John Phillipson - Chief Executive Expand 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 modernised and transformed to improve outcomes for autistic children, young people and adults. John, is the Caldicott Guardian for the Society. CEO Blog
Gavin Bestford - Chair of Trustees Expand Gavin Bestford is a retired Local Government Finance Officer and Accountant having worked for over 30 years for the City of Durham from where he retired in 2000 as Head of Financial Services and Deputy Director of Finance. He lives in Durham and is married with two children. His connections with the Society began in 1990 when his son, then aged 4 became a pupil at the Society’s school and from which he progressed through to a placement with our Adult Services. Gavin became a Trustee of the Society in 2002 and was appointed as its Chairman in 2005.
Dr Rakesh Chopra OBE - Trustee Expand Rakesh is a GP in Ashington Northumberland where he has worked for the last 24 years. He is married with 2 children.His son is autistic and became a day pupil at Thornhill Park School at the age of five. He has now progressed through to a placement with adult services. Rakesh has taken on the role of Trustee in order to help the Society take forward its excellent work with children, young people and adults with autism as well as supporting their families.
Jillian Crumbie - Trustee Expand Hello, I live in Durham. I studied at New College Durham acquiring a HND in Business and a Hon's Degree in Social Work. At present I am a full time carer for my son who has autism. I have three children and my middle son has attended the school, college and New Warlands Farm since 2003 as a day pupil. Even though I am always juggling my time I found I have gained a great deal by joining the organisation in 2005 as a Trustee of the Society. I believe it is important that the views of parents should be heard. Still to this day I feel privileged that I am part of such a fantastic organisation that is known throughout for its first class care. It has been wonderful to see at first hand how with the Society’s support our children, young people and adults have a wonderful future being in such caring and importantly enabling environment and how the Society continues to expand.
John Hodgson - Trustee Expand John has been married to Julie for 33 years and has two grown-up children. With vast experience in senior positions in the Construction Industry and having served as Chairman for the North East Region of the Building and Engineering Services Association, he has previously sat on school Governing Bodies, where he has enjoyed contributing to the development of young people and he is now proud to serve as a Director and Trustee for the North East Autism Society. John is a proud North easterner who likes to be involved in making a difference. As a family, John was first introduced to the North East Autism Society in 2010, when he was looking for an appropriate service provider for his son, Connor, who is autistic. John wants to help drive the Society forward during challenging Economic times.
David Parker - Trustee Expand David graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in mathematics before training as a Chartered Accountant in the audit department of a national accountancy firm in Bristol. After qualifying he moved back to his native north east where he worked for a local independent accountancy firm before moving to be the Financial Controller of IAM Sold, a Fast Track 100 property auction house. Following this he worked at Newcastle United Foundation heading up their finance team as Finance Manager, before moving to Home Group's accounts team. He has extensive experience of working both for and with a wide range of charities and is proud to have the opportunity to use these skills developed to serve as a trustee of NEAS.
Brian Stoker - Head of Care Expand 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. Brian is a Caldicott Guardian Deputy for the Society.
Chris Dempster - Director of Education Expand 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. Christine is a Caldicott Guardian Deputy for the Society.
Lisa Waller - Trustee Expand Lisa Waller has over 30 years’ experience working in management positions in a wide range of sectors including Travel & Tourism, Recruitment, Welfare to Work and most recently as Head of Business Development at Derwentside College. Derwentside College is one of the largest apprenticeship training providers in the country and as Head of Business Development Lisa is responsible for the strategic direction of the apprenticeship and adult education teams, working with some of the regions largest employers in both the public and private sectors on their learning and development strategies. Away from the busy office Lisa enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting the countryside and going to the theatre. With a love for musical theatre Lisa has been an active member of Fatfield Musical Stage Society for 40 years both on and off stage!