Our Ambassadors

Wim is former Chairman of the British Liver Trust Board of Trustees. Wim has worked in the City of London since 1974 as a broker at Lloyd’s of London, at Greig Fester, then Morgan Read & Coleman as an Executive Director before selling the business to Arthur J Gallagher International in 1996, where Wim has had various roles in the organisation, including CEO of reinsurance and now Deputy Chairman of Arthur J Gallagher. Wim is also governor of two schools, one in the independent sector, the other is a state school in the East End of London.

David and his wife Celia are parents to Edward, who was born with Biliary Atresia in 1979. David (now retired) was a partner in a Central London firm of Solicitors and did the legal work for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, of which he was also a Trustee from its earliest days. From the idea of Dame Sheila Sherlock and other senior adult hepatologists he was instrumental in setting up the British Liver Trust of which he was a Trustee for many years. David is both grateful for the support he and Celia received in the early years and is proud of what the two charities have become and achieved during his 45 year involvement. He has always been passionate about a patient’s wellbeing during the journey from paediatric to adult liver services. Having been a Trustee of both the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation and the British Liver Trust he is uniquely placed to support both charities as they face the future together. During his busy retirement he enjoys the company of his eight grandchildren and his lifelong interest in choral singing and fly fishing.

When he was 2 years old, Sam and Catherine Baker’s youngest son, George, was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH). At the time of diagnosis, the cancer was in his bone, liver and spleen. George underwent a year of chemotherapy but within a week of being given an “all clear” MRI, the LCH reactivated. The family then flew to the US where George received life-saving specialist cancer treatment; however, upon returning to England, his liver started to deteriorate. In April 2022, at age 5, George underwent a liver transplant at King’s College Hospital, receiving 25% of Catherine’s liver. George’s improvement was immediate; today he is an incredibly happy and energetic 7 year old. Catherine and Sam discovered Children's Liver Disease Foundation when George was first diagnosed with LCH; the charity was an invaluable resource to them whilst they learned about childhood liver disease. During and after the transplant process they also saw the incredible support and value the charity provides to the entire family — the patient, but just as importantly, the patient’s parents and siblings. This was particularly important for their other children, Alice and Beatrice. They are honoured to be serving as Ambassadors.

My name is Gemma and I’ll be running the London Marathon in 2025 for Children's Liver Disease Foundation alongside my daughter Daisy who has liver disease.

Like most parents, childhood liver disease wasn’t anything we had ever thought about. Daisy was 11 when she became very ill. Although it was an undoubtedly a relief when Daisy was diagnosed with Auto Immune liver disease, it was the start of some very difficult years not only for Daisy but for us as a family.

Discovering Children's Liver Disease Foundation provided a lifeline. David, the family officer at the time, was endlessly patient, calm, and became a constant listening ear and source of knowledge as we came to term with having a chronically sick child. And then of course there were the events! We went to family days, camps, fundraisers and attended conferences.

It was great to meet the Children's Liver Disease Foundation team in person and meet other families and realise we weren’t alone in this. What really made it special was we were all included because childhood liver disease affects the whole family.

At different stages of Daisy’s journey Children's Liver Disease Foundation have been there for all of us. Attending Talk Tell Transform, when she was 16 being a highlight and turning point in her acceptance and understanding of her disease and where she made lifelong friends.

What a privilege to be asked to become an Ambassador for Children’s Liver Disease. We as a family have received so much support from CLDF over the years, and as an Ambassador I hope to be able to raise awareness and also support other families that might just be starting out on their journey, just as I met as David all those years ago on Rays of Sunshine Ward.

Sue Cook is one of the UK’s most experienced broadcasters. TV viewers know her from shows such as Crimewatch, Children in Need and Holiday. She’s been a familiar voice on the radio since the 1970s on programmes including You and Yours and Making History for Radio 4. Sue is now also a successful novelist.

I first became aware of Children's Liver Disease Foundation in late 2011 when our baby girl Imogen was diagnosed with a rare, life threatening liver condition called biliary atresia, when she was just nine weeks old. The rare condition meant that Imogen was born without bile ducts, making it impossible for her to break down fats in her diet, causing severe strain on her liver. In September 2012, Imogen received her life saving living donor liver transplant from her mum and fortunately since then she has not looked back.

Since Imogen’s diagnosis we spent a lot of time in hospital and from the very start have received a huge amount of support from Children's Liver Disease Foundation.

It was Children's Liver Disease Foundation that sought us out and provided us as a family with information and pastoral support both in hospital and also directly to the extended family back at home. This support was invaluable at a time when our world was turned upside down and they were there in a friendly, compassionate and approachable manner.

The work of Children's Liver Disease Foundation is invaluable to families placed in similar situations to us, as well as the other areas in which it works. This is why we have continued to support Children's Liver Disease Foundation over the years along with Imogen’s Fund, the aim of which is to raise funds to help other families affected as well as raise vital awareness about the condition and the importance of early diagnosis.

I am therefore very proud to be an Ambassador for Children's Liver Disease Foundation and the British Liver Trust to raise awareness of liver disease across all ages, the importance of [organ] donation and the important work that the charities, that have become very close to our hearts, continue to do.

I am the CEO and founder of the Wealth for Life Partnership. In 2016, I created Hereditas, the first dedicated Legacy Planning Process of its kind in the UK.

It was created to provide a clear and effective strategy for anyone wishing to leave, not only a financial inheritance but a meaningful and lasting legacy, regardless of the amount of their financial wealth. The Hereditas Legacy Planning Process is designed to assist people who wish to pass on their real wealth to the people they love and the causes and organisations in which they believe. A Social Legacy captures the desire to help other and defines how each of us can make a difference.

As a charity, the British Liver Trust has a long history of supporting people affected by any liver condition and campaigning for improvements in care and we are proud to be working with such a great team.

They help us to encourage people to think about the real meaning of the word ‘Legacy ‘and we support their valuable work in education and their role in providing vital support to all those in need.

British Liver Trust Ambassador Tony Edwards’ career encompassed senior positions in the International Aerospace and Defence sectors in four countries (USA, Canada, Scandinavia and the UK); in Academia, (Harvard Business School and UK Defence Academy) and in the Public Sector (UK Ministry of Defence).

He has supported many aviation charities including the RAF Museum, Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and Fly Royal Navy Heritage Trust. He is President of Aviation Heritage UK.

Tony has personal experience of liver disease. He contracted toxoplasmosis and then later sarcoidosis which led to liver failure. In 2002, Tony received a liver transplant. He appreciates his second chance at life and is enthusiastic to support the mission and invaluable work of the British Liver Trust.

Sam and Amy Moqbel are proud parents to three children. When their five-year old daughter, Jasmine, suffered acute liver failure in December 2023 due to Wilson's Disease, the world was upturned for them as a family. Remarkably, Jazzy received a liver transplant just six days after falling ill. The family relied heavily on resources from the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation and British Liver Trust to navigate Jasmine's diagnosis and treatment. She is now well and returned to school after the February half-term break in February 2024.

In an inspiring display of community spirit, Sam and a group of local friends cycled from Land’s End to their home village of Chobham in May 2024; a distance of over 300 miles in 3 days. The Team LEChob Cycle raised an impressive £22,000 for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.

Professionally both Sam and Amy are marketing leaders in different fields:

Amy is Head of Marketing at Sempre Analytics, a boutique data analytics consultancy based in Richmond, where she excels in driving strategic marketing initiatives.

Sam is Co-Founder and Managing Director of creative advertising agency, St. Frank’s, servicing global brands, rights-holders and charities across all marketing communications channels from advertising strategy & creative, brand positioning & identity to production, retail, digital and brand experiences.

Professor Newsome runs the Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease service at King’s College Hospital which includes a large multi-disciplinary clinic for patients. He was Chief Investigator on a randomised controlled trial of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies in MASLD published in the Lancet and the NEJM. He is the Co-ordinating Investigator for several global MASLD studies.

He chaired the national guidelines for liver transplantation in MASLD and sat on the NICE Guideline Development Group for MASLD. He led the recent UK multi-stakeholder guideline group on the management of abnormal liver blood tests and led on MASLD for the recent EASL Lancet Liver Commission.

In 2024 he completed his term as Secretary General (President) of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). He developed the FAST score for identifying patients with at-risk MASH and also co-led the global nomenclature process that changed the name and definition of NAFLD to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Professor Newsome is delighted to be an Ambassador for the merged charity.

In November 2007, our 8-year-old daughter, Lucia, was plunged into the unexpected turbulence of liver illness.  Within two weeks she was on the urgent transplant list and, fortunately, gifted a successful transplant.  We were skilfully and compassionately taken through it all by the team in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

From a standing start we learned about the medical and psychological effects of liver conditions, particularly autoimmune hepatitis, and organ transplants.  Children's Liver Disease Foundation were there to accompany, inform and support.  It started a long relationship with Children's Liver Disease Foundation to which Lucia, through a further two transplants, was deeply committed.

Her first public presentation on organ transplants (aged 10) was at her fundraising event for Big Yellow Friday.  There were many more presentations and fundraisers to come.

A week before her third transplant, Lucia began Live Loudly Donate Proudly, a campaign promoting education, communication, and conversation about organ donation.

We and Alice, her older sister, accompanied Lucia through all her endeavours, given from her heart full of gratitude and life lived with joy and enthusiasm.

Recovery from her fourth transplant proved too much, and Lucia died in May 2020.

We continue her commitment to promoting and normalising conversations about organ donation, its complexities and opportunities.  We are proud to follow Lucia’s footsteps in support of Children's Liver Disease Foundation and the British Liver Trust and honoured to be invited to play a part as Ambassadors.

I am delighted and honoured to be joining a fabulous team as an Ambassador of the merged charities who support children and adults with liver conditions. Our son Bradley (25) was born with Biliary Atresia and is thankfully very well following a Kasia at Kings College hospital. Bradley is a Hydrogeologist and lives with his partner Charlotte near Exeter.

I live in North Devon with my husband Spence, while our eldest son Harri lives near Taunton as a HART Paramedic. My career of 38 years was spent in nursing with the final 21 as a Lead specialist nurse in Rheumatology at North Devon District Hospital which I absolutely adored.

As a family we have been passionate about supporting the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation over many years. We have run many sponsored events including climbing Helvellyn twice and running afternoon cream teas in our beautiful garden.

I hope that my experience both as a mum and nurse will help support others over the coming years and look forward to supporting the new charity and team.

It is an honour to be an Ambassador for the British Liver Trust/Children's Liver Disease Foundation. About 40 years ago my mother Dame Sheila Sherlock paved the way in liver research and was key in setting up the British Liver Trust. I have grown up with knowing all about the liver and could spell cirrhosis at a very early age!  I know my mother would be immensely proud of, and also support, all that is still being done to raise awareness of liver disease and transform lives. It is a privilege for me to now carry the baton in the next chapter of this wonderful charity.

Justin and Lisa feel excited and honoured to have been asked to become Official Ambassadors for the newly merged British Liver Trust and Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.

Their mission, since Lisa’s own diagnosis with a rare autoimmune liver disease, has been to support and help as many others as possible by sharing a patient and loved one’s experience, raising awareness and working alongside the British Liver Trust to educate around common myths that we often hear regards liver disease.

Lisa is post-transplant with recurring PBC and they hope to continue to support those going through similar situations, at any part of their journey to help them and their loved ones not feel alone, for many years to come.

The British Liver Trust has been such a pillar of strength and a hub of safety for Lisa and Justin that the more they can do to help with the charity’s goals of improving liver health for all and supporting those affected by liver disease or cancer, the better.

We have been raising funds for Children's Liver Disease Foundation for over 20 years. The fact that it's a small charity appealed to us and to know how much help it gives to families with babies and children is immeasurable. To meet some of these families and children is very rewarding and emotional. We are supported by local businesses friends family and neighbours, many of whom have donated to our fundraising for years, attending coffee mornings, quiz nights plus supporting many raffles.

Without these people we could not have raised the many thousands of pounds we have. Paul is planning to run his 34th London Marathon and Liz has completed 11 marathons, most of them for Children's Liver Disease Foundation.

In 2019 we ran together for our Golden Wedding Anniversary  - along with a friend the total raised was £10,000 for this event.

The merger with The British Liver Trust makes sense being stronger together, and we will continue supporting this wonderful cause.