CWAC's Board of Trustees

Peg Belson MBE, BA, PhD. Hon Fellow Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health - Chair

Peg has been a member of CWAC since it’s inception in 1992. With a long term interest in child health care and in children’s rights she has been associated with a number of voluntary and professional bodies including the European Association for Children in Hospital, Action for Sick Children, the National Association for Hospital Play Staff, the Children’s’ Legal Centre, the Victoria Health Authority and two community health councils. She has lectured and researched on the psychosocial aspects of child health care, in particular the need for the close involvement of parents in all areas of child health care. As a founder member of NAWCH, now Action for Sick Children, she helped to bring this concept to public and professional attention and practice in the UK and has travelled widely to promote the same ideas.
Her most fervent hope is that the needs of children infected and affected with HIV/AIDS throughout the world will gain greater prominence and consequent attention.

Emanuel Best - Vice Chair

Emanuel is the husband of Helena Best, a CWAC patron. Emanuel and Helena are the parents of Rebecca Handel, co-founder of Children With AIDS Charity, and grand parents of Bonnie.
Emanuel ran his own business for 50 years and brings extensive business experience to CWAC. He has been a trustee since CWAC was founded in 1993.

Kate Copstick

Copstick (as she likes to be known) has been a CWAC trustee since CWAC was founded in 1992. She is a writer and television producer and made Positive Thinking for BBC 1 - the UK's first television documentary on children and HIV/AIDS for children - and has filmed two educational drama videos for CWAC.
Copstick is also a patron of the Waverley Care Trust. Five years ago she took part in a MRC Stage One trial of a new HIV Vaccine for which there are continuing high hopes.

Jo Dodge

Jo has worked since 1991 in the Specialist Paediatric HIV Team at St Mary's in Paddington as the Co-ordinator of the Service. Working in this field gives her an invaluable knowledge of how HIV impacts on families, which she can use to support the charity.
In 1991, she came into contact with children infected/affected by HIV on a daily basis. It quickly became apparent there was a lack of practical support for families infected/affected with HIV, many of whom were vulnerable and isolated.
Rebecca Handel and Jo joined forces to create Children With AIDS Charity to assist these families. In 1993, CWAC was registered as a charity.

Barbara Clayman

Barbara brings to CWAC many years of business experience. She worked as a secretary to the Chairman of a frozen food company, where she learned a lot about running a large company. 
Then for 18 years, she worked with her late husband running a retail television/satellite and audio store in North West London. This added to her experience of running a small business, especially the financial aspects. She enjoyed meeting people and made many friends with customers.
When her husband died, she retired and now devotes her time to Children With AIDS Charity. She has two sons in the Metropolitan Police and enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren.

Matthew Standen

Matt got involved with CWAC in 2001 through a friend who was volunteering at the time. He has subsequently volunteered at a number of events and functions that CWAC has held since then. In 2005 he took his involvement to a new level and ran the London Marathon as a fund raiser for CWAC.

Matt graduated from Bournemouth University in 2001 with a degree in Business Information Systems Management and now works in publishing, after a couple of years in various sales roles. As a very commercially minded individual he’s keen to drive CWAC forward and identify new fund raising opportunities.

When Matt is not working, he can normally be found playing or watching football.

Katie Ward
Katie was previously a staff member at CWAC and used to be responsible for the running of the Hardship, Respite and Transport services. During this time Katie spent time working with CWAC referrers and beneficiaries in order to develop her own understanding of the current issues that are affecting people living with HIV/AIDS and to develop CWAC’s services to help those most in need.

Katie now works for the Qualifications Curriculum Authority as part of the National Curriculum Monitoring team and hopes to be able to use this current educational experience to support CWAC’s services where possible. Since leaving CWAC, she has remained an active volunteer as a member of the Hardship and Respite Breaks Committee and a respite volunteer on residential and day trips. She has recently attained ICSA certification in Charity Management and would like to use this qualification to help the charity to further develop its management and administrative processes.

Katie loves travelling and her favourite pastimes are cooking, reading and scuba diving.

Leah De Souza

Margaret Clapson

Andrew Ripley (Treasurer)