PPEF Trustees

Karen has been the Physio First (PF) nominated trustee of PPEF since taking on the role of PF Chair in 2019. Having now stepped down as PF Chair, Karen is spearheading a new role to expand involvement of students in PF, both by increasing clinical placements in private practice and by expanding the educational offering of Skills Exchanges, bringing together PF members and students in a supportive educational environment. She has been awarded Honorary Life Membership of Physio First and is honoured to have been appointed President from 2024. Previously serving on CSP Council, Karen chaired the CSP Educational Awards Panel and acted as a clinical educator for local universities championing student placement provision. Having run her own private multidisciplinary practice for over 25 years, Karen completed her MSc in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy with an RCT conducted within the practice. Karen remains passionate about physiotherapy education and is keen to publicise the unique opportunities offered by the PPEF to all segments of the physiotherapy profession.

Ann has spent most of her physiotherapy career in the higher education sector and, until recently was directly involved in teaching, research and leadership within a team of physiotherapists. Throughout her career, Ann has been actively involved with the CSP where she has held a variety of roles that can be directly related the experience required to understand the role of a trustee. At the time of her application, Ann was Head of Life Sciences at Coventry University, however with retirement from this post, she feels that this is the perfect time to channel her energy and skills, particularly with regard to her research on the role of social media in professional networking, into supporting the work of the PPEF and helping to publicise the excellent opportunities and research activities it has to offer to a wider audience.

Michael is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CTA). His career has been spent, principally, in the London Insurance Market as Finance Director/Company Secretary/Compliance Officer of a number of Lloyds Insurance Brokers and insurance companies. Michael has been Honorary Treasurer of The Private Physiotherapy Educational Foundation since 2004.

I qualified as a physiotherapist in July 1982, worked for 6 years in clinical practice, obtained an MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences and entered the field of physiotherapy education and research. In 1992 I was part of a team who set up a new School of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy with an emphasis on Inter-professional education at the University of Southampton. In 2002 I became the Director of Learning and Development for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, covering all matters of education and research. In 2004 I became Associate Dean for Consultant Practitioner Development in the Wessex Deanery; and in 2005 as the Allied Health Professions Advisor for the national Workforce Review Team (part-time). In 2007 I became Head of Innovation and Development in the Workforce Development team of NHS South Central, obtaining my PhD in 2011. In 2015 I became the Health Dean for Health Education England ( Wessex) and lead various multi-professional initiatives. Throughout this time I’ve continued to work part-time as a clinical physiotherapist in private practice. I have been a PPEF Trustee since 2004 and Chairman of the Board since 2017

Katie is a chartered physiotherapist with over 30 years of musculoskeletal experience within the NHS and latterly in her own private practice in West Sussex. Based in London, trained at Kings College then spent 2 years at Guys Hospital after which Katie specialised at St. Georges Hospital Tooting for 9 years working alongside Orthopaedic Consultants, running a team of physiotherapist in the busy hospital clinic setting. Katie has been in private practice since 2002, is passionate about quality and ensuring people receiving accurate information about their specific conditions to determine the best course of management for optimal recovery. She is the current Physio First Chair

Born and raised in Newcastle, Andrew founded Connect in 1989 with the aim of providing the highest level of care to people with musculoskeletal problems. He qualified as a physiotherapist from Northumbria University in 1985 and worked at Edinburgh’s main teaching hospital, The Royal Infirmary, for three years. He then returned to Newcastle to take up a post in Sports Medicine. Andrew combines his clinical expertise and commercial experience to develop innovative new ways to meet patient needs and commissioners’ budgets. Andrew is no stranger to innovation, being founding director of one of first social prescribing social enterprises, he formed the MSK Providers Network and has been key in building partnerships with universities to develop evidence base. A passionate believer in the value of effective clinical practice, he is a driving force for innovation and change, both within Connect and externally through routes such as MSKR, demonstrating perseverance and leadership in a challenging market. In 2016, Andrew became a Visiting Professor of Leeds Beckett University and was awarded a Fellowship of the CSP for innovation in MSK practice in 2022.

Sandy represents Physio First on the Board of Trustees. She is a private practitioner with many years experience and a past Chairman of Physio First.

Having been one of the first elected trustees in the early years of the PPEF, Sue is returning to the board with a wealth of experience, not only of her 40 years as a clinician, but also as past Chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust. Sue was one of the first physiotherapists in the UK to carry out clinically based randomised controlled trials, as well as several small research projects, and she worked on, and piloted in her clinic, the first therapeutic clinic-specific software. Sue’s passion and enthusiasm for the future of the PPEF, her financial understanding of grant awards, her knowledge of the legal requirements of the Charity Commission, and her prior involvement in various charity projects mean that she will be an invaluable asset to the PPEF our board of trustees.