Our Trustees
Alastair Gornall, Chairman of Trustees
Alastair knew Jo and James Maxwell very well and was James' business partner for over 10 years. After James' death in 2003, Alastair became Chairman of the Trustees of Jo's Trust.
During Alastair's career he has been an officer in the British Army; worked for Business Week International magazine in New York; built two award winning PR agencies and most recently was CEO of Reed Exhibitions Ltd - the world's largest event organiser.
Charlie Bott
Charlie Bott is a Managing Partner at BC Partners, a European Private Equity firm. Prior to that he was Chairman of the financial sponsors group in Europe at Goldman Sachs. Charlie holds a BA from Harvard University and MBA from Stanford University.
He lives in London with his wife and four children. He and his wife were close personal friends of Jo and Jamie Maxwell and Charlie has been a Trustee since 2003, and became Treasurer this year. In 2001 he ran the London Marathon in aid of Jo’s Trust and this year his eldest daughter is doing the same.
Simon Berry
Simon Berry is Chairman of Berry Bros & Rudd, the wine & spirits merchant. He became friends with Jo & Jamie when they were all first living in London in the late 1970s, and is the proud godfather of Tom, their eldest son.
A keen amateur actor and director, he appeared on stage with Jo & Jamie in several productions with Theatre in Trust, the fund-raising dramatic group he and Jamie helped to establish over 30 years ago. He directed a production of 'Oh Clarence' for Jo's Trust in 2004, and a short film based on Saki's short stories (and inspired by Jamie's suggestion) in 2006.
Simon became a Trustee of Jo's Trust in 2006. He is married with 2 children and lives in London.
Thomas Ind MB BS MD FRCOG
Thomas Ind MB BS MD FRCOG is a gynaecologist who is a certified colposcopist and sub-specialist in gynaecological cancer. He qualified in Medicine in 1989 from the Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. His post-graduate training was in London and Sydney before becoming a consultant gynaecologist at St George’s and the Royal Marsden Hospitals in London. Thomas Ind is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and accredited by the RCOG and GMC in gynaecological cancer. He has many publications and book chapters in the field of gynaecological cancer and has been a section editor of the female reproductive tract for Gray’s Anatomy. He is a member of the British Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (BSCCP) as well as the British and International Societies of Gynaecological Cancer (BGCS & IGCS).
Lucy Maxwell
Lucy joined as a Trustee in 2011 having recently graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in English Literature. As Jo and Jamie Maxwell's daughter, Lucy is thrilled to be continuing the wonderful work that her parents began. She has already taken an active role in the work of the charity including fundraising and event planning and brings a new dimension to the board, in particular her knowledge of digital media to help target younger people.
Rebecca McCreath
Rebecca became a trustee at the end of 2011 and has been actively involved with the charity since early 2009. Having been through cervical cancer herself at just 25, Rebecca is all too aware of the devastating effects of the disease and as a result is passionate about the work of the charity. To date she has been taken part in a number of national awareness campaigns and undertaken a range of media interviews. As an events manager working in Northampton Rebecca is hoping to use her experience to promote the charity and to further help raise awareness. Rebecca is also working towards being trained to run a local Support Group.
Sally Poltimore
Sally was an old friend of Jo and Jamie’s and after Jo’s death in 1999 became a Founding Friend to help Jamie realize Jo’s dream of a charity dedicated to women with cervical cancer. She has been organizing fund raising events ever since and became a Trustee in 2003.
Sally spent most of her working life in the art world. After marrying and having three children she had her own gallery for ten years. She has for the last 8 years been a trustee of a group of schools.
Caroline Preston
Caroline was an old friend of Jo and Jamie’s and has been a trustee since 2005. She initially became a Founding Friend to help Jamie develop Jo’s Trust and realise Jo’s hope and dream of what a charity dedicated to cervical cancer could achieve. Caroline has been actively involved ever since, organising and supporting fundraising and other events.
Dr Miren Turner BSc MB BS MRCOG MRCGP
Miren is a GP who has a special interest in women’s health and colposcopy. She currently divides her time between General Practice in Surrey and performing colposcopy in Dorking and St George’s in London. She is a member of both the Royal Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and also General Practitioners, as well as the British Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (BSCCP). She is a GP representative for the South East Coast Quality Assurance team for Cervical Screening.
She lives in Surrey with her two teenage sons.
Tessa Wilkinson
Tessa joined the Trustees in 2007. She is Jo’s sister and walked with Jo through her journey with cervical cancer. She trained as a nursery school teacher and bereavement counsellor. She spent 8 years working at Helen House children’s hospice in Oxford, the first children’s hospice in the world from its first beginnings. After leaving Helen House she worked as a freelance trainer/lecturer running workshops on loss and bereavement. She has run a life skills and art programme in a day unit of a psychiatric hospital and been the Family Support Officer for a children’s charity supporting children with liver disease. In recent years she has run a bereavement support service for an adult hospice.
She is married with 5 children and 5 grand children and when her sister and brother in law died she and her husband look on the care of their 3 children, so her days are now full of family. She writes books on being creative and runs creative workshops along with workshops and training courses on loss and bereavement for professional and lay people.
Last updated: 12/01/2012
