Our Team

Alastair is  Chairman of Trustees. He has 30 years’ experience in financial services both as a stockbroker and investment manager

Ali Griffiths joined the board as a Trustee in July 2014. She is an interim marketing director and a corporate brand and communications expert.

I have worked for many years in the health sector, and before that in local government and at Cambridge University.

I lead a small group of communication professionals responsible for managing the charity’s external and internal communications across press, broadcast, web and social media

I lead the Fundraising team at Meningitis Now, who work with our amazing supporters to raise much needed funds for our lifesaving work.

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

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.

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.

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

Hi, I’m Mollie. I have a very close relationship with Meningitis Now as when I was five, I contracted bacterial meningitis

Hi I am Lyndon, and I live in Crook, County Durham. At the age of eight and a half months I discovered meningitis.

Hi, I’m Hannah. I am 14 years old and was diagnosed with meningitis when I was 13 months old.  The disease affected my hearing and I am now deaf

Hi, my name is Johari.  I haven’t had meningitis myself, but my younger brother Ato had pneumococcal meningitis when we were little.

Hi, my name is Louise. When I was eleven years old I had pneumococcal meningitis. The strain that I had was so severe that it went inside my brain.

Hi, I'm Jasmine. My experience of meningitis was in 2001 when I had pneumococcal meningitis and became profoundly deaf

Hi I'm Aaron. I was only three years old when my six week old sister, Lauren contracted bacterial meningitis. After a three week battle with the disease, during which she was resuscitated and fitted uncontrollably, she was allowed home. From then, my life changed dramatically

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

Hi I'm Alicia, I first became aware of meningitis when my sister contracted the disease when she was just two years old

Hi, I'm Chloe. Since becoming a Young Ambassador, I have attended family days and special events such as those at the House of Commons

Hi I'm Megan, my brother, Ted, had meningococcal septicaemia at the age of two. He is now sixteen. The meningitis that Ted had has affected his growth plates, and caused him many problems in his development

Lucie is one of our Support Officers in England, mostly covering the East of England, London and South-East. 

My son is now 21, but when he was six months old, he was rushed to hospital with suspected meningitis. Thankfully it turned out not to be meningitis, but it made me realise how little I knew about this devastating disease

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

Leah Wynn is one of the Community Fundraising Officers at our Head Office

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. After a lumbar puncture and blood tests, he was diagnosed with meningitis and transferred to Guy’s Hospital, but died a few hours later.

Chris is one of our Support Officers in the North of England

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.

Former Scotland footballer, famous for his time at Manchester United FC, Denis is a long-standing supporter of Meningitis Now (previously supporting Meningitis UK) after his son contracted the disease

Matthew is a London-based property developer who, in 2011, was the first person in Britain to be fitted with a bionic leg

Entrepreneur and Chairman of luxury pram maker, Silver Cross, Alan has supported our work for many years through his Silver Cross business

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.

Andrew has spent the majority of his career in public affairs and communications, including a number of senior roles in the charity sector

My reason for being a young ambassador is to raise awareness about Meningitis offer support and raise much needed funds , also to help the trust offer help and support to other families in need after being affected by meningitis

Phil is an entrepreneur who co-founded Cozart Bioscience Limited, an award-winning drug testing company

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

I’m Rosie and I first experienced meningitis and septicaemia over 10 years ago when I became ill

Hey! My names Amy, I suffered from TB meningitis when I was just 7 years old

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

We contacted Meningitis Now after the loss of our nine-month-old son Taylor to meningococcal septicaemia in March 2009

Rose’s daughter Alexandra had meningitis when she was just six-months-old, whilst the family was on holiday in Scotland

Lesley Tanton and her husband, John, lost their 14-year-old son, Mark, in September 2010. He had the Y strain of meningitis

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

Charlie woke with a temperature and a rash, Claire knew that something was seriously wrong and rushed him to Bezier hospital. He was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis together with septicaemia.

Hi, I’m Tasha, a Communications and Press Officer at Meningitis Now. Our team is responsible for spreading the word about meningitis, raising awareness of the charity and support it provides, helping to raise vital funds to enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work.

I’ve had a big part in delivering our student awareness campaign into universities and getting out on campuses myself to raise awareness.

On the 10th of January 2013, I was told my boyfriend had meningococcal septicaemia. With a 10% chance to live, I knew our world would change

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.

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Richard Churchill 

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Nigel Gardner

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Cathy Hargreaves

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Jason Thomas

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Jo Killick

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Phil Marshall

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Nicola Hare

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Huw Martin Thomas

Hi my name is Ash. In my day life I am a Regional Manager for an electric car brand.

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member: Tony Fortune

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Geoff Howse

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Craig Patrick Saunders

Introducing Meningitis Now safety team member Steve Lawes

Hello, I am Toby and I have witnessed what Meningitis does to people and their families.

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

My name is Hannah and I live just outside of Swansea with my husband Ashley, In 2014, I was working as a Senior Civil Engineer at a large firm, living away from home during the week, living in ‘digs’ in shared accommodation, working 12 hour days and just returning home on the weekends to mostly sleep!

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, I loved skiing and wanted to spend as much time as I could on the slopes.

My experience of Meningitis is from when my daughter Fiona, then aged 15 years, contracted bacterial meningitis in October 2011. I dropped her at school at 8.30 in the morning and by lunchtime she was on a life support machine, fighting for her life.

I developed viral meningitis in February 2003, when my children were just 1 and 3 years old.

Hi, I’m Harry, the Corporate Fundraiser / Account Executive at Meningitis Now. If you or your company would like to support our life changing work by raising funds or awareness within your organisation, I’m here to help.

Hello Everyone! I am Louis. 10 years and 15 days before my birth, my family was changed forever. 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.

My name is Lucy and I live in Lydiate, Liverpool. I’m in year 10. I like to play netball and I like to be creative.

Hello, my name is Julie Green. In January 2012 my son Louie contracted meningococcal septicaemia at the age of 5 months old. He spent 11 weeks in hospital, two of which were in intensive care, and ended up having both legs below the knees and the fingers on his left hand amputated.

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.

My name is Hope and I've just finished my first year of a law degree at Cambridge. I've spent two weeks volunteering at the Meningitis Now head office to find out what it's like to work for a charity.

Louise is one of our Support Officers in England, mostly covering the South-West and Midlands.

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

Hi, I’m Helen, a Communications Officer at Meningitis Now.

Neil Carmichael has served as Member of Parliament for Stroud Valleys and Vale since 2010

Mark Durkan MP is the Social Democratic & Labour Party MP for Foyle

Sharon Hodgson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West since 2010

David Simpson is the Democratic Unionist Party MP for Upper Bann. 

Ian Mearns was elected MP for Gateshead in 2010

Jim Shannon was elected MP for Strangford in 2010 and is the DUP spokesman on Health, Transport and Equality

Hi, I’m Scarlett, a Communications and Press Officer at Meningitis Now

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. I remember thinking I’ll give it a couple of days and I’ll be back to normal, but it wasn’t that straightforward. The attack was nearly fatal and left me barely able to walk, talk or even recognise my children.