MND ASSOCIATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Fundraising Director
- Interim Director of Fundraising
Alan Gosschalk has been a Fundraising Director for over 20 years at a range of well-known charities including RNID, Shelter, Scope and most recently Plan International UK. As well as permanent roles, he has also carried out Interim assignments. He was Vice-Chair of the Institute of Fundraising for six years and a trustee of Hope and Homes for Children for ten years. He is currently on the Fundraising Committee of Moorfields Eye Charity.
Job Titles:
- Fundraiser / Committee Member
Job Titles:
- Director of External Affairs
Job Titles:
- Branch Chair and Association Visitor
Job Titles:
- Lead Fundraiser / Interim Admin Assistant
Job Titles:
- Director of Research and Development at the MND Association, Sai
- Director of Research Development
Dr Brian Dickie, Director of Research and Development at the MND Association, said:'Collaboration is crucial to success.
Brian graduated in 1991 with a PhD in Neuropharmacology from the University of Wales College of Medicine.
He then took up a research fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, where his research on the mechanisms of cell death in Parkinson's disease was combined with teaching roles as Departmental Tutor and Lecturer in Neuroscience at Lincoln College, Oxford.
Since 1997, Brian has worked for the MND Association as Director of Research Development, with the job of providing strategic guidance, raising the Association's profile within the biomedical and care research communities, increasing the quantity and quality of Association-sponsored and collaborative research, organising the annual International Symposium on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neurone Disease and communicating advances in MND research to lay and specialist audiences.
Job Titles:
- Member of Committee
- MNDA Hertfordshire Committee Member
MNDA Hertfordshire committee member Grant Cameron smashed his "Run 25 miles in December" challenge, ploughing through the icy weather and smashing his target with a total of 36 miles reached by the end of the month! His fantastic efforts raised over £800 for the branch, which will help us to continue our work with those affected by MND. A massive thank you to Grant and those who donated towards this fundraiser.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of People, Culture and Inclusion
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of Committee
- Our Chairman
Our chairman, Kent Allen, committee member, Hetty Smith, and Area Support Coordinator, Justine Cox, were delighted to attend JJK Fitness in Kings Langley‘s 3rd fundraiser in support of their past member David Davies, who sadly passed away with MND two years ago. This year, the gym event involved 16 teams who altogether raised an incredible £6050. We are hugely thankful to Joe Kelly, owner of the gym for his long and continued fantastic support. Picture: Top Left - Justine Cox - Area Support Coordinator and Kent Allen - Chair, Top Right - Kent, Kim Davies (wife of David Davies) and their son, Harrison, Bottom Right - Kim Davies, Joe Kelly-Director of JJK Fitness, Kent, Justine & Hetty, Bottom Right- winning team receiving the David Davies cup.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Member of Committee
Mark joined the MND Association in September 2019 following 3 years working as Director of Finance and Resources at the Lionheart Academies Trust.
Prior to moving in to the not for profit sector, Mark spent 25 years working in the Financial Services industry. His early years were working for GE where he undertook a number of senior Finance and Risk Management roles. During his 13 years at GE he was trained up as a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and was heavily involved in their programme of process improvement.
After leaving GE, Mark took a sabbatical to travel to Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia and on his return worked for Barclays and then Santander. After a number of years in Finance at Santander, Mark moved to a new role where he was responsible for the bank's Internal Technology and Operations team, managing IT initiatives for the internal users.
In his role at Lionheart Mark was responsible for IT, Facilities and HR as well as the core Finance team and this role developed his operational experience further.
During his free time, Mark spends most of his hours renovating his house and walking with his two Labradors and enjoys travelling to new countries. He is also a governor at a local primary school.
Mark O'Brien, from Slip End in Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with MND last year and has completed a world record attempt with a five-and-a-half hour open water swim - the longest unaided water swim for a person living with MND. The 54 year-old managed to swim for 6.8 miles (11km), further than his 6.5 mile target, and his three children swam the final stretch with him as his family, friends and even strangers cheered him on. Once out the water, Mr O'Brien told the BBC he was "freezing" but that the "support has been amazing". "It was a bit longer than we expected, and I'm looking forward to a hot shower and a burger," he said. So far Mark has raised an incredible £17,000 which will be split equally between the Bedfordshire Branch and Hertfordshire Branch of the MND Association and the MND National Office for research. We are hugely grateful to Mark for this fantastic achievement and magnificent sum raised.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair and Fundraising
Peter Duxbury has been painting for over 80 years and has shown at the Mall Galleries and other small exhibitions. Diagnosed with a slow progressing variant of Motor Neurone Disease in 2010 Peter now uses a wheelchair, has limited motor movement and speech, yet is still able to produce wonderful and inspiring art.
Some of Peter's images are shown in the gallery below with further images available here. All images are available to purchase at a cost of £225 unmounted (plus £10 post and packaging), with mounting optional and costing an additional £25 per painting.
A donation from each sale with be made to the MND Association Gloucestershire Branch and paintings can be ordered by emailing Peter at duxburydoves@gmail.com
Job Titles:
- Co - Director of the Research Programme and Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at King 's College London
Job Titles:
- Director of Services and Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Webmaster / Social Media Lead
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Non - Executive Member of the NHS Suffolk
Tanya is a highly experienced voluntary sector leader, with a background in healthcare. Tanya began her career as a registered nurse, and then became a specialist in palliative care.
She has more than 20 years of voluntary sector experience, and has held a variety of clinical leadership roles, with over 12 years as a CEO. After nearly a decade as the chief executive officer of an independent hospice, Tanya went on to utilise her extensive skills and knowledge in charity leadership roles on an interim basis. Over the last five years she has worked for a number of charities including Sue Ryder, Teenage Cancer Trust, The Ramblers and most recently at Impetus.
Tanya is a non-executive member of the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, where she also chairs the People and Remuneration Committee. She has extensive trustee experience, giving her a vital understanding of the importance of charity governance and the roles all of our teams play in delivering fantastic care and services for the community.
Tanya joined the MND Association as the Chief Executive Officer in January 2023.