Trustee Board

Philippa Tudor CBE (Chair)

Philippa has 40 years of public service experience including Management Board roles spanning policy, HR and finance. She has professional qualifications in HR and corporate governance, and seeks to use those skills in the third sector. Having experienced Ramsay Hunt syndrome in 2010 she has enjoyed being involved with Facial Palsy UK for several years, and is particularly keen to increase awareness of facial difference and its impact, including amongst decision-makers.

Ben Haynes (Treasurer)

Ben is a chartered accountant whose employment has mainly been in the not for profit sector where he has held roles such as Financial Controller and Finance Business Partner. In 2015, Ben’s mother had two episodes of Bell’s palsy and still suffers with some effects five years later. Ben came across Facial Palsy UK’s website when trying to find answers for his mother’s diagnosis. Ben is keen to use his experience of working for charities to help Facial Palsy UK in any way that he can to improve awareness, fundraising, and compliance.

Mr Charles Nduka (Trustee, President & Founder)

Charles co-founded Facial Palsy UK in 2012. When working as a consultant and plastic reconstructive surgeon at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, Charles realised that many of his facial palsy patients had historically received little or no support. Some people had become reclusive and many had struggled to access services and treatments that could greatly improve their quality of life. He is passionate about raising awareness of this often devastating condition.

Fiona Hawthorne (Salmon)

Fiona Hawthorne is a visual artist who lives in London with her husband actor Colin Salmon and their four children. Her line drawings grace the pages of Vogue & Tatler, she was artist in residence to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and her portrait of Barack Obama hangs in the Library of Congress. Fiona developed Bell’s palsy in 2010 following a successful operation to restore her hearing. Unrecognised by the out-of-hours GP who ruled out a stroke, Fiona’s journey to seek information, treatment and support began. She is keen to help the charity raise awareness and funds for research.

Jan Jutsum

Before taking early retirement Jan managed a large team of staff in a major central government department. Prior to that she had directed and carried out internal investigations. She developed facial palsy following surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma in 2011 and has benefited greatly from the support group run from East Grinstead. She has been involved with the charity from the outset and has a particular interest in raising awareness of the condition and the help that is available.

Sheila Crowley

Sheila is a chartered physiotherapist and has held a variety of NHS posts in acute and community settings. She helped to set up and co-runs the Norwich based Facial Palsy UK Support Group. Throughout her work she has seen the value of good quality information as central to high quality healthcare. Sheila is keen to promote awareness and management of facial palsy.

Anna Pinsky

Anna is a human resources specialist with an international career working in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. She developed facial palsy as a result of surgery to remove a cholesteatoma from her facial nerve in 1994. At that time there was no support network and little information available for people living with facial paralysis. Anna is keen to support the role of Facial Palsy UK in raising awareness and enabling patients and their families access the support they need and achieve the best quality of life.

Rachel Fox (Secretary to Medical Advisory Board)

Rachel previously worked as an improvement specialist in Urgent and Emergency Care and has also held a number of non-executive director roles in the NHS. She spent over 20 years as a University academic, a pharmacologist involved in both research and teaching. Rachel’s interest in facial palsy stems from her husband’s experience of Bell’s palsy and the detrimental effects the condition had on his well-being; whilst wanting to ensure a better profile of understanding of facial palsy and its longer term impact on individuals, she is also keen to ensure psychosocial support is readily available to all affected.

David Coles

David is the Volunteer Centre Manager at the London School of Economics. He aims to inspire and empower students to volunteer for causes they are passionate about. He has worked with hundreds of charities at LSE and previously worked at Do-it, the UK’s National Volunteering Database. David also campaigns for responsible international volunteering, is a football coach and has volunteered as a photographer for several charities. David has Ramsay Hunt Syndrome in 2015 and discovered Facial Palsy UK when searching for information. He’s passionate about others getting the best positive physical and mental care.