Governance

I have a background in strategy and marketing for media and digital companies (including Sky, BT, Discovery and Manchester City FC) and have sat on the board of several charities as both a Trustee, Finance Committee Chair, Chair of Trustees and a Non-Executive Director. I am currently Chair of Trustees for a small charity (The Student View) and a Non-Executive Director at the University of Exeter. I also volunteer for the baby bank charity Little Village. I have been through the fertility challenges myself and against the odds we had a baby in 2021 after an intensive period of IVF and a lot of fertility counselling.

I am Assistant Director, External Affairs at The Open University in Wales, in that role I lead the OU in Wales’ policy, public affairs and public engagement work. I have a background in public affairs and before joining the OU I worked for a range of third sector organisations. I also have experience of governance roles with a range of organisations over the last ten years. I have my own experience of infertility and accessed Fertility Network UK services for support during that time; we were fortunate to be successful on our fifth and final round of IVF and have a little girl. Our daughter was born very prematurely, so I am also a trustee for the charity attached to our local neonatal unit and support other charities that work with people who have babies who need neonatal care.

I am a senior manager for a medical membership organisation and my career has focused on standards, assessment, quality and training within medical and dental professional bodies. I am delighted to be joining the Fertility Network UK Board of Trustees to contribute towards its vital work supporting and advising those who are struggling with the challenges of infertility and its impact on their lives and futures. My own children were born after fifteen years trying to conceive, including four cycles of IVF, and so I appreciate at first hand the important role that Fertility Network UK has to play.

My background is in finance – I am a qualified chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser, with over sixteen years’ experience. In my current role as Head of Tax, I manage global tax strategy and risk. Having experienced my own fertility challenges, the work of Fertility Network UK is really close to my heart, and I look forward to supporting the charity and its mission to help others during their fertility journeys.

I'm a chartered accountant and have spent my career to date working across finance and accounting teams in blue chip companies. Currently I work at an accounting consultancy firm in London, specialising in software implementation and project management. Previous roles have focused on financial planning & analysis, management accounts, capital investments, and business partnering operational/central functions. I volunteer as a governor/trustee at local schools, and as chair of a mental health charity. My roles allow me to learn and implement strong governance methodology and strategy development. I hope to enable Fertility Network UK teams to be proud of their contributions.

Andy faced fertility challenges from his mid-20s. Now in his 40s and a father of two children through adoption, he's an ambassador for Fertility Network UK and facilitates the HIMfertility male support group. Andy is deeply passionate about supporting men’s emotional health and wellbeing. After spending most of his career in operations management in the rail industry, Andy now works in the field of suicide prevention and emotional health as a listening volunteer, charity ambassador and Senior Project Manager for Samaritans. He is also a speaker on his lived experience of infertility, depression and the importance of looking after emotional health.

I’m so pleased to be taking on my first trustee role with Fertility Network UK. I initially trained and worked as a family lawyer, and have spent the last few years as Fundraising and Development Manager of a growing regional charity. Having experienced infertility and undergone extensive fertility treatment, I understand how valuable Fertility Network UK’s work is, and I hope that my contribution in the role of trustee can help the charity to continue providing vital support to those facing fertility challenges.

I have fifteen years’ experience in the media industry working for a variety of companies including broadcasters, ad techs and start-ups. Working predominantly in commercial, operational and strategic roles, I am currently the Senior Director of Global Business Strategy for a world-leading media investment company. While I consider myself a generalist, my current key delivery areas cover market expansion and business planning; negotiation with and management of strategic partners; and go-to-market commercial analysis and development. Being on my own journey with secondary infertility, as a Trustee I look forward to supporting the vital work that Fertility Network UK does in acting as a lifeline to this community.

I’ve been working in international educational publishing and qualifications sales for the last twelve years, leading teams across the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and South East Asia. My role involves business strategy, leadership, setting and delivering performance targets, employee development, recruitment, risk analysis and developing partnerships with other organisations. I’ve experienced fertility issues for many years and been through the many ups and downs of IVF treatment on multiple occasions. This is my first Trustee position and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to support Fertility Network UK achieve its mission.

It’s a dream come true to be part of this amazing cause. Infertility has dictated my entire adult life so to use my experience of IVF, miscarriage, egg donation, mental health (and everything in-between!) to make positive changes for the rest of our community will be so fulfilling. I have been a media and support group volunteer for Fertility Network UK, as well as contributing to other fertility-based projects and companies in the past. My background in education, charity sector marketing communications, fundraising and grant management combined with personal experiences hopefully means I am equipped to take on this exciting and important role.

I have a background in product management and in my professional life I’m accountable for the strategic direction and delivery of education products and services throughout the product lifecycle. I am also a school Governor and an Enterprise Adviser, supporting careers education in schools. I'm passionate about making a difference to people and I'm lucky to be able to do this in the work I do. I have experienced my own fertility struggles and I'm thrilled to now be able to support Fertility Network UK in its mission to make the journey of dealing with fertility challenges easier for future generations.

Katherine is an award-winning communications leader with over eighteen years’ experience in the charity and public sector. She is currently Head of Communications for Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System. Previously Katherine led communications at Moorfields Eye Hospital including Moorfields Eye Charity and Moorfields Private. Before this she worked in the charity sector for over ten years including the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the British Lung Foundation. Katherine is a Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Fellow, Accredited Practitioner, and previously served as an elected member of the CIPR’s governing council.

I’m Katie DeLay, I live in Derby with my husband, little boy Jake and our slightly crazy cockapoo Dougal. I work at a big aerospace company day-to-day in the IT organisation focusing on strategy development, business engagement and programme management. Along with my passion for IT, I have developed a passion for raising fertility awareness as we have suffered through ‘secondary infertility’ after the birth of my son in 2019. This has led me down many twists and turns in the past three years after a number of rounds of IVF and three losses. I want other people to not feel quite so alone in their infertility and I can see there is so much the Fertility Network can do in the next fifteen years to help people in this. I’m very excited for this next step in the charity and working with the other trustees and the organisation to see this happen.

Katy is an experienced charity leader who leads strategic and transformation programmes for charities and local authorities as an interim. One of the founding Trustees for the Family Volunteering Club, Katy was also the founding chief executive officer for Babyzone, a start-up early years charity supporting families with young children. Over the past decade, Katy has led local and national children’s programmes at small and international charities and previously led projects within the corporate sector and NHS. Katy has a postgraduate diploma in voluntary sector management from Bayes Business School and lives in south London with her rainbow IVF son and husband.

Laura-Rose is a married gay mother of four children by IUI and IVF over a decade. She is an LGBT+, maternity & fertility activist, educator, writer, seasoned speaker and campaigner. She is founder of LGBT Mummies, supporting over 60,000 globally through guidance, community, support groups and events. Through their educational arm, Proud Foundations, she lectures and trains midwives and healthcare professionals, educates and consults with organisations to be inclusive, and has worked with the government, the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)and the Department of Health and Social Care making policy and law recommendations and has presented these in Parliament. She has multiple roles across NHS England, the Royal Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, University College London, HFEA, Maternal Mental Health Alliance, Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, influencing change to create equity and equality for marginalised minority groups.

I am thrilled to be appointed as a Trustee at Fertility Network UK. As an only child through my parents’ secondary infertility and having experienced my own fertility challenges, infertility is a theme that has been interwoven throughout my life. I was a medical negligence lawyer and acted for patients in claims against the NHS and private sector for over 10 years. Since then I have worked in healthcare management, most recently as Director of Operations in a girls’ mental health charity . During the pandemic, I took the opportunity to explore online counselling training and I am in the process of training as an integrative therapist. It is my privilege to give back and be part of an organisation that supports individuals and families navigating these difficulties.

I’m delighted to join Fertility Network UK as a trustee. My background is in media, and for the last ten plus years, I have enjoyed a career in brand and marketing for some of the best universities in the world. I believe in the power of storytelling, and I hope to support Fertility Network UK as they grow their digital engagement. I have been on my own fertility journey for the last ten years. Unfortunately, mine has not yet ended with a baby. However, I am unwilling to give up hope, and I feel like somewhat of a ‘survivor’. I would like to help others who face the same heartache and to drive positive impact around fertility in the UK.

I’m a marketing specialist working in fast-moving consumer goods industries with experience in brand development, creative and communications. My daughter was born through surrogacy after suffering many years of unexplained infertility. I am passionate about helping others and hope that both my lived and professional experiences will bring value to the charity, supporting people through their own tough times of trying to build their family.