Trustee Board

We are governed by our Board of Trustees, which is ultimately responsible for our management and conduct as a charity. The board sets the strategic direction that enables us to work towards achieving our vision.

Ben Azvine

Ben is a research director at BT. He has 25 year experience in technology research and development. Having held research fellowship and lectureship posts in several universities, he joined BT in 1995 to develop and exploit novel Artificial Intelligence technology.

He is an inventor of 30 patent applications, has won 4 BCS and an IET gold medals for IT innovation and currently holds visiting professorship positions at the Universities of Bristol, Cranfield and Bournemouth. He acted as the chairman of the European network of excellence for Uncertainty management techniques from 1998 to 2001. Ben joined the Trustee Board in December 2010.

He hopes his technical and commercial management skills will help Suffolk Family Carers leverage new opportunities that new technology and commercial thinking will bring about. Ben is married and has 2 teenage children.

He is a keen golfer and enjoys all types of sports, watching natural history programmes and making & eating good food.

Janet Dillaway

Janet Dillaway is an independent social care and health consultant with over 35 years experience in the fields of adult and children’s social services. Qualified in social work, she holds a post graduate diploma in applied social studies, and is a Master of Business Administration of the University of Birmingham. Her management and leadership experience is drawn from a wide range of strategic and operational responsibilities, holding senior roles in local government for over 20 years.

She has worked extensively with the third sector, and believes passionately in people being supported to care in the way that they want to. As a carer herself Janet understands how difficult, time consuming and draining it can be to get the care needed and for it to work well. Janet hopes to put her experience and skills to good use for Suffolk Family Carers and is delighted to join the board of such a well regarded and successful organisation.

Janet has lived in Suffolk for almost 20 years with her partner; has two grown up children who have left and then returned to East Anglia, and is involved in her local community in a variety of ways. Currently she’s trying to learn the mysteries of golf, as well as table tennis and enjoys her membership of various choirs.

Dennis Weston

Dennis worked for Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance for 38 years. Originally from Leicester, Dennis moved to Birmingham and back to Leicester before moving his family to Ipswich in 1990 to become the Manager of the Buttermarket Branch. He is a ‘Chartered Insurer’ and became President of the Insurance Institute of Ipswich, Suffolk and North Essex in 1994. Although he and his family continued to live locally, the rest of his career was spent working in the City of London where he was involved in marketing and strategy, distribution and project management.

Having retired early, he is keen to give something back by making a positive contribution to the welfare of others. Having experience in caring for elderly parents, Dennis believes that “most carers have their role thrust upon them by circumstances and make heroic personal sacrifices in order to care for their loved ones. They deserve every help possible and I cannot think of a more worthy cause to support”.

Dennis is 58 years old and lives with his wife in Claydon. He has two sons, each with their own families and is very proud of his three grandchildren. His hobbies include outdoor pursuits such as walking, bird watching, and watching all sports. He also attends art classes and enjoys painting.

Don McElhinney

Don was a general practitioner in Ipswich for 30 years and trained atCambridge and Kings College London. He was involved throughout his career in trying to improve NHS services as a GP representative on the Suffolk Area Health Authority, as Chair of Ipswich Primary Care Group (PCG), and as the Chair of the professional executive committees of Ipswich Primary Care Trust (PCT) and East Suffolk PCT. Lately he was on the board of the local GP consortium, IPSCOM.

He is a trustee of East Anglia Hospice, Healthy Ambitions Suffolk and is Suffolk GP Macmillan facilitator.

He has a family of 4 and 2 grandchildren, and in his spare time tries to play golf!

Susan Brooks

Susan is an experienced senior marketing professional having spent over 30 years working in London for a variety of FTSE 100 companies including, Centrica, The Automobile Association, ITV plc and latterly as a Marketing Director with RSA Insurance Group.

After leaving the corporate world 3 years ago, she moved to Suffolk. Having been a carer for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimers, she wants to use her marketing knowledge to help support the work of Suffolk Family Carers.

Susan lives in Kettleburgh with her husband Denis and her bouncy springer spaniel, Molly. She is involved in supporting local village activities, playing tennis and walking in the beautiful Suffolk countryside.

Terry Ward

Terry began his career at the Welfare Department at the London Borough of Camden in 1970. After 12 years, during which he gained a professional social work qualification, he became Community Development Officer for the Western division of Suffolk Social Services. Whilst there he helped to set up West Suffolk Crossroads. Several jobs at Social Services HQ followed, during which he helped establish Crossroads schemes across the whole county. He also worked with others to create the Suffolk Carers Project in 1988, which has since become Suffolk Family Carers. Moving to the NHS in 1995 he held several posts at Suffolk Health Authority, and then became a Director of Ipswich PCT in 2002.

Terry has always stayed in touch with Suffolk Family Carers and was delighted to be asked to become a Trustee following his retirement in 2006.
He continues to work part time as a consultant specializing is Carers’ issues.

Terry has had direct experience of being a Family Carer at various times throughout his life. He lives with his wife in Woodbridge.

David Eagles

David is a Partner with Ipswich-based Chartered Accountants, BDO LLP, and is their Eastern Region lead Partner for local government and NHS audit and consultancy work. He has over 20 years’ experience of working with the public sector, and has particular expertise in areas of governance, financial and performance management and partnership working.

David joined the Trustee Board in August 2007and hopes his background and current professional focus will help Suffolk Family Carers to continue to thrive and develop, and also to successfully deal with changing issues and priorities facing key local government and NHS funding bodies.

David has two sons, aged 8 and 6, who successfully ensure he has no spare time for hobbies