Meet the team

Judy Dewinter

Judy was appointed chair in May 2019.

She had a successful career with the world’s first electronic brokerage firm, Instinet, culminating in a board role leading its European equities division.

In 2003, Judy left her job when she started treatment for the blood cancer multiple myeloma. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to improve the treatment for, and care of, myeloma patients, chairing the board of Myeloma UK and then becoming its president. She is also a patient representative on various boards and advisory groups and was previously the lead governor at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL), where she has been treated for many years.

She said: “I am delighted to be leading the Royal Free Charity to help the RFL move further and faster, investing in the services provided to patients, supporting the dedicated and hardworking Royal Free staff and funding research.”

Akta Raja

Akta is a partner in a fund that incubates small UK businesses and is the fund board member for their investments.

She trained as a solicitor at Slaughter and May and worked in mergers and acquisitions before founding her own company. This was subsequently sold to the firm where she now works.

She has been a non-executive director on the RFL trust board since January 2017, chairs the trust’s finance committee, sits on a number of board committees and on the boards of the trust’s wholly-owned subsidiaries.  She is also chair of the local members’ council at the Royal Free Hospital site.

She said: “I am very pleased to be representing the trust on the board of the Royal Free Charity, which provides valuable support to patients and staff.”

Russell Brooks

Russell became a charity trustee following the merger of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust with his local hospitals, Barnet and Chase Farm.

Russell works at the Heriot-Watt University as the CEO for Heriot-Watt Online. He was previously Associate Director for Executive Education at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Russell spent eight years working at Cancer Research UK, where he was part of the team who delivered a successful £100 million capital appeal to fund the charity’s contribution to the construction of the Francis Crick Institute.

Russell said: “I am proud to be part of the Royal Free Charity. Our donors and volunteers are inspirational and make an incredible impact by improving the patient experience at our three hospitals.”

Caroline Clarke

Caroline Clarke joined the board of  trustees in June 2020.

Caroline is the regional director for the NHS in London. She was previously group chief executive of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, following her role as deputy chief executive for the previous seven years.

Caroline was the trust’s chief finance officer between 2011 and 2018 and in 2012 she was made the finance director of the year by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. She was formerly director of strategy at NHS North Central London. Prior to that she was an associate partner in KPMG’s health strategy team.

She has spent most of her career in NHS finance, having been director of finance at the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and City and Hackney Primary Care Trust.

Caroline is a trustee of Overcoming MS and the 2020 President of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the representative body for finance staff in healthcare.

She said: “The Royal Free Charity is an invaluable partner to the Royal Free London. I’m thrilled to be able to work with the charity to make sure that we give our population and patients the best services and that our staff have the greatest possible experience. This partnership will achieve so much that our founder William Marsden would be proud of.”

Weyinmi Guate

Weyinmi is a chartered accountant with experience in both public and private sectors, across a range of industries and disciplines. She trained with PwC and has worked in audit, capital markets, and accounting advisory. More recently, she joined Amazon as an accountant where she works today. Weyinmi is also a trustee and honorary treasurer of Carers’ Hub Lambeth, an independent charity that supports carers in the borough.

She said: “Growing up in North London, I’m especially proud to be part of a charity that is making a difference in my local community. I look forward to contributing to the continued success of this charity, which values and supports patients and staff”.

Julie Hamilton

Julie is the group chief nurse at the Royal Free London. She began her nursing career in general surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital, London, before moving to intensive care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Following a number of years there in various clinical and professional leadership roles, including director of nursing, Julie joined the Royal Free London in January 2019 as director of nursing for Barnet Hospital and was appointed group chief nurse in August 2020.

Valerie Jolliffe

Following a career in corporate finance in the City, Valerie moved into early-stage venture investing, principally in the technology sector, and has a particular interest in how new technologies can be applied in a healthcare setting.

Valerie is currently on the board of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and is a trustee and treasurer of Beat, the eating disorders charity. She was previously a long-standing trustee of the Imperial Health Charity. Valerie has a MSc in Charity Accounting and Finance from Bayes Business School.

She said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join the charity of my local hospital. I have previous experience of supporting an NHS charity, so I have a deep insight into how this comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. I’m very keen to apply my expertise here, in terms of both my charity and financial experience.

Michael Luck

Mike, who joined the board of trustees of the Royal Free Charity in 2018, has significant commercial experience in the global retail sector, leading a variety of functions including sourcing, pharmacy and wholesale.

Both of Mike’s children were born at the Royal Free Hospital and he was drawn to help the charity after his wife became a transplant patient there.

“I have a real drive to support the charity in improving the patient and staff experience and I look forward to the charity building on the success it has already achieved.

Simon Lyons

Simon is an experienced investment banker, advising clients around the world on some of their most important strategic decisions. He spent the early part of his career at UBS before becoming a founding partner of PJT Partners which has grown from a start up in 2015 to a leading global financial institution today.

He said: “I was born at the Royal Free Hospital, grew up near Chase Farm and live near Barnet Hospital. As a beneficiary of all three sites, I know how vital these services are. I am passionate about supporting staff, patients and research to enhance the NHS experience which is so critical to our national wellbeing.”

Katie Morrison

Katie has 20 years’ experience in communications in the third and public sector.  Currently director of communications, campaigns and UK programmes at Plan International UK, she previously oversaw press, external affairs and internal communications for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Charity.

Katie started her career at the BBC before moving to Comic Relief and then UNICEF UK, where she managed the organisation’s UK media and communications work, including raising awareness of UNICEF’s work in emergencies and delivering large-scale fundraising and communications campaigns.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the Royal Free Charity team and excited to use my skills and experience to help the charity go from strength to strength, maximising the support we can give to the incredible staff of the trust, building on all the work done to improve patient experience and funding vital research projects.”

Melanie Sherwood

Melanie started a career in finance in 1986 after graduating from Manchester University. After completing an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in 1992 she worked in the retail, publishing and property sector.

She is a trustee of two charities: It’s Your Life, which helps underprivileged children and families in the UK, and Grenada Schools, an educational charity.  She has also been an active member of various charity committees, including  Save the Children and Centrepoint.

“I’ve lived in Hampstead most of my life,” she said. “We are very lucky to have a first class hospital so close and I am keen to use my skills to help support it.” ​

Dr Gillian Smith

Dr Gillian Smith is the interim chief medical officer of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. A consultant urologist by background, Gillian was previously the medical director of the Royal Free Hospital and has had a range of clinical and professional leadership experience with a focus on improvement and service transformation.

“The Royal Free Charity is a vital partner for the trust and allows us to accelerate improvements that we could not deliver alone. As a trustee, I am looking forward to building on the incredible work that RFC has done to support our patients, our colleagues, and our researchers.”

Alistair Summers

Alistair is an entrepreneur with 30 years’ experience in running and advising businesses in areas as diverse as coffee roasting, turbine blade coating and technical cleaning. He is a chartered accountant and a partner in his practice.

Alistair is a trustee of both the Prince’s Trust and Prince’s Trust International and sat on the board of the National Youth Theatre and St Paul’s School, London. He is a joint founder trustee of the Accelerate and Access Foundation, a charity supporting children from deprived backgrounds to attend university.

“I have lived almost all my life within sight of the Royal Free and it saved the life of my son after a serious accident,” said Alistair. “I am therefore passionate in supporting the hospital and staff who do so much to help others when they need it most.”