Chairman - Gillian Bryce Expand Gillian graduated in Medicine from Glasgow University in 1980 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh four years later. She was appointed as a Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton in 1992 and was Medical Director of the South Western Ambulance Service between 1994 and 2009. She has been involved at a national level in training and guidelines for paramedics. Gillian has been interested and involved in pre-hospital medicine throughout her career and appreciates the vital role played by the air ambulance in delivering high quality care to patients. Future development of additional clinical skills for aircrew is something she hopes to help take forward. When not occupied with work and hospital matters she likes to travel to far flung places!
Vice Chairman - Mike Laver Expand Mike Laver, an erstwhile British Helicopter Champion in his younger years, was a helicopter pilot and qualified helicopter instructor in the RAF and was in charge of the flying standards for all support helicopter aircrew in the RAF. Mike left the RAF in 2008 to retrain as a fine furniture maker and currently runs his own business. He joined the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance as a Trustee in 2009.
Michael Gallagher Expand Michael is a former senior army officer who is now the Executive Director of a Management Services company that specialises in HR, conflict, change and project management. Michael has worked with internationally renowned marketing and public relations companies and travelled extensively throughout Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Americas. He joined the Board in 2012. Michael lives with his wife (Sarah), son, daughter and two totally mad rescue dogs in North Dorset. He is also the unpaid groom to his wife’s two very spoilt horses!
Richard Kennedy Expand Richard recently retired as a Chartered Accountant and partner with PKF Francis Clark LLP, the largest firm of accountants in the South West. He grew up in Taunton and studied Law at Southampton University before training as an accountant with a national firm in London. He then spent a few years working in Richmond, Surrey before returning to work in Somerset. Richard works in Taunton and advises owner managed businesses, charities and professional practices. He lives nearby in the countryside with his wife Julia and they have two grown up children and one grandson. Outside work he enjoys sailing and is a sporadic and very average golfer and tennis player.
Colin Launchbury (Company Secretary - Non Trustee) Expand Colin is a qualified accountant and worked for 20 years as Chief Accountant of an electrical wholesaler. In 1998 he joined the NHS as Finance Director of Dorset Ambulance Service. The ambulance service was instrumental in setting up the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Charity in 1999. He became a Trustee of the newly formed Charity, a post he held until September 2000 when the ambulance service trustees were gradually replaced with independent trustees from the counties of Dorset and Somerset. Following the amalgamation of Dorset Ambulance and West Country Ambulance in 2006 he became Deputy Finance Director of the newly formed South Western Ambulance Service, a position he held until his retirement in 2011. Colin has provided financial information to the Charity since its inception as well as being the Company Secretary. He is married to Dawn, has a son, daughter and a four year old grandson and currently lives in Highcliffe, Dorset.
Anna Phillips Expand Anna is a Solicitor who specialises in providing pragmatic solutions and specialist property to charities and social enterprises. She grew up in South West and studied at Leicester University and then the College of Law. Anna is currently a Senior Associate at Foot Anstey. Anna lives on the Blackdown Hills with her husband, two daughters and a small menagerie. She is keen on the outdoors and on the arts. Anna likes to paint when she can find the time. So far as aeronautical links go, Anna is the great grand daughter of 'Bunny' Butler - an aircraft engine designer with the Cosmos Engineering Company at Fishponds Bristol who in 1937, together with Roy Feddon designed, (amongst others) the Jupiter engine which represented a significant aeronautical advance of its time.
Richard Popper Expand Richard is a Fundraising and Marketing Consultant with extensive experience in the not-for-profit and commercial sectors. He was Head of Central Fundraising and Communications for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from 2005 to 2012 with responsibility for a large fundraising, supporter stewardship and legacy marketing team. This followed 17 years working in financial services where his last position was Marketing Director for Zurich Financial Services. Richard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Member of the Institute of Fundraising and has a BSc in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of Reading. Originally hailing from Northern Ireland, he is now settled in Poole where he is a very keen sailor. Richard became a Trustee of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance in 2012.
David Senior Expand David has been involved in aviation throughout his career. Initially an Army Helicopter Pilot and later an Instructor, Examiner and CFS Tri-Service Agent, he amassed over 6,000 hours flight time in 20 years of operational flying around the world. After leaving the Army, David worked in the civilian aviation world for nearly 20 years at Board and Ministerial level, only recently retiring. David has been a sitting Dorset magistrate for over 10 years and presently sits as the Bench Chairman in the Bournemouth Adult Magistrate Court. He lives with his wife Liz and their 13 year old Springer Spaniel in a small Purbeck village on the south coast of Dorset and has two children and four grandchildren.
Glenys Taylor Expand Glenys is a chartered Human Resources Practitioner with both managerial and consultancy experience gained in the public and private sectors. She worked as Head of Human Resources for a NHS Trust prior to holding Director level positions in a NHS HR Trading Agency and a private consultancy business. She set up her own consultancy, PrysmHR, in February 2009. Glenys has experience within a wide range of HR related consultancy and development projects, primarily within NHS organisations, and possesses excellent analytical, interpersonal and facilitative skills. She is a qualified coach and works with executive and senior managers, from both HR and general management backgrounds. She joined the Board in 2012. Glenys has lived in North Somerset for 28 years and is married with a son, daughter, three step daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.
Hannah Nobbs Expand Hannah joined the Innovation Team at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 2016 following ten years as an Engineer specialising in the design and development of helicopter rotor systems. She grew up in Essex and moved to Somerset in 2006 after completing a Degree in Aerospace Engineering at Southampton University. Whilst working for AgustaWestland, Hannah was based in Italy for a couple of years before moving to Dorset in 2010. Hannah has been a Volunteer for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance since 2014, giving talks and cheque presentations on behalf of the Charity. Outside of work, she also has Private Pilot's Licence which she tries to keep current when time and funds allow.