Our trustees

Dr Carol Long, Chair of Trustees

Carol is a registered Social Worker and has considerable experience of working in the social care sector with a career spanning 35 years in local government, the private sector and for nearly a decade with national charities, most recently working with children with special educational needs and their families. She is currently a researcher at Durham University, focusing on family experiences of disability. Carol has considerable experience as a Chief Executive and has well developed skills in business planning, risk assessment and management, and safeguarding of vulnerable children and adults. She has a background in service development. She has experience of serving on a number of boards and committees including for the YMCA, as an executive for the NSPCC and also as Vice Chair of Governors of a large secondary school.

Amy Abbott, Vice Chair of Trustees

Amy is a qualified lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in both private practice and industry. Her experience covers a wide range of sectors, including technology, financial services, advertising, publishing, consultancy and ecommerce. Amy is currently Assistant General Counsel, Europe at Dun & Bradstreet, leading a team of 20 lawyers across multiple European jurisdictions. Amy has extensive management and cross-border experience, with particular expertise in leading and managing through change and in designing and implementing strategic improvement programmes. Amy has a keen interest in advocating for and supporting neurodiverse children with specific educational needs, as well as mentoring within her team and wider professional network, to help people maximise their potential and achieve their objectives.

Alexa Charnley

Alexa specialises in charity fundraising and marketing, and currently holds the position of Director of Fundraising and Communications at the Mental Health Foundation. Alexa has held a number of roles in the charity sector including Director of Fundraising Development at Save the Children UK, and spent 10 years at Cancer Research UK in a variety of fundraising and marketing roles. Alexa is passionate about IPSEA's vision and has lived experience of navigating the SEND system for one of her children, who has an EHC plan. Alexa also grew up alongside her brother who had very complex needs and needed specialist educational support. Alexa has a particular interest in mental health and neurodiversity, the impact of lack of appropriate educational support and what this means for the mental wellbeing of children, young people and their families. Alexa has experience of educational leadership through her terms as a governor of a North London Primary School, spending four years as Chair of Governors. Alexa is also a trustee of the brain injury charity Headway – the brain injury association.

David Arnold

David is a retired Senior Bank Manager with the NatWest Group. He has over 30 years’ experience in Business and Finance. During his varied professional career, David has worked extensively in Business Development, Relationship and Sales Management, Finance and Business Management specialising in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. He has undertaken volunteering roles including support for a local charity specialising in social and educational activities for people of all ages with learning disabilities, Trustee and Treasurer of a village hall and assistant trainer for an under eighteen local football team. David is determined to invest his time, energy and use his commercial and credit risk experience to add value and support the team at IPSEA.

Lea Paterson CBE

Lea’s career has spanned public policy, regulation, HR and financial journalism. She has held a number of senior roles at the Bank of England, including Executive Director of People.  And as a financial journalist, Lea worked at The Independent and at The Times. Lea currently holds a number of non-executive positions. She is a Civil Service Commissioner, sits on the Board of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), chairs the Government’s Senior Salaries Review Body and serves as an independent member of Warwick University’s Remuneration Committee. Lea is the parent of neurodivergent children, and a former volunteer on the IPSEA helplines. She is passionate about empowering parents and carers of children with SEND to secure the right support. Lea was awarded a CBE for services to the economy in the 2023 New Years Honours List.

Lucy Maudsley

Lucy joined the board in 2025. Having spent much of her career in third sector, she retrained and is now an ADHD coach and advocate, supporting neurodivergent individuals and families. Her earlier career focussed on anti-prejudice education, most recently as Director of Strategy at a national charity. Lucy is passionate about IPSEA’s mission and has both professional and lived experience of the challenges faced by families navigating the SEND system. She is the parent of two neurodivergent children and is married to a neurodivergent partner. Through her coaching work with neurodivergent adults, she often sees first-hand the lasting impact of unmet needs in childhood, and is committed to advocating for families with SEND wherever she can. Lucy also serves as a foundation governor at a Cheshire primary school, where she was previously Chair. She has a particular interest in education, neurodiversity, and the long-term impact of both good and poor SEND provision.

Sinthu Sivakumaran

Sinthu is a qualified lawyer with over 15 years of experience in both private practice and the financial services industry. She specialises in tax law and is currently an Executive Director in the EMEA Tax team at J.P. Morgan as well as the Chair of the European Tax Group of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Sinthu is the mother of two children, one of whom has special educational needs. She holds the mission statement of IPSEA close to her heart and is committed to contributing to the organisation and the SEND community. Sinthu recognises first hand the importance of the advice, advocacy and support provided to children and young people with SEND, their carers and their families against a backdrop of a challenging and evolving social, economic and political landscape.

David Buckle 

David is a communications and government affairs leader with over 15 years’ experience in the healthcare sector, helping organisations enhance their reputation, maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, and influence government policy. Prior to that he worked in Parliament and for a government affairs consultancy.

He is passionate about IPSEA’s mission and about SEND provision more broadly. He is the dad of neurodivergent children and is the Vice Chair of a special needs school in Buckinghamshire.

Chamika Hand 

Chamika is a lawyer with over 21 years experience in dispute resolution. With a focus on complex litigation and arbitration in the Insurance industry, she specialises in claims relating to professional liability. As a mother to three children, one of whom is quadriplegic, she has first hand experience of navigating the SEND system. Chamika has recently successfully led a campaign advocating against the reduction of school hours for disabled children and has through this work become involved in contributing to the discussions of the IPPR inclusion taskforce on SEND reform. Chamika is a contributor to the Talking Inclusion podcast and more recently has appeared as a speaker at the TES SEND leadership conference. Chamika is passionate about IPSEA’s work in helping children and young people with SEND get the education they are legally entitled to. In light of forthcoming reforms to the SEND system, she is delighted to be able to support IPSEA in this important work.