SIA’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES STRENGTHENED BY NEW APPOINTMENTS

We’re excited to announce that Aliyyah-Begum Nasser and Chris Keogh have been appointed as Co-opted Trustees to SIA. The pair join at a time when we are expanding our services and reach.

     

Aliyyah and Chris were selected to join the Board due to the valuable skills and experience they will bring to the charity as we transition to a network of people and partners – working with other charities and organisations to build a personalised network of support for everyone affected by spinal cord injury (SCI).

Aliyyah, a director at Askham Village Community – a group of five specialist care and rehab centres near Doddington, Cambridgeshire – has joined in the wake of the group becoming a Business Member of SIA earlier this year.

She said, “Becoming a Trustee of the Spinal Injuries Association serves to highlight our ongoing commitment to providing the specialist level of rehabilitation that is required by those with complex spinal cord injuries. Already a key area of focus at Askham, this new role will help to further enhance and support our community. I look forward to working closely with the charity’s members, which in turn should help us to better support those at Askham.”

Joining her on the Board is Chris Keogh. Chris sustained an SCI playing football in April 2018, dislocating his neck (C6/7). He spent seven months in hospital and rehabilitated in the London SCI Centre at RNOH Stanmore.

Since leaving hospital, he joined PwC’s Financial Services team supporting a portfolio of the firm’s priority banking and insurance clients. He is currently undergoing neurological rehab and hopes to get back up on two feet before he marries in May 2021. Chris recently joined an SIA Café to talk about the ups and downs of working from home and raised over £2,700 in May to support spinal charities by walking 26 laps of the corridors of his flat. He said, “It’s an honour to be a Trustee of this amazing charity that does so much to support injured people like me. I look forward to using my commercial skills and experience to support our work and help many more people get the care and support they urgently need.”

Dr Rupert Earl, Chair of SIA, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming both Aliyyah and Chris to the Board. They represent the diversity of our membership and will provide a fresh approach with their contributions and insights. As we grow and expand our services and remit, the skills and insight they provide will make an immediate and lasting difference to the lives of the 50,000 people paralysed by SCI that we support in the UK.”

Join our Board

Don’t forget that nominations are still open for full members who want to join our Board of Trustees. If you’d like more information on how you can make a real difference as a Trustee, you’ll find all you need to know here. Nominations close on Monday 14 September.