Meet the
Board at the Wheelchair Alliance
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni is the President and one of the founder members of the Wheelchair Alliance. As a Paralympian and wheelchair user she has campaigned tirelessly about a number of issues including Accessibility, Equality and Welfare Reform.
Nick Goldup
Part-time Chief Operating Officer of the Alliance and Chair of the Board Nick Goldup was the Director of Care Improvement at the MND Association. Nick has a wealth of knowledge about wheelchairs having spent some years working for Whizz-Kidz too.
Karen Pearce
Karen is a founder member of the Wheelchair Alliance and has been involved in the challenges surrounding wheelchair provision for a number of years both in the healthcare and charity sectors. She is now one of the directors of the Alliance taking a lead on policy and engagement.
Jon Sawford
Jon Sawford is a Director of the Alliance and Vice Chair, taking a lead on governance. He is the Director of Services at Whizz-Kidz. He brings great expertise in service delivery and is passionate about disability awareness and employment for young people amongst other things.
Raymond Hodgkinson MBE
Ray is one of the founder members of the Wheelchair Alliance. He is a Director of the Alliance taking the lead on finances. His experience covers virtually all aspects of healthcare and he was the Director General of the British Healthcare Trades Association for 16 years.
Jean Waters
Jean is one of the founder members of the Wheelchair Alliance. As a wheelchair user she actively campaigns to improve services for disabled people and their carers and chaired the working groups that developed and reviewed the Wheelchair Charter.
Andy Conway
Andy joined the Wheelchair Alliance as freelance coordinator in March 2024 bringing with him day-to-day business administration knowledge along with event and membership management experience. Away from the Alliance, Andy freelances in the automotive hospitality industry.
Pauline Matheson-Marks
Pauline is the Head of National Care for the MND Association. She is heavily involved in ensuring people with a rapidly progressing neurological condition get the most appropriate wheelchair, which considers current and future needs, at the right time.
Arunima Misra
Arunima battled neuroblastoma nerve cancer in her spine as a baby and she has been a wheelchair user all her life. After studying Law at Cambridge University and training at the magic circle law firm Allen & Overy, Arunima now lives in London, furthering her career as a banking and finance lawyer.
Tamsin Flint
Tamsin works for the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board and her role is commissioning manager for the wheelchair service in Kent and Medway. She joined the NHS in 2014, as a member of the ICB quality team and since then has worked in a number of roles.
Dan Ellis
Dan Ellis is passionate about helping to strengthen the voice of the wheelchair community. He combines creativity and smart enabling technology in order to help provide equal opportunities for all.
Lara Littler
Lara has over 20 years experience managing frontline NHS services within both Community and Acute NHS Trusts. She is Centre Manager for the Specialised Ability Centre Manchester, which provides Wheelchair, Prosthetic and Orthotic services for Manchester, Trafford and the surrounding areas.
Shabaaz Mohammed
Shabaaz has used specialist seating all his life. He sees his wheelchair as a vital organ, without which he, and other wheelchair users, simply could not function. He actively pushes for ongoing improvement in wheelchair provision.
Dave Long
Dave Long is a HCPC registered clinical scientist. An engineer by training he has spent the last 25 years working directly in and around NHS wheelchair services. He is delighted to represent PMG (Posture & Mobility Group) on the Wheelchair Alliance.
Andrew Stevenson
Andrew has worked in the Community Equipment and Wheelchair Products and Services channel of the healthcare market for the last 20 years, having previously spent the initial part of his career in the Commercial Health and Fitness industry. He is currently President of the British Healthcare Trades Association, which represents over 400 companies across the healthcare industry.
Dan McAleavy
Dan has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. Since 2016 he has been involved in the development of personal wheelchair budgets. Dan is a director of a Community Interest Company which focuses on projects that emphasise social inclusion.
A Message from our Chair
Our dedicated team at the Wheelchair Alliance are committed to deliver our mission and to provide wheelchair users across the UK with the basic rights of mobility, independence and inclusion.
