Our board of Trustees oversee the work we do, ensure we are compliant with the legalities of company and charity law. They challenge the plans we have and the decisions we want to make, ensure due diligence is carried out and that best practice is followed at all times.
Meet, and learn a little more about our Trustees below...
Jenny Goy, Treasurer Jenny joined the board in December 2022 and is parent to Little Stars member who has Spina Bifida. She has relied on the support of Shine since receiving her son’s diagnosis during pregnancy and became a trustee to give something back to the charity.
Jenny lives in Lancashire, she is currently the Chief Financial Officer of LET Education Trust which looks after two primary schools and two secondary schools in East Lancashire. Jenny has extensive financial management experience and oversees the financial activities of the trust, ensuring compliance with Charity accounting regulations along with requirements of the Department for Education.
Roger BaystonClinical Microbiologist and Professor of Surgical Infection at Nottingham University School of Medicine, Roger Bayston is one of the world’s leading authorities in his field and the man who pioneered the development of the revolutionary ‘Bactiseal Shunt’ which has helped to vastly reduce infections in patients with hydrocephalus.
In a career spanning over 50 years, Roger has worked as a Microbiologist with paediatric surgeons at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, Hon. Microbiologist at the National Hospital for Neurosurgery and at The Nottingham School of Medicine.
He has carried out extensive research into shunt complications, resulting in publications on diagnosis, more effective treatment and prevention of infections. Roger is also a vigorous campaigner for folic acid supplementation in flour in order to help prevent neural tube birth defects.
His many academic achievements include postgraduate qualifications in Pathology, Clinical Microbiology, Surgical Infection and Biomaterials Science. Roger is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.
Roger has been recognised with many awards both at home and abroad during his illustrious career including a Lifetime Contribution Award from Shine 2013.
Involved with Shine for over 40 years, and a board member for over 10 years, his areas of expertise are surgical infection, complications of shunting for hydrocephalus, neurosurgical, urological, orthopaedic and spine infections, infection diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
A fluent speaker of Swedish, Roger lives in Nottingham.
Joanne Williams, ChairA resident of Northern Ireland, Joanne joined the board of Shine in 2017.
She was inspired to become involved with Shine through her young nephew who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus. She is a huge advocate of both raising the awareness of the condition and promoting the benefits of Folic Acid.
Joanne has 34 years' experience in the Civil Service and is currently acting Head of the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals in Northern Ireland with responsibility for corporate governance, finance and operational delivery.
Her areas of expertise on the board are Corporate Governance and Operational Delivery.
Joanne is also Shine’s Lead Trustee for Northern Ireland, and one of two lead Trustees for Safeguarding.
Michael Brown, Vice ChairMike hails from an educational background, most recently as a Head of Mathematics and Science at a large 6th Form college.
Having retired from teaching he now works as a consultant.
Mike fervently believes in the importance of raising awareness of Shine and how the charity can benefit people with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus and he is a regular visitor to a variety of other organisations to fly the flag for Shine, and in turn increase donations to support the vital work that the charity does.
In his spare time, as befits the son of a former Arsenal footballer, Mike enjoys sport, particularly golf which he plays to a high standard.
Sue KukadiaSue provides board expertise in matters of legal and business management.
Currently Head of Immigration (Specialist Tax) and a director of leading international audit, tax and advisory firm Mazars, Sue has over 20 years' experience within the professional services industry. She has also worked for Ernst and Young, Deloitte and BDO, which provided great experience of growing teams and running engagements generating millions in revenue.
A regular speaker at seminars and conferences, Sue was the winner of The RBS Chairman’s Award at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards in 2013. She has also been a runner-up for several other awards including the Women in Business Awards 2016 and the First Women Awards 2014.
Sue has served on many leadership boards within her industry and has actively been involved in policy decisions with The Home Office.
As someone who lives with spina bifida, disability is a subject that is close to Sue’s heart, and she is able to greatly empathise with Shine members and their families in facing their unique challenges.
Dr Richard Oakley is the Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society. The biggest UK charity focused on ending the devastation caused by dementia.
Richard joined the board in July 2023, and is the father of a young member and found Shine’s resources a great source of information and comfort.
Richard has a PhD in supramolecular chemistry at Bristol University, as well as a Post doc in tissue engineering a the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He then worked for Cancer Research UK for eight years in a variety of roles including Head of Research Information and Communications. In this role, he led on the implementation of a new communications strategy underpinned by audience insight and focused on delivering the maximum impact for organisational priorities.
Joe was born with Spina Bifida, originally from Zimbabwe he moved to the UK 2005. A serial entrepreneur he set up his own business Metal Polishing Supplies UK Ltd, selling metal polishing kits and accessories which are now sold not only in the UK but in Europe and the rest of the world.
Joe has won two business distinctions over the years, he was awarded the first prize in the eBay For Business Awards in 2016 and more recently in 2022 was the winner of the Stelios Awards For Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK.
Joe is an active member and is currently a peer support volunteer for the 40+ Facebook page, he joined the Shine Board in December 2022, he has always been passionate about the support and development of people with disabilities, having first hand experience living with Spina Bifida and all the challenges that living with a disability entails
Jo Sedgwick is the newest member to join the Board of Trustees in October 2023. 
Jo lives in Lincoln and has been a ‘traditional’ Personal Assistant for the past 10 years working in Local Government.
At the start of 2023 she joined De Courcy Alexander, a London-based sustainable innovation consultancy as a Virtual Assistant. During that time, she has been nominated for two PA awards and has been featured in PA Life magazine.
Jo’s background is in marketing and describes herself as a good communicator, known for her attention to detail and high standards.
Whilst Jo has faced some physical challenges living with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, she is extremely proud of all that she has achieved and looks forward to working on the Board of Trustees to ensure Shine's members are given the support, advice and opportunities to reach their full potential too.