Our Present Trustees

Muriel Simmons, Chairman

I retired in December 2009 after thirteen years as Chief Executive of Allergy UK and was delighted to be asked by the trustees to join the Board.. Sadly two months later Dr.Mike Matthews retired due to ill-health and the trustees asked me to take on the role of Chairman. Mike's shoes are very large ones to fill but fortunately Allergy UK is blessed with dedicated trustees and staff and I am sure that together we will continue to serve people as effectively as we have done in the past.

Due to my knowledge of the organisation and the allergy world in general I feel I am able to give the support to staff that they need in facing the huge demands on them. The increasing numbers of sufferers seeking our help and the complex nature of allergy require that we are as professional as we can possibly be, both in terms of information and governance. I would like to think that I can use the knowledge I have to assist the organisation in maintaining the high standard we achieve which the public have the right to expect.

Prior to working for Allergy UK I worked in the NHS for twenty years which enables me to understand the demands and pressures on the health service particularly in the current financial situation .However I believe that we have a very strong economic argument for allergy to be taken seriously . Although there is a long way to go when I look back over the last thirteen years I realise that progress has been made, not the least being in the unity of allergy specialists and patients organisations working together to battle for improved services.

As Chairman of Allergy UK I want to continue the fight to enable anyone suffering from an abnormal reaction to be able to access good diagnosis, management and support through the NHS.

Dr Adam Fox, MA(Hons), MSc, MB, BS, DCH, FRCPCH, Dip Allergy, FHEA

Adam read Medicine and Neuroscience at Cambridge University before completing his clinical training at University College, London. Having completed specialist training in Paediatric Allergy, he is now a consultant at the Evelina Children's Hospital (Guy's & St Thomas' Hospitals, London) - one of the UK's largest specialist allergy centres.

Adam's particular interests are sublingual immunotherapy, gastrointestinal allergy and medical education. Adam is a member of the NICE Food Allergy guideline development group and chair of the Royal College of Paediatrics Food Allergy Care Pathway project. He is also a member of the BSACI executive.

Tanya Wright, BSc(Hons), MSc (Allergy). RD

Tanya Wright is a registered dietitian specialising in the diagnosis and management food allergy and other food hypersensitivity reactions.

She works within Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust with both adults and children. Her role there is to coordinate the allergy service, to manage her clinical dietetic workload including performing skin prick testing and diagnostic diets and to organise and deliver the food challenge service. She provides information and resources on allergy for other healthcare professionals within and outside the Trust.

She is author of 3 books; Food Allergies: Enjoying Life with a Severe Food Allergy (Class Publishing 2001, 2007), and 2 colour recipe books 'Allergy-free Food' (Hamlyn 2002) a milk free cookbook for infants (Cow & Gate 2006) and has contributed to books entitled 'latex Intolerance' (CRC press 2005) and Food Hypersensitivity (Blackwell 2010) and various other publications. She is just writing another cookbook free from milk, egg, wheat, gluten and soya.

She regularly lectures at National conferences and on both the post graduate Masters Allergy Courses at Southampton and Imperial, London. She writes articles and recipes for special diet food companies, formula milk companies, magazines, newspapers, websites and supermarket chains. She is a regular consultant to the food industry, to Allergy Support Associations and to other health professionals.

Tanya is on the Committee of several organisations including the British Dietetic Association food allergy and intolerance specialist group (FAISG) where she contributes to the production of position papers and is the resources officer providing national updates on special diet products, recipes and resources that aid the diagnosis and management of allergy and other food hypersensitivity reactions. She is also on the steering group committee for the International Dietitians Allergy Group INDANA. She is also on the medical board for the Anaphylaxis Campaign and the Board of Trustees for Allergy UK.

Sarah Stoneham

I am a primary school teacher, living in Kent with my husband and our two daughters, both of whom suffer from allergies. When my eldest was born she was a happy but sickly baby. She was diagnosed with allergies to dairy, egg, soya, fish, sesame seeds and nuts and at 18 months old had her first anaphylactic reaction - an unbelievably frightening time for us, followed six months later by her first hospital admission for asthma.

When her sister was born it was clear she was also an 'allergic' child. She was diagnosed with similar allergies to her sister but additionally she was allergic to wheat, discovered at six months when she had a rusk, vomited and began to swell before our eyes. Over time they have outgrown some of their allergies but remain extremely allergic to dairy and egg - not easy to avoid but a much better position than we were in a few years ago!

The early days were very difficult as there was such a huge lack of understanding, information or support. Allergy UK have been working so hard to change that and I have been pleased to be involved with them as a support contact and am now thrilled to join them as a trustee.

Maggie Compton

I am a Solicitor living and working in Bexleyheath where I am a Partner is a general Practice called Apex Law LLP. I have been in the Legal Profession over 40 years. I have recently joined the Board of Trustees having had connections with the organisation for a number of years and became immensely impressed by the level of expertise, the commitment of all the staff and the amount of work undertaken in this difficult and under-funded area of medicine.

My daughter, my grandson and I have all suffered with various allergic reactions or intolerances and experienced the ineptitude of the medical profession in dealing with this area of medicine. I have also seen how serious allergy and intolerances can impact on family life causing considerable stress to all concerned if not tackled correctly, hence I was drawn to support this very worthwhile charity and to make my legal expertise available to the Company.

In addition to work as a Solicitor and Trustee of this Board I am also a Trustee of the Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice and Cornerstone Christian Counselling Service. I attend Christ Church Erith where I am a Pastoral Assistant and sing in the choir. I am married with one daughter and four grandchildren.

Joy Allen

I feel that I represent the grass roots of the organisation as my family have hayfever and asthma and I fundraise for the organisation running the Crayford charity shop. Working with the other volunteers we generate £12,000 per annum for Allergy UK and this, together with the awareness we raise we know is very valuable. The Crayford charity shop is very much part of the local community and plays a part not only in allowing good quality items to be recycled but also provides a contact point for people with allergy.

When I am not working for the charity shop I am usually card making and doing other handicrafts which again I often turn into a means of generating income for the charity. I am a very proud Mother, Grandmother and now Great Grandmother, so I can understand how worrying it is for families to see allergies going down the generations in the family.

Maureen Jenkins, BSc(Hons); RN; NP Dip; Asthma Dip.

For many years, I worked in Intensive Care prior to running a primary care walk-in clinic and Asthma service for 9 years. From 1996 to 2008, I was an Allergy Nurse Consultant in Sussex, also doing research and immunotherapy in Portsmouth. I became a Trustee of The British Allergy Foundation in 1997, which lobbied for Government funding to train primary care clinicians. The Department of Health grant to BAF funded the diploma in Primary Care Allergy Management and the set-up of the P/G Certificate in Allergy at Southampton University and sponsorship of 16 students. I became the BAF Nurse Advisor and Training Manager, establishing the graduate level Allergy Diploma course with the University of Greenwich, training days for clinical and educational staff and Allergy Masterclasses.

I represented Allergy UK at international meetings and at various interdisciplinary groups, including House of Commons Select Committee and House of Lords inquiries into Allergy Services, the National Patient Safety Agency and the Food Safety Agency. During this time, I gave talks and wrote articles for many journals, took part in radio and TV programmes; was medical editor for the Allergy Journal and co-editor for the Allergy UK magazines. My experience includes Expert Witness work.

Since retiring, I work voluntarily for 4SIGHT and am currently a voluntary director of a residential estate. Having witnessed the support that Allergy UK provides to so many allergy sufferers, I am delighted to utilise my experience on the Board of Trustees.

Several of my family have allergies, including my son with anaphylaxis. I am blessed with a lovely family and many grandchildren who keep me on my toes! Relaxation is spent walking, painting and singing and I love visiting different cultures.

Liz Bell

I live on the Isle of Wight where I am also a trustee of the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre plus running the Isle of Wight Asthma Swimgroup and am Hon Secretary to the Isle of Wight Asthma UK branch. From this alone it will not come as any surprise to learn that I have a particular interest in respiratory complaints. Before retiring I was a physiotherapist working mainly in hospitals with acute patients and specialised in respiratory, trauma and orthopaedic field. In 1977 I instigated the Respiratory Care Service for practical advice and education of patients with COPD and asthma and parents of children with asthma and cystic fibrosis. In 1997 I was nominated onto the Board of the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Disease and as a result became more aware of the excellent work of Allergy UK and was delighted to be invited to join the Board of Trustees. In addition to the work detailed above I am also trustee of Newport Community Association and Abbeyfield Ryde Isle of Wight. Somehow in all of this thanks to the support of my wonderful husband Brian I also fit in a fair amount of travelling which I love and spend many happy hours with my lovely children and grandchildren.

Andy Day, Chairman of Allergy Research Limited

For many years I lived locally to Allergy UK but have now relocated to Northern Ireland where I am enjoying retirement having been a police officer for 30 years and a civilian Crime Scene Examiner and Crime Scene Manager for a further 10 years. After leaving the police service I became a Senior University Lecturer in forensic science.

As Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the trading arm Allergy Research Limited I feel that I am able to make a contribution to improving the lot of allergy sufferers. I have two sons, one has followed me into police service and is an officer in Cheshire and the other son is teaching in Japan. As nurses my wife and my daughter-in-law have kept me very much in touch with the needs of the NHS and although there is a long way to go I am convinced that there is now a real will to improve allergy services in the future.

My interest in allergy started when my son developed allergy and I discovered that several colleagues and a number of my students suffered from allergy which definitely impacted on their life.