ACE Council Members (Trustee Board)
Dr Katy Simmons (Chair)
Katy Simmons has been a teacher, lecturer and researcher, both in the UK and in the USA. She currently works as a lecturer in Inclusive Education at the Open University, where she researches, writes and runs courses for undergraduate and graduate students. She has also worked in the voluntary sector, where she advised and represented parents of children with special educational needs and headed up the 'Rights at Risk' campaign, that successfully worked to retain legal entitlement for children with disabilities. She is the chair of governors at a secondary school.
Rob Honeybourne (Vice-Chair)
Rob Honeybourne worked for many years for a leading multi-national pharmaceutical company, retiring as its UK Commercial Director and Country Manager for the Republic of Ireland. He became involved in education in the UK as a parent of two children, and was the Chair of their primary school PTA, and a Parent Governor of both of their secondary schools. During a time of unrest in England between the teaching profession and the then government, he founded an organisation which provided a platform in his borough for discussions between parents, teacher organisations and local and national government. He is committed to supporting the parental view point in education.
Geoff Berridge (Chair of Finance Committee)
Geoff Berridge has a commercial background having worked for a large IT company in a variety of management roles. Since 2000 he has worked independently as a consultant specialising in business development, organisational and business change and training. This is provided for organisations and individuals and often involves the use of technology to support the outcomes for clients. Part of his present work is to support the delivery of learning, information and advice systems and applications to schools, colleges and universities. Geoff is Chair of Governors at a large community school in Camden. He is a director and trustee of several charities in north London. These positions give him an insight into the needs of families and young people. He is also a non executive director of Brent Primary Care Trust.
Ron Glatter
Ron Glatter has admired ACE’s unique and vital work since its earliest days. He was Professor and Director of the centre for Educational Policy and Management at The Open university for many years. He was national Chair of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS), is now Honorary Vice-President and in 2007 received the Society’s Distinguished Service Award. He has been active internationally and in late 2007 was the Opening Keynote Speaker at a European Union Presidency conference in Lisbon on ‘Schools facing up to new challenges’.
Gabriela Daniels
Gabriela completed a cosmetics science and technology degree in Bulgaria. She worked in the cosmetic and affiliated industries in the UK for 10 years before joining the world of Higher Education in 1999. Currently Gabriela teaches specialist subjects in the University of the Arts London whilst maintaining active industry links. She is a member of professional associations such as the Society of Cosmetic Scientists and OU MBA Alumni Association. As a parent of two young boys, she is passionate about fair access to education for all - from the early years to university.
Alan Gottleib
Alan Gottlieb is a specialist in personal taxation. He currently works for a firm of Accountants having started his career with Revenue & Customs. He has a particular interest in the education of children with SEN as he has a son with ASD. He is very aware of the difficulties facing families of disabled children. Over many years he has actively campaigned for the improvement of educational facilities for such children.
Linda Redford
Linda Redford has recently retired from the rile as Director, Education, Policy and Development at TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education. Treehouse campaigns for improved services for children with autism and runs a pioneering special school for children in North London. Linda has more than 35 years experience working in education services and policy. She has worked in education for many years as a teacher, local advisor and inspector as well as a school governor. Linda has held several posts in the voluntary sector including at Action for Children and I CAN. She is a member of the SEN and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) and the Care Standards Tribunal.
Megan Griffith Gray
Megan works for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England, where she leads the Third Sector Foresight programme helping organisations to understand how the world is changing around them and use this knowledge to make better strategic decisions. She has worked at NCVO since 2003, prior to this working at the Musicians Benevolent Fund which led her into a career in the voluntary sector after obtaining a Bachelor of Music degree at Manchester University. She is a trustee of the Limes Community and Children’s Centre in Walthamstow, London. Since her own school days in Hackney, London, she has been passionate about the need for a fair access to good quality education for all.
Jane Fortin
Jane is a Professor of Law at the University of Sussex. Full details to follow shortly.
Macrina Otieno
Macrina has twenty years experience in investment and is currently working as a Director and Equity Trader at UBS Asset Management. Within the investment industry she has been a member of the steering committees for the Parent, Women and Multicultural Resources networks. She has previously been a Trustee Board member and Director of two voluntary sector education organisations, and has been a mentor and coach for peers and for young people. Macrina is passionate about improving the education provision for parents and on the work of ACE.
