Our senior management team John PhillipsonChief Executive Officer John Phillipson has been involved in social care and education since 1975. He has managed a very wide range of services having worked as an Assistant Director with Barnardos North East for several years before joining North Tyneside L.E.A. as Manager for S.E.N. John went on to be Head of Children’s Services and latterly Director of Social Services in North Tyneside. Since 2005 he has been Chief Executive at the North East Autism Society where services are being continually modernised and transformed to improve outcomes for autistic children, young people and adults. Brian StokerHead of Care After serving five years in the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards Brian left the army in 1990 looking for a career which he would find both challenging and rewarding. He found this career at the North East Autism Society. Brian initially worked within Children Residential Services for five years before moving to be part of the development of Adult Services. After spending five years as a Residential Home Manager he moved to the role of Head of Adult Care Services. Brian believes the challenge remains to provide a person-centred approach in planning and providing flexible personalised services for autistic people and their families. We achieve this by adapting services to meet the needs of the individual and through the development of a highly motivated staff team who have the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills to support individuals. Chris DempsterDirector of Education After working 15 years for the NHS, Christine joined the Society in January 1990 as a Classroom Assistant. Christine played a lead role in developing post-19 provision within the Society. After spending several years as Deputy Head of Adult Services she became Principal of Thornbeck College in December 2006 and Director of Education in 2013. Christine finds working with autistic children, young people and adults extremely rewarding. She is personally driven to deliver a range of services that enables every individual to achieve their full potential. Manage Cookie Preferences