New Trustees

We’re delighted to introduce to you our two new trustees.

 

Emily Vuijk

Emily works in Human Resources for a large financial organisation and has done for the last 15 years. She is married to Ryan and they have three children, Hugo, Luke and Phoebe. 

Luke was born in 2020 (amidst lockdowns) with a postnatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Emily and her family were first introduced to Sunshine and Smiles shortly after Luke was born. 

Emily has been actively involved with the charity ever since, attending groups on a regular basis and volunteering on the steering committee of the consultation which was carried out in 2021. 

She views the work that Sunshine and Smiles does, alongside other Down syndrome charities across the UK as so crucial and important for the families who have children with Down syndrome. 

Emily wanted to be a Trustee to be involved at the heart of the charity in order to help Sunshine and Smiles evolve and grow.

 

Jane Sinson

Jane is a retired educational psychologist and was also a specialist member of the First-tier tribunal SEND. Having attained a degree in Psychology she taught pupils with special educational needs in mainstream, resourced and special schools before training as an educational psychologist.

Jane has worked with and supported children and young people with Down Syndrome since being a teenager when her mother ran Mencap nursery (now Hawthorn nursery). 

Since the introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014 Jane has developed a specialism in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in education. She has delivered training to specialist teachers and parents on the subject, as well as writing two books related to it.

Jane wanted to be a Trustee to be more actively involved in the excellent work that Sunshine and Smiles does in supporting children and young people with Down Syndrome and their families.

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