Trustee election 2023: get voting

22nd September 2023

Update 6th Oct: Sorry, the election for our new Trustees is now closed.

Every year, you the STAMMA members get to vote for the people you would like to see on the Board of Trustees. These are the people that guide the strategic direction and oversee the charity. You can read about each of the five candidates below

If you're a member, you should have received an email with a voting form and candidate profiles. Please check your spam folder if it hasn't reached your inbox. If you normally get our information posted to you, it should hopefully be with you. If you haven't received anything, email us at hello@stamma.org or phone 020 8983 1003.

Voting closes on Thursday 5th October, so get voting!

Candidate profiles

Ahmad Bismillah 

X: @ahmadbismillah7

Tell us about yourself, and what difference you hope to make as a potential Trustee?

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I am a Senior Project Officer, managing a portfolio of innovative solutions to create a better London for those who live, work and visit our capital.

As a Trustee, I hope to make a difference in the lives of stammerers by being visible as a stammerer, an ethnic minority and a young person; inspiring others to pursue their dreams and passions; creating professional and personal support for stammers; lending my voice, skills, experience and ideas so STAMMA can advocate for all of us. I am currently undergoing a leadership course for future city leaders and I have previously been elected as a hospital governor. I have served at board level in the third sector, and I have and will continue to fundraise locally and internationally. Service to the people, public and charities is one way I give back.

Explain the skills and experience that you will bring to the role in one or more of the areas which we've highlighted in the information pack.

I studied law at university but now work in project management. I have previously served on boards in an elected and chair capacity. I have run committees and have been involved from a strategic and operational level. In relation to the specific skills, I have good working knowledge and I'm always eager to get stuck in and learn quickly.

I have fundraised previously and continue to fundraise for organisations locally, nationally and internationally. This is at the participant level but I am learning the ropes on how to effectively campaign and fundraise, activating people and building
partnerships to raise awareness and encourage others to donate. I have governance experience in the context of local authorities from my current and previous roles. It would not be too dissimilar to governance arrangements around charities especially as I have served as chair of a local charity previously. 

I have employee network experience, having been a member of several at different organisations so I am familiar with the set-up. I've recently been involved in establishing a faith-based network at work and work to raise its profile.

How will you meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability? How do you plan to manage this alongside any current responsibilities?

I have now completed my term as a hospital governor and have also stepped down from my chair role at the charity. This has given me ample time to dedicate the next chapter in my life to serving STAMMA.

I live and work in London. My job is encouraging staff who volunteer and as I am not in a frontline role, my managers are understanding, flexible and supportive of any adjustments I may need to make. I am also happy to travel for meetings and events especially away from London so I can see other parts of the country and meet different people.

Jonathan Blair

X: @The Stammerer. Amazon/Spotify: The Stammerer Podcast

Tell us about yourself, and what difference you hope to make as a potential Trustee?

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My name is Jon, I am a proud father of 3 girls, a husband and a stammerer of 30 plus years. I am a Finance IT Consultant with nearly 20 years in the legal industry. In my spare time, other than being a hands-on father and a participant in my children's social lives including but not limited to taxi, chef, cleaner, bedtime story master and all-round entertainer, I enjoy being active. This includes running, the gym and spending time with my wonderful wife. The difference I hope to make are from a practical and personal perspective.

Practically and from a business/organisational point of view I have 20 years' experience in various private sector companies including large complex law. I want to take all that experience and use it across the stammering community, all age groups and help drive change and the world's perception of stammering.

Explain the skills and experience that you will bring to the role in one or more of the areas which we've highlighted in the information pack.

I have extensive finance experience gained through work experience and qualifications including managing a portfolio of profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, budgeting, double entry bookkeeping, AAT/ACCA exams.

In previous roles I have been involved in the business direction of travel, from the vision and inception of ideas of the general business or project to implementation of the strategic plan/action. I am computer literate with varied software experience including all Microsoft packages as well as other applicable industry related software. Due to the nature of my role and businesses I work in, I have to be updated and aware of changes in the law and legislation updates on topics such as data (as a data controller, ICO), money laundering and health and safety.

Personally, I have built up an extensive professional network group to call upon, this reach is across many sectors and businesses – my current employer is a supporter of charities and has just started a new initiative to support employees in the various endeavours. I have recently started a Podcast with an aim of spreading the visibility of stammering.

How will you meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability? How do you plan to manage this alongside any current responsibilities?

Whilst I have extensive responsibilities being a husband and a working father my family are fully supportive and would themselves like to get involved and support my work. 

My current employer is a huge advocate of supporting charity work and encourages a work life balance. Supporting stammering is no longer a choice for me but a calling and I will support STAMMA irrespective of a successful application.

Allison Burrow

Tell us about yourself, and what difference you hope to make as a potential Trustee?

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I'm from Romford in Essex. I am married, have two wonderful grown-up children, a cuddly cat and a playful Labrador. I have stammered for as long as I can remember, and I wish for all of us that stammer to feel confident in ourselves irrespective of our speech. 

I am the Finance & Administration Manager for the Jack Petchey Foundation, a charitable foundation based in London whose aim is for young people to achieve their potential. During this time, I have worked closely with our Board of Trustees to ensure that the Foundation reaches its aims and am now ready for the challenge of being a Trustee and what better place than STAMMA which is very close to my heart.

Explain the skills and experience that you will bring to the role in one or more of the areas which we've highlighted in the information pack.

The skills and experience that I hope to bring to the role of Trustee at STAMMA is my 46yrs experience of stammering first hand along with my 14yrs working for a charitable foundation. 

Whilst working for the Foundation I have learned a great deal about how a charity is run. I work very closely with our Chair of Trustees and CEO to ensure the Trustees have all the financial information they need to ensure the Foundation meets its
Mission.

I also work closely with the Grants Team assisting them with queries and streamlining processes as well as being responsible for our CRM Salesforce. Whilst working here I have realised how much more important an individual's personal achievement is than achievements on a large scale, of course these are still very wonderful, however what is important is that we are doing the best we can and that can vary from person to person and situation to situation, it's about believing in ourselves and ensuring that those around us give us a chance to do this.

How will you meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability? How do you plan to manage this alongside any current responsibilities?

My children are grown up now therefore I have more spare time and I love my job however I NEED to prove to myself that I can do something other than be a mum, wife and long-term employee of the Jack Petchey Foundation, therefore ALL commitments needed as a Trustee are very much welcomed. 

If I have the opportunity to be a Trustee for STAMMA I know that I will need to get involved as much as STAMMA would like me to so that we can ensure together that STAMMA achieves the mission and strategic plan. Both my family and work are very supportive and encouraging of this application.

David Collier

LinkedIn: David Collier

Tell us about yourself, and what difference you hope to make as a potential Trustee?

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STAMMA is an organisation that empowers stammerers like me to be their true selves, and I aim to use my skills to help STAMMA maximise its reach & impact. I currently work as a Sr Business & Innovation Manager at UCL, which combines my
training as a Biomedical Scientist with experience of building academic:industry partnerships.

If appointed, I'll harness my network to help STAMMA build links with academia & industry, raise funds, increase visibility and improve scientific credibility – ultimately to create a more equitable world for all stammerers. It's in this spirit of compassion & optimism I humbly submit my application for STAMMA Trustee. Thanks for your support.

Explain the skills and experience that you will bring to the role in one or more of the areas which we've highlighted in the information pack.

Fundraising: As UCL Sr Business & Innovation Manager, I combine PhD knowledge of biomedicine, MBA knowledge of business theory, and experience of academic:business partnerships. I would leverage my connections at large corporates and SMEs to raise funds for STAMMA, in cash or in kind. I'll also draw upon my network (e.g. university philanthropy teams) to see how they might be able to assist. 

Employee Networks: I'm a member of two UCL Communities of Practice and actively facilitate various academic:industry networks. I'll bring these experiences to bear in helping STAMMA deliver for its service users.

Events: At UCL I assist in organising events that connect researchers and funders, and could also tap in to the expertise of events professionals in my team. These skills will be useful to support STAMMA in organising fundraising events.

Research: I've worked for a number of highly regarded UK universities, some of which conduct research into stammering/neuroscience. As a trustee I could leverage these experiences to support new research and its implementation into clinical/social practice.

How will you meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability? How do you plan to manage this alongside any current responsibilities?

I understand that the primary commitment of a Trustee is to attend the six board meetings per year, engage with sub-committees and attend the AGM. Please note, I already have plans to contribute to STAMMA's Research sub-committee and look forward to learning more about the breadth of other activities available to Trustees. I'm committed to undertake all these responsibilities. 

Having recently studied for an extracurricular MBA qualification, I know what it takes to manage my time and deliver on all fronts. I have no doubt I can do so again and look forward to the challenge.

Dean Ridge

X: @deanridge

Tell us about yourself, and what difference you hope to make as a potential Trustee?

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I'm a proud Yorkshireman, husband and father of an 18-year-old son. I work as an IT Service Escalations Manager for a national estate agent. When I was younger, I didn't accept my stammer and tried to hide it at all costs. Because of this mindset around stammering, I missed out on countless life opportunities and this sometimes brought a sense of isolation.

Becoming part of the stammering community in later life made me realise what I was missing out on. Because of this, I'm passionate about growing our stammering community. I want every person who stammers out there to know what an amazing and friendly community we have and for them to be part of it. I also want to increase the number of social events that STAMMA do as I feel that these are vital for bringing the stammering community together and widening our reach.

Explain the skills and experience that you will bring to the role in one or more of the areas which we've highlighted in the information pack.

I have been an active member and supporter of STAMMA for many years. I have also been a member of the Doncaster Stammering Association for the last 11 years and have co-run the STAMMA Striders walking group since 2019. STAMMA Striders organise monthly walks and occasional residential weekends in and around the Peak District. For the last few years I've been on the organising committee for the STAMMA conferences.

Before the pandemic, I was the lead organiser for the original STAMMAFest that was going to be held in Sheffield. The pandemic unfortunately put a stop to this event and when STAMMAFest became STAMMAFest Global in conjunction with the ISA, I was key liaison with Liverpool University. In addition, I held key roles in setting up the conference website and adding content as well as organising the entertainment, including the sightseeing tour, quiz night and the main Saturday night festivities.

I have organised and taken part in many fundraising events for STAMMA and several children's charities in Sheffield, with events ranging from sponsored walks and two Land's End - John O'Groats cycling challenges.

How will you meet our commitment expectations in terms of your availability? How do you plan to manage this alongside any current responsibilities?

I already devote time to STAMMA as part of the STAMMAFest committee along with organising STAMMA Striders walks. I am aware of the additional time commitments and responsibilities being a trustee would bring and I am ready to commit to 

this. I can be available for trustee weekend in person and Zoom meetings as needed. My time on the STAMMAFest organising team has proved that I am reliable and hardworking, consistently meeting any deadlines set. For any urgent tasks and queries, I am never more than 2 feet away from my phone.