, and completing my Kings Scout Award. In the new district, I’m looking forward to supporting young people to realise the variety of opportunities available to them in Scouting.”

David Ingledew will take on the District Team Leader position for York North. David has been a well respected member of the Scouting community in the City for many years and will be a great addition to Nigel’s core leadership team.

David said “I’m an active leader, with two sections locally but have combined that with my district role for the last 4 years, along with other event roles. While we all strive to provide the best possible scouting experience, I personally seek to link current technology and maintain the core roots that scouting provides. Leader support is also a key aim – leaders need to feel inspired to push the boundaries.”

Becky Lincoln will take on the District Team Leader position for York West. Becky’s pure enthusiasm is contagious, making her an asset to any team she is part of. 

Becky said “I have been involved with Scouts for 14 years. In this time I have held many roles including Section, Group, District and County roles. For the last 7 years I have been Group Lead Volunteer with Acomb Scout Group.

I am a great believer in building strong supportive teams to grow, develop and share the load together. City of York Scouts is a great opportunity for us all to grow, in number and experience; develop together as we navigate new opportunities and share new adventures as well as knowledge from our past experiences.

I look forward to working with the new District team to provide the best support for our volunteers and young people; being there to share and support those groups in York West and across the wider City.”

Annie Hodgson will take on the District Team Leader position for York East. Annie is well known as being an incredibly capable and reliable Scouter who has volunteered alongside many volunteers across the City for many years.

Annie said “I have been leading the Beaver team at Elvington Scout Group since 2002 and I have also held a variety of roles in Ebor District and North Yorkshire Scouts, including ACC Beavers. I am excited to be starting my new role as District Team Leader (East) and I am looking forward to getting to know the volunteers and young people in the groups in this area. I hope to encourage the groups to work together to share ideas, programme plans, and activities. These are exciting times for the City of York; I can’t wait to get started in the role.”

Trustee Board

Derek Scott will be the new Trustee Board Chair for the District. Derek has been an extremely capable and steady pair of hands as our Minster Chair, bringing with him a breadth of youth sector experience as a Governor/Trustee of one of York’s largest academy trusts. Derek will be joined by Vince Jenner (Safety Lead), Andy McCarthy (Property Lead), Sarah Butler (Governance Lead), and Liz Atkin (District Secretary) – together with Rowan and Nigel, they will make up the District Trustee Board. The team will also be taking on the responsibilities of the old York Joint Scout Trust (which used to provide governance services for Snowball on behalf of Ebor and Minster). 

Derek said: “It is a privilege to serve a charity that does such great things for our young people, and to be asked to take the role of Chair of the City of York District. Two of my own children are lucky enough to benefit from what Scouting offers, so it felt right for me to help when the opportunity came up.  

It has been great to see first-hand the enthusiasm and passion that come from a huge number of volunteers across the city – people who put in so much time, energy and emotion to create such special experiences, opportunities to grow, and memories, for young people across our communities.  The creation of the new City of York District presents us with a unique opportunity to do even more than we have been in the coming years – to bring together groups from the two former York Districts, and to continue to invest in and grow the York Scout Activity Centre (Snowball) as the home for the City of York Scouts.

Personally, I am looking forward to helping establish and grow the new City of York District, and to continuing my own learning about what the Scouting movement can bring to our communities.  My professional background is in Human Resources management across a number of private sector industries, and I have sat as a trustee for the Pathfinder Multi Academy Trust in York for the last eight years – a role that I have enjoyed tremendously and that has many similarities to the Scouts Trustee role.”  

York Scout Activity Centre, Snowball Plantation

Dan Dawson, reporting directly to Nigel, will step into the brand-new role of York Scout Activity Centre Team Leader. He will lead the new Snowball Leadership Team to cement our activity centre as the home of Scouting in York, reenergising the site, reestablishing activities, and ensuring our Groups and Explorer Units have access to a campsite they can all call home. Dan will be joined by Andy Thirwell, Martin Eason, Scott Swinton and many others who are passionate about developing the site for Scouting now, and in the future. In addition, Andy McCarthy will act as the link between our Snowball Team and the Trustee Board. 

Dan said: “I am pleased to be taking on the role of Team Leader and joining the City of York District Leadership Team. I have been part of Scouting since I was a Beaver, progressing through Cubs, Sea Scouts and Ventures, and Snowball Plantation has been a big part of that journey — from workdays through to joining the Service Team becoming the Deputy Service Team Leader, then Service Team Leader and, most recently, Estates Manager, before taking a break. Alongside this, I support Scouting across North Yorkshire as a member of the Event Support Team, Chair of the Property Committee, and Chair of the Ellerton Working Group. I’m especially looking forward to working with the new District to make Snowball a place they truly see as their home — somewhere they actively want to come, spend time, and build great Scouting experiences.”

Volunteering Development Team

Tracy McEwan will be joining the District Leadership Team as the Volunteering Development Team Leader. Tracy’s impeccable administration and organisational skills, as well as her constant enthusiasm to make things the best they can be, will make her a huge asset to the City of York Team! Tracy will be joined by Christine Clarke (Learning Support & Compliance), Dave Thorne & John Ives (Adult Volunteer Awards & Recognition), as well as Tracie Steele (Beaver Volunteer Support) and Tom Mann (Cub Volunteer Support) – there will be others joining this team as we move through the transition!

Tracy said “I work as a nurse teaching medical students. I have two daughters who have been in Scouting and have fulfilled Group, District, and County volunteer roles.  I will lead on First Response training in York Scouts, and Volunteering Development.  

I am excited to build on strong teams and relationships that already exist, along with working collaboratively by sharing ideas and experiences.  As a team, we want to be supportive, approachable, and proactive, ensuring every volunteer feels valued, listened to, and confident in their role. Our aim is to make every volunteer’s experience a positive, safe, and rewarding one, so they can enjoy Scouting and thrive while making a difference for young people. ”

District Support Team

Marek Lichtarowicz will be joining the District Leadership Team as our Support Team Leader. Marek’s team will be the central team that supports the operations of the entire District, this will include areas such as member communications, external marketing and engagement, as well as finance. Liz Atkin will join this team as our District Secretary, Nathan Bargate as our District Finance Administrator, and Marsha Rowarth for External Communications. 

Marek said: “I began volunteering in Scouting in 2014, starting as Secretary and later becoming Chair at Holgate. I helped launch and coordinate the Group’s Active Support Unit, to support the Group with ad-hoc tasks, and organise Group Camps.

After moving into a District role, I set up a small team of “buddies” supporting the District’s GLVs, and established a team of Welcome Volunteers. I am also part of the team taking York Explorers to Denmark this summer.

I have two sons in Scouting, with the youngest now an Explorer, and the oldest a Scout Leader. In my ‘day’ job, I work for Yorkshire Ambulance Service as a member of an Emergency Ambulance Crew.

I am looking forward to developing communication across the District and supporting front-line Scouting.”

District Programme Team

Charlotte McCarthy will be joining our new Programme Leadership Team as the Team Leader of our Events Delivery Team. Charlotte’s team will coordinate and organise our annual calendar of events for members across the District. 

Patrick Feetenby will also be joining the Programme Leadership Team as the Team Leader of our new Activities and Event Support Team. Patrick will lead a team of volunteers that are on-hand to support all of the fantastic events and activities we run across the City, this includes St George’s Day, Chief Scouts and Top Awards Celebration Evening, events organised by Charlotte’s Team, and events organised at Snowball such as our Easter Fun Day. 

Iain McIntyre will join the Programme Leadership Team as our guru for all things Top Awards, as well as helping us coordinate Young Leader Support across this City.

District Org Structure

Group Locations