Mary Jane Edwards Appointed to the Board of Trustees in May 2023 Expand Following a career in education, Mary Jane became the Chief Executive Officer of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust in 2017. The Trust had 34 schools across Norfolk and Suffolk. Since stepping down from this role, Mary Jane now undertakes consultancy work and projects, most recently to develop an organisational peer review framework for Diocesan Academy Trusts across the country. Mary Jane was an Ofsted inspector for nearly 20 years. Mary Jane holds an MBA in Education Leadership and is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching. She lives on the North Norfolk coast with her husband where she enjoys long dog walks overlooking the sea.
Tim How, Chair of Trustees Appointed to the Board of Trustees in July 2019 Expand Tim joined the Board in 2019 as a member of the Finance and Investment Committee and became Chair of that committee and Vice Chair of Trustees in November 2020. He was appointed Chair of Trustees in August 2021. After a degree in Natural Sciences, Tim spent most of his career in retail. From 1989 to 2008 he was Chief Executive of Majestic Wine plc and is currently Chairman of Roys of Wroxham Ltd. He was appointed a Governor of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in January 2022 having previously served as a Director of the hospital from 2013 to 2020. Tim and his wife Liz live in Brancaster Staithe.
Dr. Laurence Atkinson Appointed to the Board of Trustees in February 2020 Expand Laurence joined the Board in 2020 and is a member of the Care and Clinical Governance Committee. Having graduated in Medicine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and postgraduate training in London, Laurence worked as a GP in King’s Lynn for 30 years before retiring in 2017. During his career he was a board member and clinical governance lead for West Norfolk Primary Care Trust. He also developed an interest in undergraduate medical education in General Practice, becoming Director of GP Studies at Cambridge University. Laurence lives with his wife in North Wootton and enjoys cycling in the Norfolk countryside and spending time with his family.
Dr. Sue Crossman Appointed to the Board of Trustees in September 2017 Expand Sue joined the Board in 2017 as a member of the Care and Clinical Governance Committee. She has a nursing background and has held senior posts in health services management, education and research. She has a particular interest in End-of-Life Care and was instrumental in developing the Integrated Palliative Care Service at a time when there was limited community support available in West Norfolk, compared with the rest of the county. Sue lives with her husband in Harpley, having lived and worked in Norfolk since 1984. Both of her children work for the NHS.
Andrea Craig Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2021 Expand Andrea has recently retired from her practice with Hayes + Storr Solicitors where she dealt with Company/Commercial/Construction/Commercial Property and Intellectual Property Rights. Andrea has previously worked in industry for Costain, Balford Beatty and London Regional Transport (now Transport for London) and served her time as a City lawyer with Masons (now Pinsent Masons). Since moving to Norfolk she has been a School Governor at The King’s Lynn Academy and was for some time Chair of the Governors at Litcham High School and she is a past President of West Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. She has two grown up children and two very unruly rescue dogs which take up (too) much of her time. Since retiring Andrea has also become involved with the Norfolk Reading Project and is a trustee of the St Edmonds Society in Norwich.
Lesley Macdonald Appointed to the Board of Trustees in February 2024 Expand After graduating in medicine from Glasgow University Lesley trained and worked as a GP but, on moving to Norfolk, she developed an interest in breast disease and retrained as a breast cancer specialist. She worked in the West Norfolk Breast Unit from 1994 until retiring in 2023. Her career focussed on the early detection of breast cancer, but she also worked with the Association of Breast Clinicians on creating new medical training pathways to address the national shortage of breast specialists and as a mentor to local radiographers to increase their skills and qualify in mammographic interpretation. She lives with her husband in Grimston and enjoys tennis and painting.