Trustees
ASDAN is privileged to be governed by a board of trustees who have a range of skills and experience across education and other professional backgrounds.
Rik has held senior leadership positions up to director level in local authority children's services. He has a specialist background in SEND and inclusion and has had responsibility for a wide range of education functions within local authorities. He continues to work in a consultancy role and is also an accredited executive coach.
Marian is Principal of St Brendan’s Sixth Form College. Marian has a wide range of interests in post-16 education and represents the sector locally and nationally. Her interests vary from curriculum to ensuring that education secures social mobility for every student. She is currently our safeguarding lead for the Board of Trustees.
In her capacity as an experienced Education Manager within the residential childcare sector, Jamie possesses extensive expertise in trauma-informed care. Jamie is committed to creating supportive learning environments for children facing diverse challenges, with the overarching objective of guiding them towards sustained positive educational outcomes.
Brian is a Chartered Manager and Chartered Marketer, who brings a range of commercial and sector related skills to our board. In addition to a career in academia, Brian has been a senior manager within some of the world's largest private sector organisations.
Victoria is a qualified CIMA accountant with an MBA. She has held chief financial officer and finance director roles in the commercial manufacturing sector, higher education, careers advisory services, independent schools and the arts. Victoria works as a strategic financial consultant in the education and charity sectors, and has been a trustee and board chair of a South West multi-academy trust.
Alongside her trustee role with ASDAN, she is a trustee of a Bristol higher education arts charity and has been a trustee of a Bristol museums development charity. Victoria is the board's link trustee for the Chair of ASDAN’s Staff Forum, and sits on ASDAN’s Performance, Audit, Risk and Compliance committee.
Jemma is Head of Strategic HR Business Partnering at Great Western Railway. She brings expertise at a senior level in relation to HR, employee relations and employment law.
Elsa is a seasoned aviation professional. She started her career as an Apache Helicopter engineer within the British Army before moving into operations and management roles.
Having previously held the position of Managing Director of an aerospace manufacturing company, and currently an Executive at Rolls-Royce Defence, Elsa is able to bring strategic leadership and operational expertise to her role as Trustee within ASDAN.
Her commitment extends beyond aviation, as Elsa is passionate about diversity and inclusion within the workplace. She also coaches professionals, sharing insights and contributing to their life success and development.
Beyond her professional endeavours, Elsa enjoys many sports and is a dedicated partner and parent of two.
Jaswinder is an experienced senior leader in a specialist residential school. She has designed bespoke curriculum and has a track record of improving the quality of education and achieving strong outcomes for SEND learners. A trained practitioner within the further education sector, Jaswinder has a master’s degree in Autism, an MBA in Educational Leadership and a keen interest in improving autism practice.
Kala Parasuram has wide international experience in inclusive education. Her career has spanned across roles in teaching in schools and universities, research, community-based practice, and leadership positions in strategy and policy making. Kala currently leads on Equity and Inclusive Education at the International Baccalaureate (IB), giving an organizational vision and implementation to develop inclusive and accessible IB programmes and inclusive education in IB schools worldwide.
Jack is the Managing Director for Screening at the Citation Group who support SMEs with compliance and HR services. Previously he was Managing Director at Computershare Communications Services, Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA). His commercial expertise will support the board in strategic decision making, particularly in relation to growth, technology and return on investment. Jack is the vice-chair of ASDAN's Performance, Audit, Risk and Compliance committee.
Dean Smart is a former history teacher and taught at St. George School (now City Academy) in Bristol. He now works at the University of the West of England (UWE) where he supervises doctorial students, offers consultancy and works as a researcher. Find out more in our interview with Dean Smart.