Trustees

Stephen joined Child Brain Injury Trust as a trustee in 2017. He currently works with a wide range of businesses on leadership, culture, business development and providing advisory and professional services. His career has involved working for large corporates, small start-up organisations and as an adviser to the UK government. It has also included extensive travel and adjustment to many cultures – an interest that he has continued outside of work. Stephen has joined to support the development of the services that Child Brain Injury Trust does and could provide in the future.

Dr. Kaplan is a Paediatrician, Professor, and Consultant in the care of children with complex special health care needs and neurodisabilities. Born and educated in the US, he completed medical school at the University of Vermont and his residency and three fellowships at Harvard University’s Boston Children Hospital. He led in the development of three centres of excellence at Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth (US), and is considered one of the world’s leading specialists and educators in the field. Dr. Kaplan led in the development of family centred community based and culturally responsive coordinated care programs in the care of children with central nervous system abnormalities including those with brain injury, and now, after 48 years of academic hospital based practice, he is proud to be able to devote his time and talents to the work of CBIT.

Célia is a Clinical Psychologist working in Paediatric Neurorehabilitation at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital NHS. She obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oxford, is a Chartered Member (CPsychol) of the British Psychological Society and is registered with the HCPC. In addition to her clinical work, Célia holds an honorary clinical research fellowship at Imperial College London where she has been running the lab's first paediatric project, looking at head injuries in adolescents. She has publications in peer-reviewed journals and is passionate about fostering greater awareness of ABI. She has worked closely with CBIT since 2017 and shares many of the same visions and values, having seen first-hand the positive impact that CBIT ABI coordinators have on children and families.

I am an experienced Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator with post-graduate diplomas in teaching students with specific learning difficulties and in assessing and diagnosing dyslexia and related specific learning difficulties. Whilst focussed primarily on dyslexia and dyspraxia, I have supported children with a wide range of needs, including autism, ADHD, hearing and visual impairments, specific language difficulties and physical disabilities. I was invited to join my final school in order to create a SEND department and team from scratch. This provided the opportunity to implement several initiatives which were, at the time, highly unusual: all new students in both the senior and junior departments were screened for dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties such a slow processing speeds and weaknesses in short term or working memory. Students with suspected weaknesses were offered full diagnostic assessments. Where appropriate, these formed the basis for 1:1 teaching plans which reflected individual strengths as well as weaknesses. Students’ results were either in line with or exceeded their underlying ability and the school became a centre of excellence within the association of schools of which we were a member. I first encountered CBIT when I was invited to attend one of their workshops in Bicester. Whilst I had little direct experience of children with brain injury, what I learned about the scale and impact of acquired brain injury in children made me re-examine some of the students I had worked with in the past and convinced me of the need for greater awareness. When I retired the following year, I contacted Lisa, the CEO, and was delighted when she asked if I would be interested in becoming a Trustee.

I have been a Trustee of CBIT since May 2014. However, prior to becoming a Trustee I worked with CBIT due to their ethos to help families affected by acquired brain injury. I support the Charity by providing legal advice. I also help to raise the profile of the Charity at every available opportunity. My work with CBIT is both rewarding and satisfying and it is a pleasure to work with the Charity.