Trustees and Management
The Trustees are the board of the charity, responsible for its strategy, finances, safeguarding, employment and development. They are all volunteers, drawn from the local community for their enthusiasm and their expertise.
Edward Mason – Chairman
Edward advises organisations on strategy and communications. He is Board Advisor for John Lobb Bootmakers, and NED at Modern Baker – creator of SUPERLOAF, the world’s first healthy UPF. He is non-exec Chair of Paternoster Corporate Communications, and an Associate on the Faculty of the Moller Institute for Leadership Development at Cambridge University.
He has worked with leaders across a wide range of businesses from British Airways and Cushman & Wakefield to Nina Campbell, Fortnum & Mason and Gascoyne Estates.
He grew up in Suffolk and his mother-in-law has been a member of SAS since her stroke 9 years ago so he has seen first-hand how much the members benefit from the services we bring.
Hilary Spivey – Trustee
Hilary’s early life was spent mostly in Basildon, Essex which if nothing else gave her a keen sense of humour. After studying maths at Bristol University she joined the London office of what became KPMG and qualified as a chartered accountant. She then worked for several years for an American oil company as a business analyst and then went on to work for an investment management company for about 10 years where she was variously in charge of their back and middle offices.
After a spell as finance director for a software firm specialising in performance measurement systems for the investment management sector she became a consultant providing financial services compliance services to investment management firms. After several years this developed into providing compliance, finance director and company secretarial services to a number of financial and property development firms in the City and West End.
Hilary has served as treasurer for a number of local music related charities, she runs Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and is chairman of the Friends of St Peter’s, Sudbury.
She first became involved in Success After Stroke back in 2014 initially as the independent examiner, then as treasurer and more recently as chairman.
While not doing all this she sings, plays the bassoon and cycles while enjoying the better things of life generally found in good restaurants.
Viv Bourne – Trustee
Viv Bourne is the life force behind Success After Stroke. Always energetic with a very positive and robust caring side to her that included bringing up a family, working with the Samaritans and then on to setting up Success After Stroke with friends over 25 years ago when they saw a very real need for long term support of stroke survivors. She has a natural talent for bringing good people into the charity, often despite their own best intentions, and the charity has grown from strength to strength as a result.
She is still fully involved in the charity, both at the managerial and volunteer recruitment levels while at the grass roots level she attends most sessions, easily moving from providing exercise classes when required to taking activity sessions for our members.
Her contribution to the charity has been recognised with numerous awards including a Community Achievement Award in 2005 from Babergh District Council, a Winner of The 2012 British Volunteer Awards, and in 2015 a Points Of Light Award from the Prime Minister in recognition of her outstanding volunteering.
Geoffrey Bourne – Trustee
Geoffrey spent 36 years in the City in stockbroking and fund management, retiring in 2002. He was governor of Runton Hill School for 5 years. He has been a trustee of Success After Stroke since its inception and was Chairman for 4 years from 2009 through to 2013.
Richard Furlonger – Trustee
Richard qualified at the Royal Agricultural College in the 1970’s and took a Masters degree in business administration before a change of career from farming to property development in the early 1990’s.
Although still involved commercially in the property sector, he spends time on charitable work. In addition to being a trustee at SAS since 2013, he sits on the Norman Garon Trust which provides grants to Essex based youth projects and Fowler Smith & Jones which provides grants to a wider range of Essex based charities.
Lizzie Alston – Trustee
Elizabeth Alston has always been a resident in the Sudbury Area: she was a pupil at Wells Hall Primary School and Great Cornard Upper School (now TGS ) – where she subsequently became a Governor.
She is devoted to her extensive family and especially to her two daughters and four grandchildren. She tries to balance her commitment to family life and her love of Suffolk, the Arts and charity work including The Princes Trust, The Watercolour Society and the RA. At the moment she is concentrating on The SAS Art Exhibition Brushstrokes which is going to be held next March 2026…
Henrietta Drake – Trustee
Henrietta has lived in Suffolk for 32 years and has three children and four grandchildren.
She worked in Recruitment and Public relations before getting married and has since got involved in many charities. She was Chairman of the Children’s Society, Sudbury branch from 2002-2008 and is a Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal Organiser, Churchwarden of St. John’s church, Twinstead, a Trustee and Coach for Riding for the Disabled and now a Trustee of Success after Stroke.
She enjoys gardening, walking, singing and acting, and playing bridge.
Susie Fenwicke-Clennell – Trustee
After leaving university, Susie spent 35 years in the marketing communications industry, working across London agencies, a medical diagnostic company and two animal charities. She also ran a small cheese mail order business for eight years.
She is an Essex girl! Having done a stint in London, she returned to live in north Essex 35 years ago with two small children and one on the way. The family has now grown to include five grandchildren.
Since retiring she has taken up playing tennis, learning Italian and enjoys playing bridge. She also serves as Secretary of the PCC for the Round Church in Little Maplestead.
We employ two part-time members of staff to ensure the efficient, safe and secure running of the organisation.
Sj Lewis – Manager
Sarahjane Lewis (Sj) joined Success After Stroke in 2014, after her mother suffered a stroke and she was approached by a friend who is very much involved with SAS. At the time Sj was working in a country store in retail and realised it was time for a change.
She was previously – and still is – also a chef in private homes, ski resorts, lodges for stalking and fishing, working for private clients through to The Stock Exchange.
She has lived in Suffolk for nearly 30 years and her two children are now working in London. Her son has a baby so she is relishing being a Granny!
Much of her time is taken up with the running of SAS which she thoroughly enjoys along with her four legged friend Dottie, whom the members enjoy for some therapy.
Jo Riddleston – Administrator
Jo Riddleston joined Success After Stroke in 2022 in an administrative role supporting Sj with the day to day running of the organisation. Jo already had a strong connection with SAS as her brother Nick joined as a member after his first stroke in 2009 and so was delighted when approached to become part of SAS. In a previous life Jo lived and worked in London with administrative roles mainly City based and moved to Suffolk permanently after getting married. She has two sons, one who lives and works in Suffolk and the other living in London. She also has two little granddaughters who keep her busy when she is not involved with SAS. She lives near Lavenham with her little dog Percy who has become a “therapy” dog to many of the members.