Our Trustees

Chair of Trustees and Business Development 

Since graduating with BSc and MSc degrees from Leeds University in the 1990s, I have held a variety of senior business roles in the IT sector with Fujitsu.

I am married with three children, love watching and playing snooker, and am an avid Aston Villa fan.

Deputy Chair of Trustees & Legal

I could see immediately that The Joshua Tree’s support service for families affected by childhood cancer was invaluable. From my own experience, I know what it is like to receive a diagnosis and have your world turned upside down, to feel isolated from “normal” life, to watch your child endure chemotherapy and all its side effects, to see years of what should be their carefree childhood taken from them by the disease and to see the effect, not just on them, but also on their siblings and other family members. Whilst the medical profession do an amazing job taking care of the patient, The Joshua Tree take care of the whole family, both during and after treatment.

Before having children, I worked as a corporate lawyer and now I’m delighted to be able to use that legal background in my role as one of the trustees of The Joshua Tree.

Income Generation

I am a serial entrepreneur and hold board positions in businesses engaged in Venture Capital, Perimeter Security solutions, Automating the workforce (RPA), Technology Support, FinTech, InsurTech, Insurance Claims Management, Health and Leisure, Events, Consultancy, Trade Federation and Family office.

Clinical & Strategy

I first worked at The Countess of Chester during my specialist training, having previously worked as Medical Director at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Wye Valley NHS Trust and as Associate Medical Director at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. I was a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust and at the Liverpool heart and Chest NHS Foundation Trust.

I joined The Countess of Countess in August, 2018 as Medical Director before becoming Acting Chief Executive in October 2018 and then the substantive Chief Executive in April 2019.

I have lived with my husband and three children in Mid Cheshire for 28 years.

Follow Susan on Twitter: @GilbySusan

Legal & HR

I am now retired from legal practice and I joined the Joshua Tree as a Trustee in March 2022.  I am delighted to have the opportunity to  use my legal  knowledge and experience to help and support the team at The Joshua Tree.

Clinical

For much of my career I have been a Medical Physicist, completing a PhD at the University of Liverpool in 2008, before going on to work across a range of healthcare settings.  Through my work within the PBT service, I have not only been at the heart of developments in paediatric radiotherapy, but has witnessed first-hand the wider impact childhood cancer can have on a family.

Oncology Lead

In 1993 I qualified as a registered children’s nurse and continued to work in general medicine.

In 1995 I began to work on the children’s home care team and in 1991 took a Children’s Community Specialist Practitioner BSc degree. During this time I worked extensively with families who have children with oncological conditions, this has included children both during and at end of life care.

In 2017 I became the lead nurse for the local hospital for children who have an oncology diagnosis which involves working in conjunction with the Primary Treatment Centres to deliver continuity in care for these families.

My involvement with The Joshua Tree began when I was fortunate enough to be one of the team of nurses who cared for Josh and his family at home. I hope that my experience and knowledge enable me to be able to support the staff working at The Joshua Tree.

Governance and Compliance

Now retired, I am enjoying spending time with my three young grandchildren but good governance remains my passion and I continue to provide some professional coaching and mentoring in this area.

Trustee

My professional background is in both Business Development and Operations in the property and asset management markets where I have been responsible for multimillion pound business areas.

I am especially excited to assist the charity progress further now that the Support Centre is built and operational.

Trustee

As a family we were first introduced to the amazing work that the Joshua Tree does whilst on Ward 3B at Alder Hey Hospital back in early 2019.

Our world was completely and utterly turned upside down when our son was diagnosed with a Brain Tumour in May 2019.  The Joshua Tree supported the whole family during treatment and continue to do so now.  They have been a vital source of support and comfort for us all.  Also, critically for me, as a Mother with such a critically ill innocent defenceless child, The Joshua Tree gave me hope when I needed every ounce I could grasp.

A little bit about me – I am married, and we live just outside Ruthin in North Wales with our 2 children.  I have always worked in HR from leaving University and have worked in different industries from manufacturing to construction and pharmaceutical. Chartered Fellow member of the CIPD, my experience to date covers every aspect of a generalist HR role with the last 20 years plus in Senior HR Management positions.

What is important to me and why I chose a career in HR is people. I want everyone to feel proud and secure in work and to ensure that we are all given the opportunity to do and be the best that we can in our roles. Having experience the life changing event in May 2019 this ethos now filters into every aspect of our lives and purpose.

I am thrilled to join the talented team at the Joshua Tree and hope to be able to give a little something back to a much deserving charity.