Who are we?

FND Hope UK is managed by its board of trustees who have experience of Functional Neurological Disorder and its impact.

As a board of trustees, we plan the strategic development of FND Hope UK (Registered Charity England & Wales 1173607 and Scotland SC048333) and are responsible for its policies and work of the charity. We have a range of business, financial, management and legal experience.

Our Legal duties are to:

Act in our charities best interest
Manage our charities resources responsibly
Act with reasonable care and skill

Trustees are elected by FND Hope UK and serve for a minimum of 3 years.

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, please contact FND Hope UK for further information

fndhopeuk@fndhope.org

Welcome FND Hope UK’s New Patron, Lorraine Kelly!

Lorraine Kelly, OBE is an avid Dundee United supporter as well as host of her own ITV show “Lorraine”. Born in Glasgow, Lorraine joined her local weekly newspaper The East Kilbride News aged seventeen. In 1983, she joined BBC Scotland as a researcher, and a year later she became TVam’s Scottish correspondent covering stories like the Piper Alpha disaster and the Lockerbie bombing. She went on to co-host TVam and GMTV. In 2012, Lorraine was awarded the OBE by HM The Queen for services to charity and the armed forces at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. She was Hon Colonel of the Black Watch Cadets and a former Rector of Dundee University. She is a patron of Help For Heroes. Lorraine lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Steve, daughter Rosie and their dog Angus.

MEET OUR TRUSTEES FOR ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND

Cindy Smulders - Chair

Cindy has been an experienced Global Training Consultant for the past 27 years and helps people improve how they present and communicate within the corporate world, she brings with her professional expertise as a Professional and Motivational Speaker, Sales and Management consultant and works for some of the top Fortune 500 Companies in many different industries from banking to pharmaceuticals.

Cindy is a wife and mother to 2 children and joined our Board of Trustee on the 3rdOctober 2018 after one of her children received a diagnosis of FND. Cindy is very keen and passionate in helping to support all the parents and carers within our community under the age of 18 years old, and challenge the lack of treatment protocols in place for our young adults.

Abigail Bishop-Laggett

Abigail is a public relations and government affairs professional who is experienced in supporting healthcare organisations raise awareness of complex or lesser-known conditions. Abigail works with a range of organisations from international pharmaceutical companies to local charities, with particular experience in neurological conditions and improving care for the thousands of people in the UK impacted by conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Abigail specialises in government and NHS engagement, making the case for policy change to improve care for these often under-prioritised conditions.

Abigail joined our Board of Trustees in November 2020, after learning about the impact of FND through our online community and website. Abigail is passionate about increasing understanding and awareness of FND and achieving greater recognition in the health system so that individuals, families and carers can feel better supported and heard.

Bridget Mildon

Bridget Mildon, is President and Founder of F ND Hope. FND Hope is the first non-profit organization specifically for those diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder and related illnesses. A proponent of FND patient rights, Bridget is an active voice for FND patients. Her diverse experience and knowledge have cultivated into a unique perspective for those facing medical uncertainty and battling the challenges of living with Functional Neurological Disorder.

Robert Wilson Thomas

Robert is a proud Welshman, something he rarely lets people forget. He has been a practicing barrister-at-law since 1977, before which he read for a degree in chemical engineering. His legal practice started in intellectual property (on which he is the co-author of a number of reference books) then developed into licensing technology, mostly in a hi-tech environment, complex international commercial contracts, international law, telecommunications and data protection.

He developed Functional Neurological Disorder, rapid onset, following a major chemical clash and two cardiac arrests, after an operation to remove a tumour on his kidney, in late 2016.

Robert is no stranger to long-term and life-changing illness. He is not ashamed to admit that he has been bipolar, probably since his mid-teens, although he was formally diagnosed only in 1989. He also has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 1996. Both these conditions are well controlled. He survived major surgery for neck and throat cancer in 2006 and was pronounced cancer free in mid-2018.

Dr. Chris Symeon

Chris is a consultant neuropsychiatrist at St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He undertook his undergraduate medical training at St Bart’s and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry; followed by his specialist training in adult psychiatry on the South London and Maudsley training scheme and MSc in Neuroscience from Kings College London.

He is the clinical lead for the multidisciplinary FND rehabilitation programme within the Wolfson Service. He has an interest in digital health, leading to the creation of the myFND App, aiming to support patients with understanding and self-management of the condition. He understands the issues that so many patient’s face with access to appropriate healthcare resources, and he is passionate about developing services to allow patients with FND to access high quality treatment in a timely way.

Stephen Betteridge-Sorby - Trustee

Stephen is a Nurse Consultant and Lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health and has worked within the NHS for over 33 years.

He trained as a Registered General Nurse in York and his Registered Sick Children’s Nurse training at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

He has a background in intensive care, children’s hospice care and community/primary care.

Stephen has held a number of executive positions within the NHS, Voluntary sector and Government. He served as Director of Children’s Services UK for over 6 years and has project managed and developed national projects of significance regarding parent carers and young carers.

He was appointed a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s BirthdayHonours 2021, for his achievements to date.

He is married to James, a GP, who lives with FND.

Stephen has a passion for supportive care and progressive research and has a keen interest in service development.

Having joined the Board in October 2021, he is hoping to bring much of his strategic and operational expertise to developing innovative and supportive projects and services to FND Hope UK.

Vincent Smith

Vinny is the Chief Executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) and Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) with 20 years’ experience enabling transformation of organisations and sectors. In the past 5 years Vinny has helped establish the world’s first World Health Organization global roadmap for meningitis; the Global Meningitis Genome Partnership; the Meningitis Progress Tracker bringing together the worlds best data on bacterial meningitis into one place for the first time; and merged MRF and CoMO to establish the world’s leading combined meningitis charity and patient voice network. He is a steering committee member of OneNeurology Partnership; a Business Fellow and guest lecturer at the University of the West of England; a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturers; and currently represents MRF and CoMO as a member of the WHO Technical Task Force working to defeat meningitis by 2030.

Before entering the meningitis field, Vinny lead teams committed to open and transparent availability of international data on financing for development through the International Aid Transparency Initiative and Global Humanitarian Assistance programmes including establishing new teams in Kenya and Uganda; lead the operational and training implementation of a multi-agency domestic abuse intervention model in the UK; restructured the fundraising division of Europe’s largest voluntary income charity; provided consultancy for strategic and operational reorientation of an African economic think tank; and strategy development for a US-based public private global development partnership.

Dr Helen Bolter MRCVS

Helen has postgraduate qualifications in pain management and is currently studying for a MSc in the Clinical Management of Pain at the University of Edinburgh. She sits on the Pain Management Programme Special Interest Group and The Patient Voice Committee at The British Pain Society. She has extensive experience working for charities, in particular working with vulnerable adults.

Helen is particularly interested in primary pain and the chronic pain that so often accompanies FND. She is passionate about improving both access to and quality of drug-free pain management options for those in chronic pain.

Chantelle Kirk

Chantelle has been a business manager within the public health sector and a self-employed Care Quality Commission consultant to independent and corporate private health organisations. She has successfully implemented bespoke compliance, governance and business management systems building her clients a profitable, holistic business portfolio. Chantelle enjoyed teaching and training teams about the patient journey and the value in the non-essential essentials of customer care, centred around compassion, respect and understanding.
She brings with her professional finance and business administration experience, as well as analysis strategies to ensure best practice financial systems and governance.

Chantelle is a wife and mother to two children and joined as Treasurer in January 2022. She was diagnosed with FND soon after having her first child and was formally diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) in 2021. Chantelle is a passionate advocate for living a full life with a diagnosis and believes that potential is limitless. She works hard to help the FND community, sharing her knowledge and experience to empower others.

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Who Are We -FND Hope UK

Who are we?

Welcome FND Hope UK’s New Patron, Lorraine Kelly!

MEET OUR TRUSTEES FOR ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND

Cindy Smulders - Chair

Abigail Bishop-Laggett

Bridget Mildon

Robert Wilson Thomas

Dr. Chris Symeon

Stephen Betteridge-Sorby - Trustee

Vincent Smith

Dr Helen Bolter MRCVS

Chantelle Kirk

Related

Who Are We -FND Hope UK

Who are we?

Welcome FND Hope UK’s New Patron, Lorraine Kelly!

MEET OUR TRUSTEES FOR ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND

Cindy Smulders - Chair

Abigail Bishop-Laggett

Bridget Mildon

Robert Wilson Thomas

Dr. Chris Symeon

Stephen Betteridge-Sorby - Trustee

Vincent Smith

Dr Helen Bolter MRCVS

Chantelle Kirk

Related

Meet More Team Members

FND Hope Research Board Members

FND Hope Board Members

Bridget Mildon

REGISTERED CHARITY ENGLAND & WALES

REGISTERED CHARITY SCOTLAND