Our trustees

Meet our Board of Trustees, who together monitor our strategic objectives and direct the running of MS Trust.

Caitlin Sorrell, Chair

Caitlin Sorrell worked in a variety of marketing and commercial roles in retail pharmacy for 20 years, starting in Boots as a graduate. Until 2017 she worked for Walgreens Boots Alliance as Managing Director of Alphega Pharmacy, a European network of independent pharmacies. More recently, she has worked for a charity that supports asylum seekers and refugees and is currently working clinically in a Health Psychology team for a community NHS Trust whilst finishing her PhD. Caitlin draws her motivation from her husband who has Secondary Progressive MS.

Jo Hudson, Vice-chair

Jo has relapsing remitting MS and was diagnosed in 2010. She is currently Bupa's Global Director of Internal Communications. She joined Bupa in 2008 as a Press Officer in the external relations team, and in the last 16 years has worked in various roles across corporate and financial communications, M&A, media relations, crisis communications, sponsorship and marketing, social media and public affairs. Jo's most demanding stakeholders are Henry (9) and Mia (8), who keep her very busy!

Ben Clacy

Ben is the Executive Director of Membership & Development at the Royal College of General Practitioners. In this role, he leads the colleges membership teams and the delivery of development programmes for primary care. He was previously Director of Operations and Development for the NHS Providers. This organisation supports NHS foundation trusts and provides various supporting resources and events for NHS trusts. Ben was responsible for the NHS Providers' commercial partnerships, infrastructure, membership and the annual conference and exhibition. Ben's first exposure to MS was as a student at the University of Bristol, with his mother also later being diagnosed. These events fuelled his desire to be a Trustee of the charity.

Christine Singleton

Christine Singleton is Lead Clinical Physiotherapist at the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre in Birmingham. She established services to assist neurological patients with mobility and rehabilitation using innovative technology and Christine has a keen interest in clinical research. A visiting lecturer at Birmingham University and Founder member of Therapist in MS (TiMS) she tries to ensure that all patients receive equal access to good quality holistic care.

David Philpot

David Philpot has relapsing remitting MS and was diagnosed in 1997. A qualified solicitor, he is Director of a company that develops electricity generating stations and previously spent more than 25 years in private practice with large commercial law firms in London and Birmingham. He knows that he owes a huge debt to the unfailing support he receives from close family and the specialist MS team at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

Dawn Langdon

Dawn Langdon is Professor of Neuropsychology at Royal Holloway, University of London and has accreditation as a clinical, health and neuro-psychologist. Her research interests focus on psychological aspects of MS, including multinational studies of cognition and the effects of medication.

Dr Declan Chard

Declan Chard is a Principal Clinical Research Associate at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square. His clinical practice is mainly in MS and his research focuses on the use of magnetic resonance imaging to better understand MS and its treatment.

Michael Penny

Michael qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and has held senior financial positions in several companies including Whitbread, Time Warner, Focus Wickes and more recently the Pinnacle Group. Michael is now a pluralist and uses his time to support / advise start up companies. He is Executive Trustee of a large DB pension scheme and Trustee of the Ramblers. Whilst not personally impacted by MS Michael knows friends and work colleagues who are.

Rachel Balchin

Rachel started her career at the National Audit Office where she qualified as a chartered accountant before undertaking a variety of roles in the public and charity sectors. She set up her own accountancy practice in 2017, specialising in working with charities, and now works flexibly around the needs of her two bulldogs, Esme and Rocky. Rachel first came across the MS Trust after being diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome in 2015.

Rebecca Law

Rebecca is a qualified solicitor working at Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, supporting the European business. She has previously held senior legal positions at the John Lewis Partnership and Tesco, working across a wide variety of corporate, commercial and contentious matters and brings a keen interest in compliance and corporate governance. Rebecca was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS at the end of 2021 following a period of uncertainty over what was causing her symptoms.

Sally Owen

Sally has worked across a variety of leadership roles across HSBC UK, and has a true passion for Diversity and Inclusion having worked within HSBC's Ethnicity ERG, Embrace. Sally is the Operations Director at PurpleSpace, the world's only professional development hub for Disability Employee Resource Group/Network leaders. Sally was diagnosed with MS over 10 years ago, and prefers to say it stands for mighty strong not multiple sclerosis. Sally lives in South Wales.

Sarah Joiner

Sarah Joiner took early retirement from the Department of Health in 2007. She is actively involved in her local community and several national charities. Diagnosed with MS in 1981, she contributes as an Expert Patient to a number of forums on long-term neurological conditions, with a particular interest in vocational rehabilitation. Sarah credits her 'get up and go' to her wonderful family and the brilliant MS multi-disciplinary team at the National Hospital in London.

Sarah White

Sarah White is the Lead MS Clinical Nurse Specialist at St George's University Hospital in London. She has been an MS nurse since 2003 and manages the MS nursing team as well as having her own caseload of patients. She has been involved in national projects to improve MS services such as the Specialised Adult Neuroscience Transformation programme. Her background prior to working in the MS team was in neuro rehabilitation and district nursing. The MS Trust supports MS nurses in many ways and Sarah is delighted be able to give something back by becoming a Trustee.

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