Trustee Election 2022: Hustings & Candidate Profiles

(updated 19th July with hustings videos)

It's Trustee election time again. Watch our live hustings events and read about each of the candidates here before voting.

Each year, two Trustees step down from the STAMMA Board and we elect two new ones to help guide our charity over the next few years. This year, 11 people have put themselves forward as candidates and you can learn more about them and skills they can bring to STAMMA below.

If you a STAMMA Member, you should have received the nomination form so you can cast your votes. *Sorry, the vote is now closed.

Hustings

On Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th July we held two live hustings events on Zoom, where each candidate had a chance to introduce themselves and tell us what difference they'd hope to make if they were Trustees. If you missed them you can watch the recordings — just scroll down below the candidate profiles to view them.

Candidate profiles

Each candidate is listed below in alphabetical order. Click on the candidate's name to read their answers to the questions we put to them, and watch a snippet taken from the hustings videos. (Scroll down further to watch both events in full). We invited them to supply their social media handles and have included those that did.

*Please note: Colin Marsh withdrew from the election process.

Ahmad Bismillah

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

Humans gravitate towards a tribe, a group where they feel confident, safe and content. Because I perceived my stammer to be a disabling feature, I became shy and withdrawn. Over the last few years, I've ruminated and discovered I am more than my stammer. I work as a Senior Project Officer for the Greater London Authority. In the last 5 years, I have changed roles 3 times, become an elected public governor for a hospital, campaigned and ran as a candidate in local elections, served as Vice Chair of a local charity and fundraised for charity. I want to be a Trustee of STAMMA because I want to promote a culture of stammering normalisation, meeting the aspirations of our diverse stammerers to succeed in all areas of life and encourage stronger collaboration with organisations. I am looking to make a difference and give back.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

I work in project management and have overseen multi-million pound projects from initiation to the end. I enjoy my role because it has a lot of variation. I manage staff, set up governance frameworks and handle communications (social media and press). I bid for monies for my projects and programmes and encourage cross-collaboration in my work. I have carried out constitutional reviews for charities, fundraised and campaigned on issues. I have served on the hospital nomination committee as well as being chair of the Member Engagement and Communications Committee where we delivered on strategic goals and effectively challenged the executive on resourcing. I have a good set of transferable skills. I am always open to learning new skills, applying and disseminating best practice in the work that I do. I'm currently leading on a programme where we foster a collaborative and design led approach to solving some of London's most pressing problems.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

My employer encourages a flexible working arrangement and we have dates that we can take off to volunteer. Being a public governor for Homerton Hospital means I know how much work is involved in being a Trustee and I can manage my time effectively. I can also work from anywhere and I am mobile. Within the role, I'm hoping to be a support and challenge to staff, encourage and foster a culture of openness and understanding. I will also be an effective advocate for stammerers, highlighting our value for money and bringing our work to wider public attention.

Social Media

Twitter: @ahmadbismillah7

Adrian Botham

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I am a 55-year old male (soon to be 56) and have stammered all my life. My stammer was particularly bad when I was a child, and I attended speech therapy sessions during certain periods of my childhood to help with reading aloud and so on, which was a particular problem in school at the time. I attended adult speech therapy sessions during my 20s, which was more focused on handling situations at work that I now found myself in. As a manager, I was frequently called upon to speak/present in meetings, lead meetings and even stand up in front of other (senior) managers to make formal presentations. As you can imagine, I found this increasingly difficult. While others constantly told me that they did not notice my stammer so much and that it did not bother them; it bothered me greatly!

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

I have a lot of experience in governance methods from running my own business and being a board member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics. I have also experienced speech and language therapy as a child and adult. I have a lot I can offer others like me.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I run my own business and can therefore be flexible with my time, provided some notice is afforded. As a stammerer with 55+ years of experience, who has achieved a lot in his life including speaking to a conference room of circa 300 people with a microphone, lectern, Power Point, etc. I have a lot to share about how I have learned to manage my stammer and live the life I want, despite the difficulties I face every day. Hopefully my achievements can and will inspire others.

Robert Budge

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I have only recently become aware of STAMMA through a shortly to retire Trustee. As a covert stammerer I wish that I had heard about the charity during my student and professional life and to more fully appreciate the struggles faced by many as we progress through life. As an occasional stammerer I was able to deal with the situations that we all face but at the same time was only too aware of the difficulties many stammerers faced. Now retired, and now much more aware of how widespread the trait is and how it can affect so many people, I passionately want to help grow awareness of the charity and the support it provides. As a retired Regional Director of a major bank and still active with a number of directorships, and also with previous voluntary experience, I believe that I can add value to the charity.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

Life itself provides many opportunities to develop new skills and experiences but I would highlight the following. Governance — A graduate and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, my whole business career has been in a structured corporate environment with clear corporate governance rules. The Charity Governance Code sets out the regulatory and compliance requirements but the more skills the Trustees can bring to this area the better. Fundraising — Previously a Director of Thames Heritage Trust and Treasurer of Camberley Home Start for a five year term. In both these positions fundraising has been key, raising funds from both the business and personal sectors. Identification of likely supporters of any charity is crucial to any successful fundraising initiative. Staffing/People Management — My whole career has been about people management and driving performance. Whilst not strictly relevant in a predominantly volunteer based environment, what is important is what drives and motivates people to give their best.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I am fully available for any Trustee commitments by Zoom or in person. I am South East based. I believe I can make a difference by being new to the charity with no preconceived ideas. An understanding of the trait as a stammerer myself. Many years of business and voluntary experience. Adding to and complementing the skills of the existing Trustees.

Alexander Harrison

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I've stammered all my life. It's been a long journey to reach a point where I feel able to stammer freely. In both my personal and professional life, I've made it a mission to help change outcomes for people who communicate differently. I began my training to become a Speech and Language Therapist last September, as I remembered sitting in a clinic room at 5 years old with my therapist who also had a stammer. It was the first time I ever met somebody else who sounded like me. That's what I want to be for other people. STAMMA helps connect those who stammer and works to provide support to those who need it. As a Trustee, I want to help build on our successes and support the charity in pursuing its 5-year strategic plan. I will make it a priority to ensure we continue to serve as a diverse and inclusive organisation.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

I am an active member of STAMMA and recently joined the Helpline and Webchat Volunteer team. This role allows me to use my personal experiences of stammering alongside professional knowledge of therapy approaches to lend support to those who need it. Diversity and Inclusion is more than a concept, it's a real and tangible project for ensuring all people are welcome and supported in our society. I have featured in consultations on strengths-based neurodiversity research, supporting disabled students on placement and contribute to the National Autistic Society's Insight Panel. In addition, I was recently invited to sit on a Selection Panel at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). In this role, I will support the organisation improve the diversity of their board and committees. I want to bring my interest and experience in advocacy, recruitment and working to bring about positive change to the Trustee role. I am an active Twitter user; this is a vital tool that the charity can utilise to build membership and support fundraising. I would help inform STAMMA's marketing to ensure we grow as an organisation.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I will commit my time and energy to the role as Trustee in being active and taking on any additional responsibilities which can lead to achieving positive change. I will undertake the role alongside my full-time studies and other volunteering commitments. The difference I want to make is by representing Stammering Pride in practice, showing every person with a stammer, that they can pursue any interests they may have. In addition, I will seek to support the services we currently provide as well as broadening our message through social media platforms to help grow our membership and fundraising.

Social Media

Twitter: @AHarrison_SLT

Jonathan Hunter

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I am an actor and emerging theatre maker, working nationally and internationally in the arts industry since 2017 after graduating from drama school. In lockdown 2020, I began my journey as a theatre maker with the project 'My Percussive Lips' and receiving Arts Council England funding for its first R&D over March 2022. Through this project I stumbled upon STAMMA in 2021 & since then have been getting more involved with the community by setting up the STAMMA Arts Network, being mentioned at The Stammies, and set to lead a creative group workshop at STAMMAFest Global. I have recently observed a Maguire Programme workshop to inform my work with the community & speech therapy. My main interest is supporting the playful self-expression of the stammering individual, and this can be achieved by working with the board as a Trustee and navigating awareness.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

As an artist, I have experience marketing through social media (Twitter & Instagram), building a website and developing posters and proposals via Canva.com. I have previously fundraised for the James Bulger Memorial Trust via JustGiving.com. Supporting The Caving Crew's committee (CCC) gave me voluntary experience in developing an Under 18s Policy and briefly being appointed Secretary of the CCC. From my work with My Percussive Lips, I have experience in writing up policies, safeguarding reporting forms, risk assessments, contracts, welcome packs and managing and working alongside a small budget (under £10,000). Sensorial theatre and making/leading work around accessibility are some things I'm learning from my mentorship with Animikii Theatre. I am currently bringing together stammering artists from across the UK with STAMMA's Arts Network and have supported virtual reality research in anxiety and speech therapy from Imperial College London and artistic projects shared on the Arts Network. I enjoy working and meeting new people and working as a team. I aim to listen and respond to the needs of the community.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I am as flexible and restricted as my freelance work, however I always aim to meet the best possible outcome in tough situations. I am happy to negotiate availability and to use various alternative methods to meet the consensus of the board (eg Zoom Meetings/recording/listening & note taking etc). By being based in Manchester & Cumbria, I support connections for STAMMA in the North West of the UK. I aim to bridge the 'gap' between fluency and dysfluency; gathering all communities to truly listen to fuelling creative expression. I can run and lead workshops.

Social Media

Twitter: @_jonathanhunter
Instagram: @hunterasintohunt

Colin Mitchell

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I qualified as a vet from Edinburgh Veterinary School in 1995. Starting work and speaking to clients was really challenging for me. In the beginning, I didn't know people, which always makes fluency of speech harder for me, and the circumstances were often emotionally charged too, with pets, animals and often bad news involved. I've been told that a stammer is often viewed as being uncertain about something, or, in my case, a lack of knowledge. I've been in situations where owners have sought a second opinion from less experienced colleagues because they lacked confidence in me due to how I speak. This has been very frustrating and demoralising for me personally. My drive to be involved is fundamentally intertwined with STAMMA's vision: I'd like to help create a world where no-one judges me/us on our stammer and how we choose to deal with it.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

Staff Management: I have been a business owner of a veterinary practice since 2004, and we now employ 45 people. I have direct line management of a team of 11. Running a business involves close attention to factors that have a direct crossover into the charity sector: budgets & cost-control; staff & customers; and ensuring that what my organisation offers is relevant and important. Fundraising: I am the treasurer of the local Scout group, and the PTA at our children's school. As well as being a direct volunteer at events, I have analysed both Groups' fundraising activities. The results have informed the committee on which activities have the greatest return on investment; which allowed them to allocate our scarce resources into those activities which further increase funds raised. Governance: I have held several Board positions, and have formal business training in finance, strategy, governance, marketing, HR and leadership. I have gained experience of Chairing financial & audit committees on two Boards and I'm currently the independent Chair of a company in the biotech sector.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I have recently been able to reduce my working time to 4 days a week. My wife is also very supportive as she saw the effect on me when our daughter started to stammer. With a strong support network of my family and work team, I have the time and mindset to give something back. I have been a business owner through a worldwide financial collapse, a global pandemic and a cost of living crisis. Feedback has told me that I bring a calm and stable influence, a methodical approach to problem solving and an ability to see the bigger picture. I would like to offer these attributes to STAMMA.

Prasan Modasia

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I'll bring my legal skillset & professional network to STAMMA. In a nutshell, as a corporate lawyer, I spend a lot of time listening and then enabling solutions to hurdles. I'm originally from Ipswich where I spent my childhood cycling around town; so I didn't have to wait for a lift. Fast forward to today — I'm still cycling around but now that's to balance out my love for food. I want to become a trustee of STAMMA because it means something to me personally. I have stammered since I was young (now more covertly) and I have experienced first-hand the impact stammering has on confidence and mental well-being. The message STAMMA brings to the world is powerful and important. If I had known that it is OK to stammer, and not something to overcome, it would have unlocked a different perspective within me.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

As a corporate lawyer, I provide advice on corporate governance as well as the purchasing and selling of companies. I attended STAMMA's first online AGM, back in October 2020, when I explained why changes drafted into the new constitution (STAMMA's rule book) would transport STAMMA's governance into the future whilst allowing its constitution to read more easily for its members. I was extremely proud that I had enabled the board to achieve this and to work with the STAMMA team then. Now I hope to bring my legal network and skills to (i) coordinate the building of a legal project that aims to improve the laws that protect those who stammer; and (ii) to provide practical legal guidance to our employers, employees and STAMMA's members. I am at a point professionally where I want to use my skills and experience to add value to things that matter to me and make a difference to the STAMMA community. Rather than just make a living.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I'm at a stage in my life where I can and want to give my time to STAMMA. To contribute my know-how and experience to enable STAMMA to achieve its goals. I hope that in learning from the other Trustees and gaining new insights from STAMMA and its communities I'll be able to apply myself and my knowledge to bring a service to STAMMA and its community that will make a difference to those individuals who have faced (or will face) discrimination.

Social Media

Twitter: @PrasanModasia
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/prasanm

David Murray

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I want to become a Trustee of STAMMA for a few personal and professional reasons. Having worked with charities over numerous years, I am now at a point of wanting to give something back to the charity sector and also to a charity that I can align myself to. I have had a stammer since I was a child and at times it has been difficult for me in school and at work. I have always managed through self-taught strategies, I have never allowed my stammer to define who I am or to hold me back — it is just how I am. The vision, inclusivity and work STAMMA gives is the help and support that I never had growing up and I hope to help STAMMA further with its vison. Being a Trustee of STAMMA is an obvious choice for me.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

For over 20 years, my role as a sales director in the field of data, analysis, print and direct mail has meant that I have worked with and helped numerous charities with their fundraising activities to recruit new supporters and retain the ones they already have. The charities I have worked with have been a broad spectrum in terms of size and the sector they operate in. From a personal perspective I have also been keen on fundraising. Mainly through my love of extreme sports; running my first marathon 10 years ago and raising £3,500 for Prostate Cancer and Breast Cancer Care, 7 Iron Man events and to my recent World Record Challenge — rowing across the Atlantic, and in doing so became the eldest pair to row any ocean and being part of the amazing team to raise £750,000 for a social entrepreneur charity — UnLtd. I have further expeditions in the pipeline and feel this would be a great opportunity and platform for me to help promote STAMMA and people with a stammer.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I was once told "If you want a job done give it to a busy person!" I like to think that I am that person! I have always filled my life with doing things for myself and others, whether running, cycling, rowing, work or (currently) building a new house. Whatever I do I put in 100% and if I was elected as a Trustee the same would apply to the role. I also like to think that I would bring a broad spectrum of energy and experience in fundraising and data. I am used to working as part of a team to achieve collective results.

Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-murray-5605884

Bob Paton

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

I'm a retiree with 40 years' experience in the NHS as Biomedical Scientist (BMS) in a large University Teaching hospital diagnostic bacteriology laboratory. The last 15 years, I was Lead BMS. This role involved major commitments to ensuring the budget was spent wisely and kept to. It was my responsibility to ensure the department was fully UKAS accredited. I had a staff of 70. I had to be fully compliant with all aspects of HR, taking advice when required. I dealt with literally numerous situations from complaints to staff with difficult personal circumstances and believe my experience in those fields made me a very empathetic person. I believe I was (still am) very personable. I would like to think the life skills I have would make me an ideal candidate as a Trustee.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

I am a lifelong stammerer. I have been actively involved in the distant past with various stammering initiatives. This involved running self-help groups, helping the BSA (as STAMMA was known then) with the national conference when it was held in Scotland. I chaired a session, gave a talk and generally helped out. As part of the awareness of the conference, I agreed to be interviewed by the BBC and the interview was broadcast on a regular basis throughout the day on national TV. I have tried almost any therapy over the years to manage my stammer, from NHS therapy, private therapy, electronic devices. I've had a successful career. I was a part time and invited guest lecturer at a local University. I was on the Specialist Scientific Committee of my professional body for 5 years. This involved organising the annual IBMS conference at Birmingham NCC, mainly choosing a topic and using contacts to invite national experts to speak. I'd chair any sessions I'd organised. I have a PhD in antibiotic resistance and with my knowledge in my day job, I was often asked to chair and speak at various meetings all over the country.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I haven't been actively involved with STAMMA for many years. Work, University and family came along, so my spare time was very limited. I am now retired but still lead an active life with many interests, however with my background and skills, and my passion to help people or anyone involved with stammering, I know I'd be an asset to STAMMA. I do lead a full life but I have spare time that would allow me to fulfil the commitments required for the appointment of Trustee for STAMMA.

Shraddha Sinha

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

As a Trustee candidate of STAMMA I am highly motivated and passionate for the cause. I am a single, full-time working parent of a 6-year-old girl who stammers. I have worked in Investment Banking and Asset Management as a Software Engineer for 17 years now. I am from India and relocated to the UK for my work and career growth. My world changed when at an exceptionally challenging period in my life my daughter who had just turned 4 started to stammer and everyone from my ex-husband to my parents blamed me for that. Her stammer fluctuated, came and went, and peaked in the year 2020 with the rise of unnatural living conditions in the COVID pandemic. Since then I have learned and am applying various speech therapy techniques on my daughter and yet have just now started to understand the intricacies of stammering.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

With my qualification as a Bachelor of Computer Science and work experience in a rather challenging, diverse and global field I am motivated to facilitate the fundraising for the organisation. There are corporate initiatives and I want to be that link to bridge the resources to help raise the funds which are very important so that each and every child/individual gets the benefit of speech therapy and the necessary means to tackle the speech difficulty. Similarly with my skills with working with people from different backgrounds and ethnicity, I am very keen to engage in and support the media and corporate communications. There is so much to do to bring about awareness and risks which individuals who have a stutter can be exposed to. I am alarmed about the vulnerability this issue brings about in children and young women because of their difficulty to speak and raise an alarm. This is an example but there are many other situations which I can highlight with a deeper involvement for which I am really keen and hence applying for the position.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I am working full time but have the drive and motivation to contribute to STAMMA and can work on a schedule to contribute actively.

Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shraddha-sinha-32a74974/

Mandy Taylor

Why do you want to become a Trustee of STAMMA?

Having been a Trustee twice over the last 12 years at very different periods of time in the BSA/STAMMA history, I would like to come back again and take part in the increasing growth and development of our ever evolving charity.

What skills or experience will you bring to the role?

My professional life means I have a keen eye for numbers, in particular forecasting and budgets. I enjoy a good spreadsheet and being in the marketing industry, and I have good insight into the newest digital and traditional marketing trends. I also have wide experience of stammering in that both my partner and I stammer, as do 2 of our 4 children and our youngest seems to have grown out of his stammer. We also have wider family members who stammer, albeit in very different ways. I also enjoy media presentation and have spoken at various conferences as well as taking part in the training courses for Speech and Language Therapists  interested in stammering, held by Airedale NHS.

Tell us how you can meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability, and what difference you hope to make in your role as a potential Trustee.

I'm happy to travel to London for the meetings and regularly use Zoom and Teams if online participation is required for smaller committee meetings. For me, it's not about making a difference, it's about working alongside like-minded individuals who want to make a collective difference. With teamwork, encouragement, support and creative thinking we can achieve so much; the STAMMA helpline is testament to that. If I can play a part again and help oil the wheels so we can go faster and further I would be very honoured. I really enjoyed my previous terms and am ready to do it all again!

Social Media

Twitter: @mandytaylor72
Instagram: @mumatronatwork
Facebook: @mandytaylor