Jane Barry, Chair of Trustees Expand Jane Barry has spent over three decades within the civil service and has worked in a range of business areas, leading operational teams, as well as analysis, assessment and policy functions. She has led infrastructure projects and transformational change, and is now operating as a Director in leading organisational transformation and systems development across organisational functions. Jane has two grown-up children, one of whom has moderate permanent hearing loss. It was through a fortuitous conversation that Jane became aware of Auditory Verbal UK and found out more about it: AVUK's aspirations for deaf children and the hugely positive effect the support can have on the whole family, inspired Jane to take up the Chair role in March 2020.
Milly Ehren, Trustee Expand Milly joined the Board of Trustees in 2021. Milly is an experienced strategy professional, with a passion for creating social value and lasting impact. She is currently working at the City of London Corporation as Strategic Project Lead for Bridge House Estates (an ancient charitable trust). Milly brings her skills in articulating organisation-wide thinking on strategic issues and implementing transformational projects to support AVUK as it embarks on its major investment programme. Milly will act as Board lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and will support AVUK to further develop and implement its DEI policies and plans. Milly is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and brings her personal experience of living with a chronic invisible illness. Milly’s lived experience affords her a natural insight and empathy that will help support families in their journeys through Auditory Verbal therapy.
Gillian Smith, Trustee Expand Gillian Smith FCIPD Gillian is a Senior Leader providing Executive and Team Coaching and Consultancy across a broad range of organisations. She supports individuals, teams and their organisations to explore all aspects of performance, creating lasting change. Working at the intersection of behavioural understanding, system dynamics, interpersonal relationships and strategic dilemmas she has spent most of her career at senior level in the Civil Service leading transformation programmes. Gillian co-led the charity ‘Step Up to Serve’, is a Magistrate, has extensive experience as a Trustee and in other volunteering roles, having been a Governor at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She joined the AVUK Board of Trustees in 2022, where she chairs the People and Development Committee, and is the lead Trustee for Safeguarding. As a mother of a child who became seriously unwell and needed access to additional services, she has first-hand experience of navigating the health and education systems and understands the challenges for parents faced with similiar circumstances. She is driven by a determination to help build a fairer world with good access to provision, removing barriers that create disadvantage.
Shiona Adamson, Trustee Expand Shiona joined the Board of Trustees in Autumn 2023. Shiona is an experienced organisational leader and communications professional with over 20 years’ experience in different public and private sector organisations of varying sizes and is the Board lead for communications. Shiona has been a member of four Executive Boards and led teams and national campaigns to educate and inspire a range of audiences about an organisation’s purpose and priorities and has designed strategies and led teams to help organisations gain increased brand awareness and trust externally and employee engagement internally. Shiona became captivated by AVUK's mission during a leadership strategy day in which AVUK invites senior leaders from across the public and private sector to learn and advise on the Charity's strategy and brings her experience of reputational risk to AVUK's Finance and Risk Committee.
Jonathan Pepper, Advisor to the board Expand Jonathan is a Partner at Deloitte, focussed on Infrastructure and Real Estate. He has spent his career focused on the public sector, both as a civil servant and consultant. Jonathan has two children, one of whom was born profoundly deaf. He saw first hand the impact of AVUK as a service user, and is a keen advocate of the benefits the programme can have on deaf children and their families. With his professional background and experience, and a passion to expand the AVT offering to be more universally available, he has provided support to the organisation both with their strategy and business case, and to subsequently join as an advisor to the board in 2024.
Aileen Thompson, Trustee Expand Aileen joined the Board of Trustees in July 2024. She is an award-winning executive leader, advisor, mentor, and Board Trustee in private, public and not for profit sectors including infrastructure and major projects, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, telecoms, technology, consumer goods and not for profit organisations. Her expertise in effective strategic stakeholder engagement helps create commercial value and resolve business challenges. Aileen is a Fellow and mentor for the Chartered Institute of Public Relationsand a member of the Company of Communicators and its Charity Committee. She will develop a lead role on the AV UK Board focused on compliance, governance and strategic risk and is a member of the Finance & Risk Committee.
Chris Campbell, Trustee Expand Chris Campbell is the father of three children, two of whom are profoundly deaf and learnt to listen and talk at AVUK. Chris has worked in Executive Search for 26 years and is the Managing Partner of Curzon, a leading firm which recruits leaders and Board members for the Infrastructure and Energy Sectors. Chris began his career in teaching and has also worked as an advisor in Parliament. Chris holds degrees from Durham and London Universities and an MBA in Finance from City University Business School (Bayes). Chris has launched, grown and merged a number of firms and brings a hands-on set of experiences of developing and delivering strategies and business planning and will lead AVUK's effectiveness in its organisational delivery and business case implementation, and is a member of the Finance & Risk Committee.
Duncan King, Treasurer Expand Duncan joined the Board of Trustees in July 2025 as the Treasurer. He is a qualified CIMA accountant who worked in a range of Finance Management and Leadership roles over a long and successful career in the Metropolitan Police Service. He was also pivotal in working with government and the Police Service in the set-up, funding and running of a number of significant National Police functions across the UK. He was awarded an OBE for public service in June 2024. Now retired, he aims to help AVUK deliver its strategy of making Auditory Verbal therapy a choice for the families of all deaf children.