Atif Kaudri, Benefits Advisor Atif joined The AAT in February 2021 on secondment from Maggie’s for six months. Expand Atif joined The AAT in February 2021 on secondment from Maggie’s for six months. He has over 15 years experience of providing welfare benefits advice. He is keen to establish a service for Aplastic Anaemia (AA) patients to meet the unmet need. The extra costs an AA diagnosis brings can be overwhelming for some. The welfare benefits system is designed to meet the needs of AA patients in these difficult times. Not all benefits are income related; some depend on national insurance contributions and some on how the illness is affecting someone in their day-to-day activities. In addition Atif can also advise about claiming travel costs to hospital for NHS treatment. Atif lives in Oxford. He loves to play table tennis and is a registered Table Tennis England level 2 coach. He is passionate about coaching children, teenagers as well as young adults who have successfully gone on to win local tournaments. He would be keen to hear from you to advise you on your benefits entitlement. He usually works on a Monday. He can be contacted on [email protected], or you can book a free benefits consultation here.
Ellie Dawes, Fundraising and Comms Manager Ellie currently works for us part-time to support with communications and fundraising. Expand Ellie joined the team part-time in 2020 to support our community with fundraising support and communications. She's been busy refreshing and promoting our valuable website information to make it more accessible to patients, and creating new newsletters to help our community stay informed. Ellie previously worked as Digital Engagement Manager at Blood Cancer UK, before spending the past few years running comms and fundraising at a small international health charity, Child.org. Ellie loves food and once appeared on a TV cooking show! She's passionate about helping charities to be bold, ambitious and inspiring. If you have a story to tell, Ellie would love to hear from you - you can email her at [email protected]. She usually works on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Fiona Jennings - Outreach Coordinator - Scotland Fiona has volunteered throughout the last few years for the AAT and joined as a part-time member of staff in 2021 as an outreach coordinator for Scotland. Expand After Fiona's 21 year old son, Sandy, was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anaemia in 2016, she found the AAT to be a vital source of information, help and support while he underwent two rounds of ATG treatment. She has volunteered throughout the last few years for the AAT, and joined as a part-time member of staff in February 2021 as an outreach coordinator for Scotland. She is very keen to provide more support for parents and their families across Scotland and to develop relationships with the various treatment centres to help patients feel more represented, less isolated and to build local and regional connections within our community. Fiona worked as a Dentist for over 30 years before retiring in 2016 and now enjoys trying to beat her sons and husband at golf, walking her golden Labrador, Breck, in the hills of Edinburgh, and baking for any occasion.
Hannah Mitchell, Supporter Experience Assistant Hannah joined the team part time in 2021 to support our community with fundraising. Expand Joining during our Super Rare campaign meant Hannah had the opportunity to meet a few of our fundraisers early on, and has loved getting to know the community. She has been creating a new Aplastic Anaemia Trust fundraising pack, and launching new events including The Together Walk - designed to bring our community together safely during the pandemic. She hopes to be able to meet more people at real life events very soon! Hannah previously worked for a number of years for a conservation charity, where she led a large team of volunteers, as well as being responsible for membership sells and fundraising at one of the sites. She currently volunteers with two organisations who work to empower women around the world. Her main passion in life is travelling, she loves meeting new people and is a mommy to two beautiful bunnies. She is a self-confessed fundraising geek, so if you need any support with any events please email her at [email protected]
Kim Ball, Outreach Coordinator - Wales An active member of our community since she was diagnosed with AA in 2012, Kim joined the team as a part-time member of staff in 2021 to offer more support to patients in Wales and build local relationships. Expand Kim joined the AA community when she was diagnosed in 2017 and received ATG treatment in Cardiff in 2018. She started in her new role in 2021 when we expanded our outreach work to better support patients regionally. Kim is passionate about creating a support network for patients and families to help them feel less isolated and overwhelmed. She has previously worked in care settings and as a support worker for people living with mental health difficulties or learning disabilities. Kim moved from Sussex to Caerphilly in 2013 with her two sons and enjoys finding new places to walk, meeting new people and slowly getting back into fitness after her treatment.
Leena O'Hara, Programme Manager, MarrowKidz The AAT welcomed Leena on board in November 2019 as our new Programme Manager Expand Leena joined the AAT in November 2019 as Programme Manager. She is working in collaboration with the Aplastic Anaemia community and our new Digital Collaborator, MindWave, to develop a creative and interactive resource library aimed at children, young people and their families. During her career, Leena has championed for the best provision for children and young people. As a qualified Playworker and Primary Teacher, she has worked with children, young people and families in both formal and informal settings. These early experiences have shaped her child-centred approach to her work. A significant part of Leena’s career was dedicated to working on the National Healthy Schools Programme for Warwickshire, where she led on improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people, in the context of schools. She successfully delivered the national qualification in Personal, Social, Health Education for teachers and contributed to the Post Graduate training for newly qualified teachers at Warwick University. Leena lives in Warwickshire with her family. She has a passion for ornamental trees after starting the painstaking restoration of a neglected garden. When she’s not outside, Leena enjoys going to comedy gigs because sometimes laughter is the best medicine! You can contact her on [email protected]
Sam Williams, Community Outreach and Patient Advocacy Lead Sam was recruited part-time in 2020 to support patients on our helpline and online. Expand Having been through aplastic anaemia treatment himself as a child and receiving a stem cell transplant at the age of 21, Sam is passionate about supporting patients. He's here to provide you with a friendly ear, and expert, up to date information about the disease and treatment. Sam has extensive experience of managing online communities and manages our thriving Facebook community, supported by our wonderful volunteers. He has also been an ambassador for Anthony Nolan for many years, encouraging people to join the stem cell register. Sam loves theatre and playing the piano and is getting married next year! If you'd like a chat with Sam, you can call our helpline number on +44 (0) 300 102 3202 or email [email protected]
Stevie Tyler, CEO Stevie joined the Aplastic Anaemia Trust in July 2020 as its new CEO Expand Stevie Tyler, CEO Stevie joined the AAT in July 2020 as its new CEO and brings with her many years of experience across the sector, working in healthcare, International development and the arts. She is passionate about fundraising innovation, improving patient experience and collaborative working. Career highlights for Stevie include working at Macmillan Cancer Support, Fashion Revolution and becoming a Trustee of a small museum. Stevie lives in Margate with her family. She is passionate about boxing, creative writing and taking her young son to the beach. You can contact Stevie on [email protected]
The Team In addition to the full-time CEO, the AAT team consists of one other full time staff member, six other part-time staff who work for 1-3 days each week, and a group of volunteers. Expand Dedicated part-time patient and fundraising support constitute the AAT's paid staff team. A group of volunteers work with us providing excellent and much-needed project management, marketing and patient support capacity.