Tim is a chartered accountant with a long and distinguished involvement in Rugby League. He was chairman of Sheffield Eagles when they won the Challenge Cup in 1998 and was a director of Super League (Europe) from 1998 to 2002.
He has been the chairman of the RFL Benevolent Fund since 2004 and has been involved with RL Cares since the charity’s inception in 2011.
Tim also has a passion for horse racing and is a trustee of the Northern Racing College and chairman of the Leger Legends, a race which has raised over £1m for good causes in the last nine years.
Contact: via Tracey Barr – tracey.barr@rlcares.org.uk
Chris has been involved in Rugby League for 20 years, having previously worked as a development officer with Bradford Bulls, where he established the club’s charitable foundation in 2004. He joined Leeds Rhinos in 2006 to work with the trustees of the newly-created Leeds Rugby Foundation.
Chris left Leeds in December 2010 to join the RFL as Head of Partnerships, a role that involved reviewing all charitable programmes in the sport. The outcome of the review was the establishment of RL Cares in February 2013, since when Chris has been head of the charity.
Email: chris.rostron@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07917 282322
Steve has enjoyed a lifelong involvement in Rugby League, including roles as Chief Executive of Batley RLFC and Hull FC, chairman of Hunslet Hawks and a director at both the RFL and Leeds Rhinos.
A former schoolteacher, Steve was appointed full-time General Manager of the RFL Benevolent Fund in 2009.
Email: steve.ball@rflbenevolentfund.co.uk
Mobile: 07771 732326
Steve joined the charity in February 2019 when he became the sport’s first ever Transition Manager, a role that will see him help players prepare for the next stage of their lives at the end of their rugby careers.
Steve had previously worked as Player Welfare Manager at Wigan Warriors having enjoyed a successful coaching career at club and international level with Widnes, Salford, Whitehaven, Gateshead, Barrow, Swinton and Scotland, who he coached in three RL World Cups.
Email: steve.mccormack@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07477 873902
Francis joined RL Cares as a staff member in early 2020 after working with the charity on a consultancy basis. A former Wakefield Trinity, London Broncos, Wigan Warriors, Hull KR and England prop, Francis forged a successful business career in IT following his retirement in 2006.
Email: francis.stephenson@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07769 714992
A former Great Britain international player, Keith won four Super League Grand Finals with Leeds Rhinos and also tasted Challenge Cup final success at Wembley with Sheffield Eagles in 1998.
Keith joined the player welfare team in a full-time capacity in the summer of 2020 after working with the charity part-time for the previous 18 months. He combines his role with the position of assistant coach at Sheffield Eagles.
Email: keith.senior@rlcares.org.uk
Julie became the sport’s first dedicated Career Coach following her appointment in February 2019, having previously fulfilled a similar role on a consultancy basis with the RFL from 2011.
Julie’s vast experience and knowledge of the workplace and educational environment helps her advise players on preparing and training for life after rugby.
Email: julie.measures@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07552 787609
Emma Goldsmith has worked in a range of programme management and business development roles across the healthcare industry. She has led multiple projects focused on improving the health and wellbeing of Rugby League communities, including Hull, Bradford, Wigan, St Helens and Salford.
Emma is using this experience to bring health programmes to the sport, including Offload and Ahead of the Game with a number of partners including the Big Lottery, Oddballs Foundation, Movember Foundation and RLWC2021.
Email: emma.goldsmith@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07850 075828
Tracey is one of the sport’s most experienced administrators, having previously spent more than 20 years working for the RFL in a number of roles, including events management.
Tracey joined the charity in the summer of 2018 from Leeds Rhinos, where she spent almost three years as a commercial sales executive.
Email: tracey.barr@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07976 835509
Wendy joined the team in November 2020 and brings a wide range of experience from sports development, health development and local authority roles to improve the health and wellbeing of rugby league communities.
She discovered her love of the sport as a student and captained the University of Leeds team before playing for Leeds Akkies, Chorley Panthers and West Craven after graduating.
Wendy works Monday to Wednesday and leads on health and wellbeing projects including Offload, working closely with local partners and professional club foundations.
Email: wendy.barr@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07976 530406
Brigid is a museums specialist with extensive experience of delivering successful exhibitions across a range of museum activities. She has previously worked at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds and the National Mining Museum Scotland.
Brigid has played a key role working with Bradford Council on plans to open a National RL Museum based within City Hall.
Brigid is currently undertaking a PhD looking at the impact Rugby League heritage projects have on individuals, communities and societies.
Email: brigid.power@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07841 495062
Sarah has worked in community dance development for over 12 years, having trained professionally with youth dance company Momentum Dance.
Between 2007 and 2013 she launched and ran a successful dance programme and stadium-based dance academy at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. During the 2013 Rugby League World Cup Sarah managed a team of 32 dancers who performed throughout the tournament.
Sarah joined RL Cares in 2013 to head up the RLWC2013 Dance Legacy Programme and project managed Join the Momentum, a dance programme that linked Rugby League club foundations with professional dance companies.
Sarah is also Director of Pro Event Yorkshire, a company that helps dance artists find work within schools and the community sector, and is choreographer for the Rugby League Rockettes, who appear at all major Rugby Leagues events.
John joined the charity in 2015 after spending seven years heading up the RFL’s media and PR team. During his time at the RFL, John revived the Rugby League Hall of Fame and was involved in the project to deliver the Legends statue at Wembley Stadium.
A former journalist at the Yorkshire Post and Sunday Times, John was England’s media manager on the 2010 Four Nations in Australia and New Zealand and is the secretary of the Rugby League Lions Association.
Email: john.ledger@rlcares.org.uk
Mobile: 07762 967325
