Our Team
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Andrew Fletcher
Andrew is Meningitis Now's Chairman of Trustees. He has spent the majority of his career in public affairs and communications, including a number of senior roles in the charity sector.
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Stephen Gazard
Stephen is Meningitis Now's Vice-Chair of Trustees. An entrepreneur by background, Stephen has been primarily involved in the financial services arena.
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Gary Price
Gary Price is well known for his work in the field of Customer Experience and joined our Board of Trustees in October 2017.
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James Sutherland
James Sutherland is a generalist senior manager with a governance specialism.
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Samantha Blackie
Sam Blackie is an experienced Human Resources Director, with a specific focus on developing and implementing the strategic people agenda, leading complex change and working with a broad range of stakeholders.
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Rod Adlington
The Adlington family lost their son Barney to meningitis in 2005 and have fundraised since, mainly through "Barney's Bash", a series of farm-based, one night mini festivals.
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Mitchell Wolfe
Mitchell has extensive experience in the business world, holding a number of senior finance roles and as Managing Director of a manufacturing company.
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Steve Dayman
My little boy Spencer contracted meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in 1982 and died. Since then, I have dedicated much of my life to the meningitis cause in Spencer’s memory.
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Dr. Tom Nutt
Hello, I'm Tom, Chief Executive Officer at Meningitis Now.
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Mark Hunt
Hello, I'm Mark, Director of Comms & Marketing at Meningitis Now.
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Beth Bottrill
Hi, I'm Beth, Director of Fundraising at Meningitis Now.
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Dr Caroline Vipond, Chairperson
Caroline is a Senior Scientist in the Division of Bacteriology at NIBSC, where she runs the group responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of a number of licensed meningococcal vaccines. She is also the current Chairperson of our Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel
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Professor Simon Kroll, Honorary Medical Director and Vice-Chair
Professor of Paediatrics and Molecular Diseases at Imperial College and St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, Simon is involved in research into the molecular basis of the virulence of meningitis and pathogens, and in new vaccine strategies to prevent meningitis and septicaemia.
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Dr Xilian Bai
Xilian graduated in medicine from China Medical University before specialising in paediatric/neonatal intensive care and paediatric infectious diseases. -
Professor David Dockrell
Professor David Dockrell is Professor of Infection Medicine in the Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh.
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Dr Darryl Hill
Darryl obtained a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Swansea in 1993 and graduated with a PhD in 1997. Following a postdoctoral position in the University of Swansea, he moved to the University of Bristol in 1998, where he currently works as a senior lecturer in microbiology in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
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Professor Tim Mitchell
Tim obtained his BSc and PhD in microbiology from the University of Birmingham. He was awarded a Wellcome Trust Travelling Fellowship to work at Erasmus University (Rotterdam) before returning to the UK to take up a post-doctoral position at University of Leicester. He was then awarded a Royal Society University Fellowship. -
Dr Simon Nadel
Simon has been a Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care at St. Mary's Hospital and Imperial College London since 1994. He also trained in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. -
Dr Ed Kaczmarski
Ed trained at King's College and St George’s Hospital Medical School London, obtaining his medical qualifications in 1978. He had clinical training posts in internal medicine, clinical haematology and infectious diseases before commencing microbiology training in Manchester. -
Fiona Y
Hi, I’m Fiona. I had meningitis when I was 15, on 4 October 2011; it was just a normal school day. However, that was about to change.
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Kiera
Hello, my name is Kiera. Many years before I was born, my parents had their first child, Dominic. Dominic contracted meningitis B at a very young age, shortly after he won his battle with cancer.
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Olivia
Hi, I’m Livvy. My meningitis story begins with my nephew Jack, now aged 8. When Jack was two years old, he became extremely pale and weak after he had been unwell at a children’s party a few hours previous.
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Matt W
Hi, I’m Matt. In August 2012 I became a Young Ambassador for Meningitis Now. The Young Ambassador’s role is to promote Meningitis Now to young people, and this is a huge challenge.
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Isa
Hi, I'm Isa. I’m Matt's sister and I was five years old when Hannah, my baby sister died.
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Sophia B
Hi, my name is Sophia. I am from Chiswick in London. I have been involved with Meningitis Now for some time, supporting fundraising. -
Sophie C
Hello I’m Sophie. When I was 12 I contracted pneumococcal meningitis after suffering from a perforated eardrum. I was hospitalised for two weeks in intensive care at the Bristol Children’s Hospital, where I was fortunate enough to make a full recovery.
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Lyndon L
Hi I am Lyndon, and I live in Crook, County Durham. At the age of eight and a half months I discovered meningitis.
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Holly McNaughton
My Meningitis Story, Holly McNaughton, Community Ambassador
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Johari A
Hi, my name is Johari. I haven’t had meningitis myself, but my younger brother Ato had pneumococcal meningitis when we were little.
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Jasmine B
Hi, I'm Jasmine. My experience of meningitis was in 2001 when I had pneumococcal meningitis and became profoundly deaf.
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Aaron B
Hi, I'm Aaron. I was only three years old when my six week old sister Lauren contracted bacterial meningitis.
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Ross P
Hi I’m Ross, I’m 14 and I live with my family and my brother, who has had meningitis. My brother, Troy, has suffered bacterial meningitis six times due to a head injury.
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Alicia S
Hi, I'm Alicia. I first became aware of meningitis when my sister contracted the disease when she was just two years old.
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Ross W
Hi, I'm Ross. In 1992, before I was born, I lost my four year old brother Dominic to meningitis after he had recovered from cancer. Being mistaken as tonsillitis on Monday because of the lack of awareness, he was sent home.
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Huw W
Hi, my name is Huw and I live in Porthcawl, South Wales. When I was three years old my mum contracted viral meningitis.
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Lucie Riches
Lucie is one of our Community Support Officers, covering the South, East and Central England.
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Anne Cadden
In January 2001, my daughter, Helen, died from meningococcal septicaemia aged 18 while in her first year at university.
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Lesley Chandler-Clare
I lost my husband, Kevin, to meningococcal septicaemia in January 2000, just five hours after being admitted to hospital. I have been supported by Meningitis Now ever since. -
Joanne Wilson
Jo is the Community Fundraiser for Northern Ireland at Meningitis Now
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Bahman Jamalaldini
In December 2010, I thought I was coming down with a cold. On December 21, I went to bed early and in the early hours of the morning I was vomiting, had diarrhoea, felt cold and had muscle and joint pain.
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Leah Wynn
Hi, I'm Leah, Community Fundraising Officer for the South and South-East at Meningitis Now.
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Val Stephenson
I first made contact with Meningitis Now in 2000 when, at the age of two, our youngest daughter, Lydia, contracted meningococcal C and developed septicaemia. -
Alice Austin
In 2004, our daughter, Gillian, died from meningitis just days after the birth of her second child Grace, who also passed away.
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Vanessa Whiting
In 1992, my son Luke, died from meningitis aged 22 months. He initially had flu-like symptoms, but the doctor thought he’d had a convulsion, so he was referred to the local hospital.
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Margaret McLaren
I became involved in the fight against meningitis when my young nephew died in October 2007; he was 12 years old and had been a healthy fit and happy boy.
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Steph Carter
I was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis in January 2010 at the age of 32.
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Angela Cloke
My meningitis journey began when our youngest son, Sam, aged just 18 months became very poorly.
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Carl Montieth
My first involvement with meningitis occurred when I met Steve, Gloria and family on my honeymoon in Cyprus 27 years ago.
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Alison Walker
I first encountered meningitis in July 2003 when my eight month old daughter, Hannah, contracted pneumococcal meningitis and septicaemia.
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Mary Garley
We lost our granddaughter, Maisie, in 2008, to meningitis; she was just eight months old. She was taken to hospital early in the morning of 15 October - she was sent home after being told it was just a virus. -
Christine Mather
Chris is one of our Community Support Officers, covering the North of England.
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Andrew Harvey
Andrew Harvey is President of Meningitis Now. He presented BBC TV News for many years before moving to ITN and now has his own media training company.
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Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex
HRH The Countess of Wessex is our Royal Patron and is passionate about our work and helping people affected by meningitis. -
Lord Williams of Oystermouth Master of Magdalene
Lord Williams is an Anglican bishop and was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 until 2012. -
Lord Darzi
Lord Darzi is a multi-award winning surgeon at Imperial College London and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health from 2007 to 2009. -
Dr Mark Porter MBE
Well known media doctor Dr Mark is medical correspondent at The Times, doctor on The One Show, presenter of Radio 4’s flagship medical series Inside Health and a GP at a doctor’s surgery in South Gloucestershire.
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Ken Loach
British film and television director Ken Loach is famous for films such as Cathy Come Home and Kes.
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Dr Chris Steele
Dr Chris is resident doctor on ITV’s This Morning show and an award winning health journalist. -
Baroness Corston
Long-standing British Labour politician Baroness Corston is famed for being the first woman to hold the position of Chair for the Parliamentary Labour Party.
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Jane Wells MBE
Jane is one of the founding members of the meningitis movement in the UK after her son contracted meningitis in an outbreak in the early 1980s.
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Dr Tim Brain OBE QPM BA PhD FRSA CCMI
Dr Brain started supporting our work after attending an event for us.
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Lisa Snowdon
Television presenter, jewellery designer, radio DJ and model Lisa co-hosts award-winning Capital Radio breakfast show, London’s number one breakfast show.
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Petra Ecclestone
Model, designer and mum of three, Petra is the daughter of Formula One mogul, Bernie Ecclestone, and became an Ambassador for us having had viral meningitis aged 14.
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Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie is an award-winning British actress, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in ITV’s Coronation Street.
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Tana Ramsay
TV broadcaster, author of bestselling cookery books and mum of four, Tana is also the wife of celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay. -
Dr Ranj
TV doctor, specialising in children’s health, Dr Ranj is best known for presenting CBeebies' show Get Well Soon. He also has a kids' health segment on ITV’s This Morning show. -
Dr Ellie Cannon
Dr Ellie is a media doctor, author and practicing GP, best known best for her weekly health column in the Mail on Sunday and regular appearances on Sky News Sunrise. -
Dr Rob Hicks
Practicing GP, media doctor, health writer and medical journalist, Dr Rob regularly appears on BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC radio.
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Joanna Trollope OBE
British author of bestselling novels, a mother and grandmother, Joanna is a passionate supporter of our work. -
Ian Rush MBE
Former Welsh international footballer, famous for his time playing for Liverpool, Ian is now a football pundit. -
Denis Law CBE
A former Scotland footballer, Denis is famous for his time at Manchester United FC.
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Matthew Newbury
Matthew is a London-based property developer who, in 2011, was the first person in Britain to be fitted with a bionic leg.
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Alan Halsall
Entrepreneur and Chairman of luxury pram maker, Silver Cross, Alan has supported our work for many years through his Silver Cross business.
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Alex W
Alison’s eight year old son, Alex, contracted meningococcal septicaemia on her wedding day; within hours Alex had gone from feeling a little ill to being kept alive by a life support machine.
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Morven
My reason for being a Young Ambassador is to raise awareness about meningitis, offer support and raise much needed funds, and to help Meningitis Now offer help and support to other families in need after being affected by meningitis.
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Phil Hand
Phil is an entrepreneur.
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Nina
I personally have not had meningitis but both my dad (who had it as a child, but made a full recovery) and a very close friend of mine did.
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Rosie
Hi! I’m Rosie. I had bacterial meningitis when I was seven years old and my life is still impacted by the after-effects the disease left me with on a day-to-day basis
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Fiona Brannan
Fiona and her husband, Simon, lost their 16-month-old son Cy to meningitis in October 2007. Cy passed away just 24 hours after contracting the disease.
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Lesley Tanton
Lesley Tanton and her husband, John, lost their 14-year-old son, Mark, in September 2010. He had the Y strain of meningitis.
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Ian Stuart
Ian has over 35 years' experience in the banking industry and is currently HSBC’s Head of Commercial Banking UK and Co-Head of Commercial Banking Europe
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Ian Watkinson
I first came into contact with Meningitis Now following the death of my beautiful baby grandson Charlie in 2010.
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Craig Jones
Craig’s daughter contracted bacterial meningitis in December 2011 when she was eight years old.
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Callum
My name is Callum and I have younger identical twin sisters. I decided to become a volunteer with Meningitis Now after one of my sisters had bacterial meningitis when she was 8
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Jacob
My name is Jacob. On 10 January 2013 I walked into hospital, where I remained a patient for the next 699 days; I had contracted meningococcal septicaemia.
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Louise G
Hi ,I’m Louise. I had meningitis when I was 2 and a half. It was just a normal day, I was out washing the car with my dad and then everything changed.
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Lynette Adjei
‘Meningitis’ – I knew that word but it didn’t mean a lot. ‘Pneumo-what?’ - the other word was definitely Double Dutch.
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Cliff and Jeanette Bull
When Charlie woke with a temperature and a rash, Claire knew that something was seriously wrong and rushed him to Bezier hospital.
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Jemma P
Hi, I’m Jemma. In August 2012 I got my A-Level results and found out I got into the University of Leicester to study law - I was looking forward to my new adventure.
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Richard Churchill
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Richard Churchill
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Nigel Gardner
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Nigel Gardner
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Cathy Hargreaves
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Cathy Hargreaves
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Jason Thomas
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Jason Thomas
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Jo Killick
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Jo Killick
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Phil Marshall
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Phil Marshall
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Nicola Hare
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Nicola Hare
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Huw Thomas
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Huw Thomas
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Jonathan Davies
I contracted a severe case of viral meningitis in 2002. I was leading an active life, training for my first open water sea triathlon, when viral meningitis struck.
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Ash Harris
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Ash Harris
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Tony Fortune
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Tony Fortune
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Geoff Howse
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Geoff Howse
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Craig Saunders
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Craig Saunders
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Steve Lawes
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Steve Lawes
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Toby
Hello, I am Toby and I have witnessed what meningitis does to people and their families.
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Emma Moore
Hi my name's Emma Moore and I lost my first child George to meningitis at the age of 10 months old in October 2013
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Hannah Pearce
My name is Hannah and I live just outside of Swansea with my husband Ashley.
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Sophia Wyatt
1993 was going to be an exciting year for me, as soon as I turned 17 I was planning to begin training to be a skiing instructor.
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Alison Yelland
My experience of Meningitis is from when my daughter Fiona, then aged 15 years, contracted bacterial meningitis in October 2011.
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Alison Westwood
I developed viral meningitis in February 2003, when my children were just 1 and 3 years old.
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Louis
Hello everyone! I am Louis. 10 years and 15 days before my birth, my family was changed forever when we lost my uncle James. Despite my never having met my uncle, I have seen firsthand what losing someone to meningitis really does to a family.
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Julie Green
Hello, my name is Julie Green. In January 2012 my son Louie contracted meningococcal septicaemia at the age of 5 months old.
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Barbara and Bob Johnson
Hello, we are Barbara and Bob Johnson from Essex. We started supporting the charity in the days of the National Meningitis Trust after the death of our son James in May 1991 from Group 'B' meningitis and septicaemia.
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Charlotte H
Student Charlotte had both legs amputated below the knee and lost all the fingers on her left hand when she contracted meningococcal group W (Men W) meningitis last year.
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Helen
Hi, I’m Helen, a Communications Officer at Meningitis Now.
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Hannah Marsh
Hannah is a CIMA-qualified account and is currently in the role of Financial Controller at Plan International UK, a global charity focussed on children's' rights and equality for girls.
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Gillian Marshall
Hi, I'm Gillian, Community Fundraising Officer for Scotland at Meningitis Now.
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Sarah Lockey
Hi, I'm Sarah, Community Fundraising Officer for the North East at Meningitis Now.
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Elaine Close
Hi, I'm Elaine, Community Fundraising Officer for the North West at Meningitis Now.
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Rachel Oakley
Introducing Meningitis Now Safety Team member Rachel Oakley
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Bev Corbett
Hi, I'm Bev, Director of Research and Support at Meningitis Now.
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James Duff
James was a long-standing supporter and fundraiser for Meningitis Now before becoming a Community Ambassador in 2018
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Asha Vijendran
I’m Asha and I work as a Corporate Development Manager at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
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Caroline Frean
I’m Caroline and I'm a solicitor working for people who have been injured as a result of negligent medical treatment.
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Charlotte Moore
I’m Charlotte. I am a clinical / medical negligence lawyer who works with children and adults who have suffered life-changing injuries, as a result of failings in their medical treatment and care.
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Claire Packham
I am currently a Department Coordinator at Anthony Collins Solicitors and have been with the firm for over 10 years.
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Craig Ford
I am currently a solicitor working in the South West. I left school at 16, joined the Army and spent 23 years in the military medical services.
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David Baker
I am a father to three wonderful children - this the highlight of my life. I’ve always tried to do my best, I aim to help people and try and make their lives better.
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Julie Marsh
I represent injured people who have suffered an injury as a result of complications and issues with their medical treatment.
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Laura Bland
Hi, my name is Laura and I am a solicitor. I act for people who have suffered an injury as a result of complications and issues with their medical treatment.
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Misa Ichinose
I've lived in Japan, the US and Hong Kong but for the last decade I've studied and worked in the U.K., and currently live in Essex with my partner.
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Sarah Huntbach
I am a solicitor and I represent clients and their families who have suffered life changing injuries, either because of a medical mishap/misdiagnosis, or caused by a road traffic or other type of accident.
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Sue Davie
I’m a qualified management accountant and MBA (Master of Business Administration). I worked for Fujitsu for 10 years after completing my BA (Hons) Business Studies.