Our Founding Board

We are a group of caring citizens in the UK and Canada. Our original Co-Founders and Board of Trustees are:

Sir Stephen O’Brien, CBE  |  Board Chair

Sir Stephen O’Brien CBE is a Co-Founder of Decency Matters™. He started his career in financial services in the City of London and became Chair of one of the leading money market companies as they expanded across the world. This led on to building Business in the Community, London First, Teach First and The Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum – all designed to draw the corporate world into responsibility for the communities in which they operate. He has also served as Chair of the University of East London and of Barts NHS Trust.

Meriel Barclay, MA

Meriel Barclay is a Co-Founder of Decency Matters™. She spent much of her career as a Director of Corporate Services for charities and professional firms in London. She is a (now retired) qualified accountant and brings experience of dealing with finance, HR, organisational change, charity management and governance to Decency Matters™ and other UK charities. As an experienced orchestral harpist, she is involved in music and musical performance.

Dr. David J. Sanders

David Sanders is a Co-Founder of Decency Matters™. He taught political science at the University of Essex from 1975 to 2017. He was the UK’s first Regius Professor of Political Science from 2013 to 2017. He is the author or co-author of numerous scholarly articles and books including Patterns of Political Instability (1981), Lawmaking and Cooperation in International Politics (1986), Losing an Empire Finding a Role (1990 and 2017, Second Edition), Political Choice in Britain (2004), Performance Politics and the British Voter (2009), Affluence, Austerity and Political Change in Britain (2013), and The Political Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Britain (2013). He has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 2005.

Jennifer Steele Viti, MA, CMC, RPR, RODP

Jennifer is a Partner at SuccessMap Inc. with 20+ years of experience helping organisations lead meaningful change across private, nonprofit, and government sectors. She specializes in governance, leadership development, strategic planning and mediation. A passionate community volunteer and board member, Jennifer has a deep interest in how organisations can build civil society. She holds an MA in Organisational Leadership from Gonzaga University and is a Doctoral Candidate in Organisation Development and Change at Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Frank Viti, MBA, CMC, RPR, RODC  |  CEO

Frank brings 20+ years of executive leadership and management consulting experience across private, nonprofit, and government sectors — including health, social services, and environmental agencies. His undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology gives him a distinctive lens on human and political dynamics that shapes the Decency Matters approach. Frank is a Certified Management Consultant and earned his Doctorate in Organisation Development and Change from Bowling Green State University and his MBA from both the Kellogg School of Management and the Schulich School of Business.​

Leo Plue, BA, BPE, B.ED, M.SC.ED

Leo brings over three decades of leadership across education, accessibility, and children’s services. He currently serves as Chair of Grandview Kids (formerly Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre) and previously led Abilities Centre as Executive Director (2012–2018), where he helped bring national programs to the organisation and supported the development of additional Abilities Centres across Canada. A founding partner of the Pan-Canadian Community for Brain Development, Leo has dedicated his career to creating inclusive communities. He retired as a secondary school Principal after 33 years in public education and has authored several textbooks on educational practices in Canada, US, and Europe.