Board of Trustees
Anand Chitnis MBE
Chair of the Trust Board
I initially became involved supporting disabled children when in the sixth form at Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire, in 1980. I would help at the residential ward at Calderstones Hospital caring for the children who lived there. I was on the student executive of the charitable organisation at the College whilst there, and on leaving school became involved in the Newman Trust at its outset in 1981, believing that disabled children deserved far better care and support than they were getting at the time. I helped on and organised many holidays throughout the country.
I joined the board as a trustee in 1984 and became chair in 1987.
My role as chair focuses on the governance of the Trust, the strategic direction and the relationship with regulators, such as Ofsted.
As a GP, I have been able to bring a medical perspective to ensure the highest standards are applied to our holidays.
I am ably supported by other trustees and executives with their individual roles and expertise, creating a team that runs the operational side of the trust, including the most important aspect: our summer holidays.
Over the years, I have raised money for the Trust through various events, such as marathons, 24-hour squash games and a triathalon. I now help and advise others on this instead!
I am married to Sarah, a previous Newman Trust holiday nurse and organiser, and we have four children, all of whom have in some way helped on Newman Trust holidays.
Judith Wardlaw
Holiday Trustee
I have been involved with the Newman Trust since 1991 when working with Nina Graham on night duty, and she convinced me that this would be the best thing I ever did! She was right, and I have been involved ever since as a volunteer, nurse and organiser. Latterly I have been a trustee and the registered manager to Ofsted.
My role involves direct liaison with Ofsted ensuring that the trust complies with all the regulations and keeping us up to date with any changes. I qualified as a nurse in 1991 and work within a General Practice, managing a wide variety of conditions which helps in my work within the Trust. I am married to Richard and we have two children. We enjoy walking our dog, skiing, sailing and surfing!
Ed Couldrey
My first holiday was in 2001. I was 17, had never done anything like it and only volunteered because my teacher told me to. I was a little scared but resolved to do a boring week of personal care for the sake of my CV... Oh how wrong I was - that week changed my life! It was the most exciting and inspiring seven days I had ever had. The energy, enthusiasm and love for life, however challenged, shown by the children and helpers has an amazing impact that is difficult to describe and is strangely addictive. I have made lifelong friends (and met my wife!), got to know inspiring children, as well as grown in confidence and experience. I’m also proud to know that the effort we put in makes a significant difference to the children we take on holiday and their families.
While a student in Manchester, I helped the North West holiday with the visits to families. I organised my first holiday at St Bedes in 2005 and again the next year but had to facilitate the temporary move to a new venue, the Lodge. I organised the first full O2 (London) holiday in 2008 and, after a hiatus in 2009 due to funding issues, helped oversee the move to St Dominic’s where it has been ever since.
Recognising the increasing requirements put on volunteer Holiday Organisers and the ever present issue of safeguarding, I set up the Trust’s centralised helper vetting and safeguarding process in 2009, which I continue to manage. This ensures that all helpers (new and experienced) are properly interviewed, vetted and have appropriate police record checks to ensure that the children in our care are properly safeguarded.
I became a Trustee in 2018. Outside the Newman Trust I live in Herne Hill, South London with my wife Sarah (we met on the Oratory holiday in 2008), my children Sophia, Hugh and Toby, as well as Asteria our cat. I am a Chartered Surveyor working in property development which I hope brings a different perspective the Trust.
Mohan Gharial
I have been involved with the Newman Trust since 1990, when I was invited by a trustee at that time to volunteer as a helper at the St Bede's Holiday in Staffordshire. It only takes one holiday to see the positive impact of the Trust and the joy it brings to the children. That experience, coupled with working with such a fantastic group of helpers, is enough to inspire a life-long involvement!
After a couple of Bede's holidays as a volunteer, I helped to establish and run the second Newman Trust holiday at Queen Mary’s in Yorkshire for a few more years. I have been a trustee now for nearly 30 years and for much of that time I have been responsible for the Trust’s finances. My focus is to support the chair with respect to governance and strategic direction.
Outside of the Trust, I have worked in IT in the Life Sciences industry throughout my career. For the past 15 years, I have also been a School Governor and leader in the Scouting movement.
I am married to Ann, who has also been a Newman Trust volunteer in the past, and we have five children.
Nina Graham
I became involved in The Newman Trust in 1986, aged 16. Paul Chitnis, one of the founding members of the charity, came to visit my school. Following a brief discussion about the charity, he showed a scratchy old video of a little boy with Downs Syndrome dancing so happily to a John Denver tune. That moment drew me in for life.
I have had the enormous privilege of witnessing the profound and life-changing effects this charity has had on hundreds of children and their families, as well as the helpers involved in their care. I have been organising holidays for over 30 years and I am constantly striving to improve the standards and the experience for all involved year after year.
I have been a Trustee for 10 years, supporting the team with strategic direction and I strive to constantly improve standards and relationships with our regulators. I have been a Registered General Nurse for 28 years, and I offer support and advice to NHT Nurses and fellow holidays organisers to enable them to grow within their roles.
I am married to Miguel who has walked beside me as well as contributing a huge amount personally on the NHT road for the last 26 years. We have a son who is also involved, and he has grown to enjoy and value the experience as much as we do.
I am a yoga teacher and I love people, travel, music and running retreats in the countryside.
Thom Harvey
I first became involved in the Newman Trust in 2007, when a friend encouraged me to volunteer on a holiday at the Oratory School in Berkshire. Over the next four years I volunteered on six holidays before co-organising our London Holiday, the charity’s first at St Dominic’s School in Surrey.
Outside of the Trust, I began my career as an Auditor working with Charity and Not for Profit clients, before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. Subsequently I’ve worked in Finance roles in a number of national charities. I am currently Head of Finance at the National Childbirth Trust.
As a Trustee I use my professional skills to support the management of the charity’s Finances, Resources and Governance. In addition to my role as a Trustee, I co-organise our London holiday and the Charity’s annual comedy night. In my spare time I enjoy kayaking, live music and trips to the seaside.
Katherine Martin
I first volunteered on a Newman Trust holiday in 1996 at the Oratory School in Oxfordshire, just before I began studying medicine at university with my heart already set on a career in paediatrics. Whilst volunteering met my initial goal of gaining some valuable experience with children, I soon realised that the holidays offer the helpers as well as the children a week of fun and friendship like no other! After three years as a one-to-one helper I took on the challenge of organising a further three holidays at the Oratory before establishing a holiday in Scotland which launched in 2002.
As a trustee I am the registered manager for the Trust with the Scottish Care Inspectorate. As a paediatrician specialising in childhood disability and epilepsy I am able to use my professional knowledge to support other members of the Trust with queries arising from childrens' diagnoses or medical needs. I am also on the executive boards of a number of other national organisations that focus on improving and enhancing services for disabled children.
I am married to Kris, a musician who has accompanied many a Newman Trust singalong. We have three children, the youngest of whom has spina bifida and is a wheelchair user.
Rob Nestor
I have been working with children with disabilities and special needs for over 15 years. I've worked for the Newman Trust for over ten of those, starting out as a one-to-one carer. I have been Holiday Organiser for The Oratory holiday and the Queen Mary’s holiday, and have been ‘lucky’ enough to be inspected by Ofsted every time I've been Holiday Organiser, achieving outstanding on each occasion.
I was one of the Holidays Managers for four years, overseeing the work of the Holiday Organisers and making sure they are equipped to do the best job they can.
I still volunteer on holidays as a one-to-one helper and have been on over 20 Newman Trust holidays around the country over the years.
Having spent six years working in a Special School, I am now a Paediatric Nurse.
Nick White
I became involved with the Newman Holiday Trust in the summer of 1998, as a volunteer at our North East holiday held at Queen Mary's School in Yorkshire. I returned for several years, eventually becoming holiday organiser for two years. I was also a volunteer at the Midlands holiday at St Bede's in Staffordshire over several summers and have helped for shorter periods on other Newman Trust holidays.
I have been a trustee since January 2011. I edit our website and created the Trust's Facebook and Twitter accounts. I wrote the Trust's original training manual and for many years helped to edit our magazine.
I became a teacher in 1997. After five years in mainstream primary schools I switched to the special needs sector. In the subsequent years I taught children from 4 to 19 years old with moderate, severe, profound and multiple learning disabilities. For eight years I was the manager of the professional development and support service at the Eden Academy Trust, a family of seven special needs schools. I represented the UK’s special needs sector as a founder member of the Department for Education’s Teacher Reference group, contributing views and providing feedback on policy development and implementation. I now focus on outdoor learning, working in nature with teenagers who are finding it hard to engage with education and/or struggling with mental health and/or trauma.
My hobbies include long walks, travel, gigs and the voracious consumption of books, music and films.
