BrightsideUNIAID

John Berry

Chair

John is CEO of Informed Direct Plc and Pharma Marketing Academy Ltd. After working for what is now Astra Zeneca for 13 years in a number of UK, overseas and international marketing positions, John set up The Complete Medical Group of Companies (CMG) in 1990. Over the following 8 years CMG expanded to offer medical communications, market research, PR and training to the pharmaceutical industry. By the time it was sold to McCann Erickson in 1998 CMG consisted of 13 separate businesses employing over 240 staff from offices in the UK, USA and Canada.

In 2000 John helped set up and fund Informed Direct which offers innovative marketing and training solutions to the international pharmaceutical industry. Informed Direct employs more than 80 staff at its offices in Cheshire and the USA. The funding was structured in such a way that BrightsideUNIAID is the largest company shareholder and receives 25% of the distributable profits each year.

Jim Heron

Treasurer

Following a degree in biochemistry, Jim qualified as a chartered accountant with BDO Stoy Hayward. In 1993 he joined the Complete Medical Group, where he became the Financial Director. Jim was one of the founders of InforMed Direct in 2000 and he is currently the Financial Director of the company. Jim has been the Treasurer since The Brightside Trust was established in 2000.

Bertie Ross

Bertie is a freelance Mentoring Consultant working in the education, business and voluntary sectors in the UK and Europe. Bertie taught for 8 years in secondary schools in the West Midlands and Inner London before leaving to join an American charity, Cities in Schools (UK), as UK Information and Training Manager. He was also a member of the National Steering Group on Mentoring set up by BitC and DfES in 1993 and was heavily involved in the development of 'Roots and Wings' - one of the first business mentoring schemes in the UK.

Since becoming a freelancer in 1994 he has delivered mentor training to over 3000 business and HE mentors supporting education initiatives tackling underachievement and social exclusion. Bertie is currently Mentoring Consultant to Skillset's Guiding Lights for emerging filmmakers; JP Morgan (School Mentoring Project); European Empire Project researching blended mentoring in Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Bertie is a School Governor at a local comprehensive and a KS2 Special School for children with Emotional and Social Behavioural Difficulties (ESBD).

Melanie Thody

Melanie is Director of Access and Head of Outreach at Imperial College London, a top-rated University specialising in science, engineering and medicine. The Outreach team is responsible for raising aspirations amongst young people, encouraging them to take an interest in science and to apply to Higher Education. The team also runs a number of tutoring and mentoring projects in schools to aid this mission and provide personal development for undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers at the University. Before joining Imperial College in 1990, Melanie ran the Schools Education programme at the Royal Institution, an establishment best known for the televised Christmas Lecture Series.

She was made an MBE in the 2010 New Year's honours list, for services to science communication.

Andy Jones

Andy Jones is Dean of the Institute of Education and Pro-Vice Chancellor at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). A graduate in drama and theatre arts of the University of Birmingham, Andy's interests in teaching were developed via theatre-in-education experiences. He gained a PGCE in secondary education at Manchester Polytechnic before teaching performing arts and English in secondary schools and then joining MMU as a teacher trainer and Continuing Personal Development tutor. His MPhil (1997) focused on group devised theatre forms and processes.

Andy has contributed to books and websites on drama-in-education methodologies and also written for government documentation on curricular approaches to developing speaking and listening skills. His research interests have centred on the application of drama pedagogy for learning across the curriculum and his work as a consultant to schools, local authorities, other universities and government agencies, has taken him around the UK as well as to Israel, the Netherlands and China.

As well as being a Brightside trustee, Andy is also a member of National Drama, a trustee of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and member of its National Executive, a trustee of the Vale Cooperative College and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Administrative Management.

Pamela Bell-Ashe

Pamela is Director of Student Services at Birmingham City University, where she is responsible for providing a wide range of student support services. She has previously worked in a number of both Higher and Further Education institutions and is a former Chair of the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE). She is currently a member of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Student Finance Stakeholder Interest Group. Pam has been involved with UNIAID since 2003 and became a Trustee in 2007, continuing this role following the merger of Brightside with UNIAID in 2008.

Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell spent ten years in new media, first as a channel editor for online women’s magazine iVillage and then as editor for The Brightside Trust. Since 2008 she has set up her own business – Longworth Editors – working with authors, publishers and agents to discover new writing talent. She has remained an active and passionate Trustee for Brightside since leaving the charity as an employee.

Patron

BrightsideUNIAID is delighted to have the support of its patron, Professor Lord Robert Winston. Lord Winston is Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College. He is also well known for his contribution to the popularisation of science, with programmes such as The Human Body and The Secret Life of Twins.

Lord Winston makes regular contributions to scientific and current affairs programmes, and writes occasional articles for the Times, the Sunday Times, The Observer and other national newspapers. Lord Winston shares BrightsideUNIAID’s passion for widening participation in Higher Education, particularly in the sciences.

“Science is often perceived as being impenetrable, the work of BrightsideUNIAID is a great example of how young people can be excited and inspired to enter these fields.” – Lord Robert Winston

As head of a world leading human fertility research team, Lord Winston is a pioneer in the field of gynaecological microsurgery. He has also made great research contributions to studies of genetic disease and sperm surrogacy, helping to ensure that men who undergo cancer treatments can still father children.

A great philanthropist, Lord Winston is chair of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Trust (IOGT), which funds research to improve the health of women and babies. His Queen Charlotte's Appeal recently raised over £13 million to build and equip the most advanced reproductive research centre in Europe, with space for 130 scientists and doctors working to improve the health of women and babies. He is also the founder and chairman of Women for Women, a charity that raises funds to help train female scientists.

As a member of the House of Lords he makes regular contributions to scientific and educational issues. He was Chairman of the Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology 1999-2002, initiating enquiries into Antibiotic Resistance, Non-Food Crops, Nuclear Waste, Science and Society, Genetic Databases, Aircraft Passenger Environment, and Science in Schools.