[The Gut Trust]

Jonathan is an experienced and highly qualified management consultant who has had IBS since he was eight years old and he brings international level marketing and management expertise to The Gut Trust. He is particularly interested in combating the effect that IBS has on people who have it in terms of self-worth and self-reliance; and in changing the attitude of the well world towards people with chronic illnesses.

John is a retired Managing Director who has a wealth of experience in many aspects of business management including company profitability, personnel management, financial management and sales and marketing. Since retiring he decided to put something back into the community via the voluntary sector.

Shelagh has suffered from IBS since her late twenties and found it a distressing and debilitating illness which was difficult to understand and even more challenging to talk about. She joined The Gut Trust in the hope of joining a local self help group, but to her dismay, found that there was none in her area. She realised that if she wanted to belong to a group she would have to start one herself.

Janet became a Trustee as a result of her involvement with The Gut Trust's therapeutic programme. She was a member of the pilot study group in 1997 and found she benefited a great deal, both during the programme and afterwards. Following on from this she founded and continues to co-ordinate the Rossendale self help group. The group meets on a monthly basis and alternates discussion groups with sessions that include a speaker.

Geoff is 56 and has had IBS since childhood. He thought he was the only one with IBS until he found The Gut Trust and subsequently set up the Merseyside Self Help Group in 2000 after attending a Gut Trust hypnotherapy course in 1999. His group started with just five members but now has 32 with an average monthly attendance of between 6-12. He became a Trustee to promote the work that they do, to gain more members and help where he can.

Sue is a 44 year old mum of two who started with chronic diarrhoea in July 2006. Sue chairs the charity's Staffing Committee and sits on the Publication and Education Committee. Sue wants to raise the profile of the Can't Wait Card and supports The Gut Trust's campaign for improved public toilets.

As Office Manager, Debbie handles the day-to-day running of The Gut Trust. She liaises with members, sponsors and the media to ensure the charity runs smoothly. She should be contacted for all membership renewals, donations and general administrative queries. She is based in our main office and is available to answer calls in person and therefore provides a friendly and familiar voice of the charity.

Helen supports all the volunteers who work with The Gut Trust. Formerly a nurse she has worked in community development and training for a number of years. Her role is to provide support and structure for the many volunteers who help the work of The Gut Trust, particularly those who run self help groups for the benefit of people living with IBS.

Nick is in private practice as a Consultant Physician and Psychotherapist and works to help people cope with medically unexplained illnesses. He is also a writer, having published over 500 original papers and review articles and edited 11 medical books; three on IBS. He has recently completed a popular book entitled, 'Sick and Tired, How Modern Life is Affecting our Health', which was published in 2004. During his academic career, he held university chairs in Gastrointestinal Physiology, Human Nutrition and Integrated Medicine.

Shirley has had IBS for many years and was already a Gut Trust member when she became editor of Gut Reaction in 1996 and a Trustee soon afterwards. She is keen to raise awareness about IBS, is an advocate of self help, and believes that people with long-term debilitating conditions, like IBS, can be a great support to each other.

Christine is the Gut Reaction Sub-Editor and she also founded The Gut Trust with Sue Backhouse in 1991 (then called the IBS Network). Christine lives in Suffolk and enjoys working as a Principal Lecturer, teaching statistical methods in Psychology and Health Psychology. She is co-author of the recently published book 'A Complete Guide to Relief from Irritable Bowel Syndrome'.