GILLIAN WARWICK-THOmpson

Co-Founder and Chair of Trustees

Gillian is married to Andrew and they have two boys, Oliver and Harry (who was born in 2007 and has Down Syndrome).  She is determined to ensure that parents have access to the advice and information they need to be successful in navigating through the education, health and social care 'systems' for the benefit of their disabled child.

She currently works part-time for IPSEA (the legal charity) and also in a voluntary capacity as an advisor and parent advocate concerning children with special needs and disabilities.  This includes volunteering with IPSEA as a Tribunal Support volunteer.  She is a volunteer Director of Hertfordshire Parent Carer Involvement which works with the Local Authority on a strategic basis, aiming to improve local provision for families and is also a school Governor.  She has pursued her interest in using the law to support families by completing a Qualifying Law Degree and is studying to qualify as a solicitor.

Prior to Harry's arrival, Gillian worked in the financial services sector for over 20 years, most recently in the City as an Investment Consultant advising Trustees of corporate pension schemes.  Working as an advisor to Trustees for many years gives Gillian depth of understanding into the role and responsibilities of a Trustee.

Gillian is Co-Founder and Chair of Trustees of DS Achieve.

selena chapman

Trustee

Selena and her husband Neil have two children – Isobel (who was born in 2014 and has Down Syndrome) and George who is a couple of years older. 

Before children, Selena headed up the Marketing and Communications teams of non-profit organisations including Marie Curie and Southbank Centre, held Trustee positions, provided voluntary consultancy to small enterprises and gained an MBA from Cranfield.

Currently, Selena works part-time heading up the communications and marketing team for CDP, a global non-profit that drives companies, cities and governments to reduce their environmental impact.

Selena would like to use her skills to support DS Achieve as best she can.

Huw Watkins

Trustee

Huw is married with two grown-up sons. He retired in 2022 after a 33 year career with BT plc, followed by a period as an independent consultant. As a senior manager, he was responsible for leading teams from around the world to deliver large, complex international projects. His consultancy continued that work, helping BT and suppliers successfully launch new services.

Huw is looking forward to supporting the work the organisation has already established, and helping to ensure its continued success.

Huw’s other interests are sport - he still manages to play a little cricket and he cycles regularly - and music; he currently plays bass in two local bands.

Tina Guagenti-Birkin

Trustee

Tina is married with a 12 year old daughter who has Cerebral Palsy.

Until last year, she has spent the last 20 years in HR based roles for large corporate businesses including Currys and Whitbread.

She has taken some time away from her career to support her daughter’s needs and focus on becoming an integrated part of the Trustee board for DS Achieve. Tina is keen to put her generalist HR Business Partner skills to use within the charity and support families, children, young people and professionals that access the charity’s services.

ROB ANGUS

Treasurer

Rob is married to Caroline and has 2 daughters.  His niece Alanna has Down Syndrome and DS Achieve has been important to the family since it began.  Rob joined as a Trustee as he is keen to contribute to the organisation's fantastic work and contribution to the community.

Rob qualified as an accountant in 2005 and has experience in both audit (including charity audits) and commercial environments, and currently works as a Financial Controller. He has also a keen interest in the charity sector for many years and follows organisations supporting welfare for Children, opportunities for young people from less privileged backgrounds, Brain Tumour support, Homelessness and Mental health causes.   Rob is also a qualified Mental Health First  Aider.

Joining the board in 2024, Rob is looking forward to supporting the charity and hopes to bring experience from previous charity work and his finance background.

BHAVIKA BHURTUN

Trustee

Bhavika is a mum of three all under the age of 10.  Her eldest daughter, Annie has Down Syndrome and since her arrival Bhavika has been championing being a parent of a child with additional needs. National and local charities like DS Achieve have always been a great source of information and support for her family, so she feels very privileged to have the opportunity to be part of the DS Achieve trustee team.

Professionally her background is in HR and she has worked across many different sectors such as financial, market research, retail and not for profit. She has also set up and run her own domiciliary care business for many years which she stepped away from in 2020. More recently she has been working within marketing. 

Bhavika is excited to apply her professional skills and her personal experience of being a parent to a child with DS, to her new role as a Trustee.