BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Mike Druce - Chair
Mike was working as a Regional Manager for an oil company when he suffered two strokes at the age of 32. He took early retirement and set up the Coventry & Warwickshire branch of Different Strokes, taking the Chair. Mike spent 7 years for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau as a volunteer and a trustee. He has recently taken over the Chair of Different Strokes, and represents Different Strokes at the Aphasia Alliance.

Keith Wood
Keith is a chartered accountant who suffered a major stroke in 1997 when finance director of an NHS hospital trust. With a keen interest in health issues, he has been a trustee of Different Strokes since 1999. In addition, he takes on the role of financial director for the charity. He is also trustee of a local hospice and non-executive director of an NHS Care Trust.

David Phillips OBE
A dentist by profession, David moved quickly through the ranks of the Medical Protection Society and its successor, Dental Protection, of which he was Secretary and Dental Director when he retired in 1999, having built up the membership to over 40,000 dentists. David now lectures extensively around the world and concentrates on his Chair and non-executive appointments in both the charity and private sector, having previously held similar positions in the NHS. David has been an effective member of our Finance & General Purpose Committee since January 2001. His daughter, Rachel, has been a wheelchair user for 20 years.

Brendan Eley
Brendan is Chief Executive of the Healing Foundation, a national charity supporting research into reconstructive surgical techniques and issues of disfigurement. Before that, Brendan was Director of The Mary Rose Foundation, managed national events for the RNLI and fundraised for the Cancer Research Campaign.

John Horan
John, a member of the Central London group, had his stroke in December 1999. He is a barrister specialising in all kinds of discrimination, practising at Cloisters Chambers, and advises the Board on its various legal obligations. He is corporate secretary to Different Strokes (Trustees) Ltd. A full CV can be found on the Cloisters website www.cloisters.com.

STAFF AT CENTRAL OFFICE

General Manager - Anne Barby
Anne was previously employed in the HR department of a large telemarketing organisation and joined Different Strokes in 2002. She has held the positions of Office Manager, Group Development Manager and now General Manager and is responsible for managing the organisation on a day-to-day basis, representing the charity and the cause to a wider audience and reporting regularly to the Board of Trustees.

Fundraising Manager – Debbie Wilson
Debbie works 2 days a week to raise funds to ensure Different Strokes continues to provide its vital services. Debbie’s most lucrative success was with the application to the Big Lottery Fund that resulted in three years funding to develop the network of regional groups.

STROKE SURVIVOR VOLUNTEERS AT MAIN OFFICE

Peter Shave
Peter was a sales manager in electronics before his stroke in Nov ’99. He assists with the regional organisation and telephone helpline, updating the database and mailing out information packs. His IT experience is very useful and he’s usually in the office on Mondays and Thursdays. Peter enjoys socialising in his local pub.

Wendy Rugg-Easey
Wendy takes care of the Direct Debits and Gift Aid administration. Previously, she worked for a large financial institution on Canary Wharf and commuted into London by train. She decided to give up paid work following a stroke and is at Different Strokes on Tuesday. Wendy loves to travel.

Julie Cancea
Julie volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays and she also regularly attends the Middlesex Different Strokes group. She assists the Office Manager with admin and enjoys talking to other stroke survivors on the helpline and responding to email enquiries. Her story has been featured in several magazines, when she enjoyed being the centre of attention, especially the makeover.

Will Stark
Will is in the office on Wednesdays, and has been helping out with a variety of tasks. He recently moved to the Milton Keynes area from Scotland, where he held a management role for a company that manufactures a famous brand of vacuum cleaners. He is hoping to make sufficient recovery to return to work, and volunteering may help him achieve that.

WEBMISTRESS

Zoe Wilson

Page updated January 11th 2008