Trustees
We are lucky to have an extremely dedicated team of trustees who give up their time generously for the charity.
Margery Gledson
Chair
Margery has been a trustee for Smile For Life for 10 years, seven of those leading our Board as Chair. Margery brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the charity and has an absolute passion for the work we do. Margery has enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the financial sector, specialising in personal and business financial planning. Margery has been fundamental in the growth of Smile For Life not only using her financial acumen but in her management of our strategic planning. She has introduced many valuable business and personal contacts to the charity who have become significant supporters of our work. Margery leads by example and can be seen at many of our charity events and challenges.
Nigel Coates
Trustee
Nigel has been a valued trustee of our charity for nine years. He is a senior lecturer in marketing at Northumbria University and has recently been awarded with the prestigious title of Associate Professor in his field. Nigel has served as a governor on the board at Sir Charles Parsons School in Newcastle’s East End for many years, gaining a wealth of knowledge and understanding of children and young adults coping with a wide range of disabilities and learning difficulties.
Dr Jan Welbury
Trustee
Throughout her long and illustrious medical career Jan worked as a consultant paediatrician specialising in child protection, adoption and fostering and held the post of medical advisor to Barnados North East for more than 30 years. Now retired, Jan is exceptionally active on the fundraising side of the charity, throwing herself into events and huge challenges; Kilimanjaro and C2C to name a few!
Jan’s skills, knowledge and understanding of children with disabilities is invaluable to the work we do at Smile For Life and, as Safeguarding Trustee, the wellbeing of our beneficiaries is always her main priority.
Alison Proudfoot
Trustee
As our newest trustee, Alison brings a wealth of experience having enjoyed a long career in Speech and Language Therapy and additional senior positions within our NHS. She is currently an Associate with The Point of Care Foundation, which supports healthcare organisations to improve patient care and promote the wellbeing of their staff across the UK.
Alison has been a volunteer with Smile for Life for many years , supporting a range of activities, including the youth club, Café and working with a group of our young people to design and create our beautiful Café Beam courtyard garden. She also has a fantastic understanding of the needs of our service users and has built a great rapport with so many during her voluntary work with us.
Contact Us
Get in touch with the team at Smile For Life