What is your motivation to become a trustee of the MND Association?
My dad was diagnosed with MND in 2019 and continues to be engaged in his journey with the condition today. Him living with MND has had a significant impact on our family and we have been helped by the MND Association, both in terms of an information source and support with financing voice recording. My family and I have already engaged in fundraising efforts for the Association, and being a trustee feels like a great opportunity to take my contribution further forward and make use of my personal and professional experience for the benefit of families like ours.
What experience and skills will you bring to your role as a trustee?
As a senior clinical psychologist with 16 years’ experience in the NHS, I bring an excellent understanding of healthcare leadership, management and governance. My academic background means I have a good understanding of the disease process at work in MND and how this presents in physical, emotional and social domains. My clinical background offers skills in empathic listening and working therapeutically with people in distress or difficulty.
I also bring my personal experience as a family member of someone with MND. While everyone experiences this condition differently, I feel this would add heart and meaning to my contribution.