Our trustees

Ivor Langley

Hi, I’m Ivor, and I’ve been a Trustee with Options for 12 years.

I live on the Wirral with my wife Liz and we will shortly celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary. We have four grown up children and 6 energetic grandchildren who keep us young and often exhausted.

I enjoy watching many sports in particular cricket which these days can be a year round enjoyment with so many 20:20 tournaments online. When sunny I love driving my open top Mazda on country roads with the wind in what's left of my hair.
I love being involved with Options and the life fulfilling experiences of so many that come about, through hard work and the unlimited imagination of so many.

I’m now retired from my job at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine where I travelled to many places in the world involved in research to support the ending of the suffering from the infectious disease, Tuberculosis. I remain active now through being an Options trustee, volunteering with an organisation supporting people in poverty in Wirral, my local church, and a charity in Democratic Republic of the Congo - oh yes and Grandpa duties.

Lianne McGinnes

Hi, I’m Lianne, and I have been a Trustee with Options for nearly one year.

I was born and raised in Liverpool, have been married for over 20 years, and have two grown up sons.

I love travelling, meeting new people, exploring different cultures, traditions and most definitely experiencing the amazing food! I also love to read, anything from autobiographies to romantic fiction and more recently found a huge passion for organic growing, and teaching people to grow their own food.

I am really enjoying being involved with Options because I am passionate about people, communities, and social justice. I strongly believe in equality, person-centredness, and the right to choose to live an independent life.

I’m an experienced community developer, qualified Life coach and person centred counsellor. My experience across the voluntary sector, has created many opportunities to volunteer for charities, set up events, help develop projects and create opportunities that includes shaping policy change. I am currently working full time for a Merseyside youth provider Charity, called Sports Alive, who work with young people aged from 7 to 25 years old. We help to create opportunities, raise aspirations, and create safer, healthier and stronger communities.

Irene Byrne-Watts

Hi, I’m Irene and I have been a Trustee with Options for just over one year.

I have lived in England since 1985, mostly in Liverpool but now in Aughton with my husband, Graeme. We have three girls, two of whom have now flown the nest, so life is a little less hectic these days!

I have developed a passion for gardening, (despite not being very good at it) walking, reading, signing in my local choir and travelling.

As an NHS Director, our services have worked alongside Options for over 30 years and I have always admired their commitment to delivering person centred support, and their quest for a better world for people with disabilities.

I retired from the NHS in October 2019 where I had worked for over 30 years. I trained as a Learning Disability Nurse in Ireland in the early 80’s, worked in New York for a period of time, and then came to lovely Liverpool to undertake my Registered Nurse training. After qualifying, my heart remained in Liverpool and learning disabilities, so I returned to that field for the remainder of my career, working as the Director of Learning Disability Services for over 20 years across Liverpool, Sefton and ultimately Greater Manchester and Lancashire.