Governance

Mrs Brown retired from her role as Head of Education, Early Years and Complex Needs at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in 2016. She was previously Head of Standards and Head of Participation at Sunderland City Council, thereby having spent 10 years at Assistant Director level, with responsibility for providing leadership for high quality education for children from the early years through to nineteen. In total, she has 38 years of teaching and management experience in schools and colleges.

Since retirement, Mrs Brown has volunteered, mainly as a trustee, to support schools, colleges and academies to be the best they can for the children and young people who attend them. She has been involved with the Foundation of Light since 2002 and continues this involvement as a member of the Education and Skills Committee of the Foundation.

Mrs Brown is Chair of Trustees at the Beacon School. She shares the enthusiasm of other Trustees, Mrs Taylor and the staff in believing that the school can offer life-changing chances and opportunities to the young people who join the school.

Formerly Executive Headteacher of a secondary and primary school in Washington . Ex CEO of a Multi Academy Trust also in Washington.

He also served as Chair of the Management Board of the Local Authority Pupil Referral Unit for permanently excluded pupils in Sunderland

Current Chair of the Student Support, Standards and Attainment Committee

Sandra recently retired from Sunderland City Council after 41 years which included working at a senior level managing services for adults and children.

Sandra was an accountant by profession and also previously held the position of Non-executive Director of Together for Children Sunderland, and is passionate about supporting and improving the life chances of all residents.

Ros has recently retired after working in the sports industry for 35 years.  21 of these  were spent working in senior positions at The Football Association, where she had responsibility for implementing FA grass roots strategies through the workforce employed in local  County Football Associations. During her career,  Ros held positions on the board of London Sport and Sport England. Ros is a qualified coach mentor. Ros currently works 2 days a week as a teaching assistant in Learning Support at Harrogate Grammar school. She is also a lifelong Sunderland fan and a season ticket holder of almost 50 years.

Professor Sandbach is Chair of the Innovation Board for the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. He is also Director of the National Centre for Ageing Science & Innovation, based at Newcastle University, and Professor in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

He also holds visiting Professor positions with Northumbria University Business School, Cranfield University and Central St Martin’s College of Arts & Design, London.

Roy chairs the North East leadership group of The Princes’s Trust and is active in the creation of the North East Futures University Technical College, focusing on IT/Digital Science and Healthcare Science.

Denise Taylor was appointed as Principal of the Beacon of Light School in January 2016.

Denise began her teaching career in 1994 in Sunderland as a teacher of Art at Pennywell School (now Academy 360) where she held successive roles of Deputy Head of House, Head of Art, Excellence in Cities Coordinator, Academic and Business Mentor Coordinator.

She moved to Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy in 2006 as Director of Arts then Assistant Principal until December 2015.

Jamie is currently employed as Director of Programmes at Foundation of Light, the official charity of Sunderland AFC.

He manages and oversees the development of all delivery programmes in the four curriculum areas of Sport & Play, Education, Health & Wellbeing and the World of Work.

Jamie has been involved in coaching for over 19 years having decided straight from leaving school, that coaching was his chosen career. In 2001 Jamie joined SAFC Community as a casual football coach before joining the Foundation of Light in 2003 as an Informal Educator focusing on the development of the Making Moves (Disability) project.

Over the years Jamie has managed the outreach site at Washington Millennium Centre, headed up the Football Development programme, directed the Football and Sport department and in 2015 became Managing Director of the Foundation of Light. Throughout his time at the Foundation Jamie has created strong strategic links with Sunderland AFC Academy and complimented this by coaching the U7 and U11 age groups for over 12 years.

Jamie has now been one of the Foundation Directors for the past four years, assisting in all areas of the business, the development of the Beacon of Light project which is an iconic £20 Million new build in its first year of operation.

He has developed his coaching qualifications by completing his UEFA B and Youth Module 3 plus successfully completing a Level 5 in Leadership and Management.