Neil Scott - Chair

Neil is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Family Fund. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Aston University, a governor of the Royal Agricultural University and Chair of Governors at a University Technical College in Birmingham. He has previously held senior positions at the University of Hull, Wyevale Garden Centres, Marstons, Ford Motor Company and was a non-executive director at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

“Being a trustee of Family Fund is deeply humbling. It is an organisation that helps a great number of children, their parents and siblings, enjoy the things many of us take for granted. The determination of these families is an inspiration to all of us at the Fund. It is an honour to support them.”

Neil Ashton

Neil is the Chief Operating Officer of UK Coaching, an organisation which supports coaches at all stages of their development and promotes the wider benefit to society of engaging in sport and physical activity at all levels. As COO, Neil manages all financial, regulatory and operational deliveries of the charity, and leads the business development of the commercial trading subsidiary. Neil is a qualified accountant with over 25 years of experience in senior finance roles at TT Electronics, Marshall Group and Rentokil-Initial.

Neil is married and lives in York. He has five children and enjoys football, cycling, fishing and painting.

"I am proud to be a Trustee of Family Fund and contributing to the fantastic work of the charity as it continues to make a difference to the lives of disabled and seriously ill children."

Mary Bishop

Mary joined Family Fund as a Trustee in August 2017. She has worked with disabled children and adults throughout her career in both the statutory and voluntary sectors, including eight years as Chief Executive of Livability, a charity which offers a wide range of social care and educational provision. She was formerly an Assistant Director of Commissioning Children’s Social Services in a busy London Borough and Chief Executive of a London teaching hospital’s grant-giving charity.

Since stepping down from her CEO roles, more recently Mary has taken on board positions, including serving a three year term as a Non-Executive Director of a Community Health Care Service.

“Family Fund provides practical help and support to families with disabled and seriously ill children and young people. I’m delighted to be able to join the committed team at the charity, who strive to make a positive difference to families when they need it the most.”

David Braybrook

David started his professional life as a teacher of deaf children and subsequently became a lecturer in higher education, training postgraduate students to work in the same field. This was followed by 10 years as a Head of a residential special school for 180 deaf young people aged 11-19. Since then his work has involved working with the Department for Education (DfE), local authorities and a wide range of schools as a SEND consultant, and working for Ofsted as a Lead Inspector (SEN), an Ofsted Accredited Trainer, and a contractor. He has also served as an expert member on three tribunals: the SEND Tribunal, the Care Standards Tribunal and the Upper Administrative Appeals Tribunal, as well as serving as a lay member on four regulatory bodies – the Bar Standards Board, the Nursing & Midwifery Council, the Metropolitan Police and the British Transport Police Misconduct Panels.

Currently, in addition to Family Fund, he undertakes SEND advisory work, non-executive and due diligence roles and is also a trustee of two other charities. As a gay man in a civil partnership and as a Quaker he seeks to affirm and support inclusion and diversity in all its forms.

“I feel very fortunate to be a trustee of Family Fund. It is a very focussed and effective charity which provide very real and flexible support to families who have children and young people who are seriously ill or disabled.”

Modaser Choudhary

Modaser is a qualified accountant and has several years’ experience working in senior finance roles both in the UK and internationally. Having gained experience in various industries including insurance, banking, healthcare and education, Modaser is currently the Finance Director at Durham University.

Modaser has three children, one of whom has disabilities that impact upon her ability to communicate and be independent. Being a carer for his daughter has given Modaser first-hand experience of caring for a child with additional needs.

"It is a privilege to join the Family Fund Board as a Trustee. This is a truly remarkable organisation which makes such a big difference to so many lives and brings much needed attention to a sector of society which is often overlooked. "

Shona Elliott

Shona has worked in campaigning and communication roles throughout her career and is currently an advisor to the Bishop of Durham, on refugee and asylum policy after running the public affairs function for a London borough. However, Shona’s greatest privilege was being mum to her first son, Harry, who lived a full and vibrant life while living with with complex needs. Shona is passionate about building a world where all children, despite their health challenges, have access to wonderful opportunities so they can live a life full of possibility, where their needs are fully understood and met. Shona’s son, Harry, passed away shortly after she took up the position of trustee, at the age of 6, but she continues to work in his name following the example he set to make a joyful difference.

“It is a pleasure to share what skills and experience I can bring to the work of the Family Fund. Children with special needs and those who are seriously ill are arguably one of the most forgotten and vulnerable groups in our society, especially those who are also contending with a life on a low income. I know how beautiful family life can be when loving someone with different needs but also the challenges that come with trying to secure what your child needs. Coming alongside the wonderful and courageous parents and carers, seeking to make their child’s life bigger and happier each day, is a privilege and heartfelt purpose.”

Jonathan Evans

Jonathan has worked in Human Resources for over 40 years and has been an HR Director in both the private and public sectors, latterly being Director of Civilian Personnel in the Ministry of Defence. He now consults in HR across a broad range of public and charitable sector organisations. In addition to his role with Family Fund, he is a trustee for a London-based charity working with a range of young people, mainly from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Jonathan is Chair of Family Fund’s Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Kate Fleck

Kate has worked in the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland for over 35 years. She has experience in senior management roles working in the areas of disability and long term conditions, both with young people and adults. Kate has been a member of the Board of Open College Network Northern Ireland for six years and Chair for the last five years. In 2020, she was appointed to the South Eastern Local Commissioning Group who are responsible for the commissioning of health and social care by addressing the care needs of the local population.

“I am delighted to be a trustee of Family Fund, an organisation that can make such a difference to the lives of so many children and young people living with disability or who are seriously ill, and their families and carers.”

Marguerite Haye

Marguerite is the founder of What’s the Big e? which was borne out of her passion and frustration for disabled children not receiving the provision they are entitled to. Marguerite has a thorough knowledge of SEND legislation and embraces its ethos at the heart of everything she does, adopting a child-centered approach to ensure every child receives the appropriate provision.

Marguerite works with several organisations who are championing racial and social justice and is passionate about building meaningful relationships with parents, young people and professionals alike.

“As a Trustee I am looking forward to contributing to the Charity to make a difference by learning and sharing my knowledge and lived experience.”

Gareth Lambert

Gareth is a Senior Partner at Ernst & Young LLP, focusing on the financial services industry and advising clients on a wide range of regulatory matters. He has worked in the banking sector for over 30 years both in industry and professional services roles around the world. Gareth’s area of specialism is structural change in banking, and he has for the past decade committed his energies to delivering a safer, more robust financial services industry in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of Ernst & Young's financial services consulting business in the UK.

Gareth has three grown up children and lives in York. He enjoys travel, golf and current affairs.

“It is an honour to be a Trustee of Family Fund and play a small role in the life changing work undertaken by the staff and volunteers of the charity. Every positive action, however large or small, has the potential to make a lasting difference to the lives of disabled children and their parents and carers; Family Fund delivers on that, every day.”

Emma Pinnock

Emma has worked in education for 20 years in a range of environments, such as PRUs, hospital schools, special schools ​and mainstream education, holding senior management roles including Assistant Head and Acting Deputy Head. Her last teaching role, as the Head of Specialist Provision, focused on the needs and education of children with autism.

Emma’s passion to support disabled children and families has derived from her personal journey of living and loving in a family with special educational needs, which has given her unique insight and led to her belief in people’s abilities to overcome barriers and face unknown territory.

She is now the Director of the Essential Education Group which is a consultancy which serves both education organisations and families on their special needs journey. As a teacher, trainer, coach, team member and much more, Emma seeks to inspire people and organisations to make room for neurodiverse people to uniquely take their place.

Andy Piper

Andy is a Director at Barclays Bank where he specialises in governance and control, particularly with respect to technology and cyber security, bringing over 15 years of experience in the field. Prior to joining Barclays, Andy worked as a Risk Consultant for Deloitte, a ‘Big 4’ professional services company, and gained insight into a number of different industry sectors.

Andy is married and has two young children. In his spare time Andy likes to keep fit and enjoys travelling.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to join the board of trustees at Family Fund. I’m looking forward to utilising my skills around technology risk, IT security, operational governance and process improvement to support this wonderful charity as they grow, evolve and continue to make such a valued difference to the lives of disabled and seriously ill children and their families.”